Mpr. Tas et al., RETROVIRAL P15E-RELATED SERUM FACTORS AND RECURRENCE OF HEAD AND NECK-CANCER, Clinical otolaryngology and allied sciences, 18(4), 1993, pp. 324-328
Surgical removal of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) rest
ores the defective monocyte polarization found in patients with HNSCC.
Since HNSCC contain p15E-like low molecular weight factors < 25 kD (L
MWF) capable of suppressing N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (f
MLP)-induced monocyte polarization, it is likely that HNSCC removal er
adicates the production site of p15E-like factors. This report describ
es a prospective follow-up study on the levels of bioactive p15E-like
serum factors for a period of 2 years in nine patients with HNSCC who
had no recurrence and 11 patients with HNSCC who showed residual or re
current disease after treatment. In the group of patients without recu
rrent disease p15E-like bioactivity gradually decreased and eventually
became negative. In patients with recurrent/residual disease p15E-lik
e bioactivity remained high or even became positive before or at the t
ime of diagnosing tumour recurrence. This study strongly supports the
concept that HNSCC tumours are the production site of p15E-like immuno
-suppressive factors and indicates that serum p15E-like factors may be
used for future studies on early serum markers for recurrent/residual
disease developing in the first year after treatment.