NATURAL-KILLER-CELL ACTIVITY AND SEX-HORMONE LEVELS IN MASTOPATHY

The aim of the study was to test the cytotoxic activity of peripheral blood natural killer (NK) cells in relation to serum levels of sex hor mones inpatients with mastopathy. The study included 37 patients class ified into mastalgia, fibrosis, fibrocystic disease, and fibroadenoma groups and 19 healthy age-matched volunteer women. Estradiol, progeste rone, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), an d prolactin were evaluated in sera by specific radioimmunoassays. NK c ell activity was evaluated by means of Cr-51-release assay. In all Pat ient groups, progesterone levels were significantly decreased. There w as also an increased frequency of patients with low levels of estradio l (< 50 pg/ml). On the other hand, LH levels in fibrocystic disease an d fibroadenoma groups were significantly increased. NK cell activity w as in the normal range in all patient groups. In individual women, NK cell cytotoxicity did not correlate with the levels of the studied hor mones. However, in patients with low (< 50 pg/ml) and high (> 200 pg/m l) estradiol levels an increase and a decrease of NK cell activity was observed, respectively. This suggests that in patients with mastopath y, estradiol may directly or indirectly affect NK cell cytotoxicity. H igh levels of estradiol and low NK cell activity might constitute an i ncreased risk for neoplasia.