IMMUNOLOGICAL COMPETENCE AND NUTRITIONAL-STATUS IN PATIENTS WITH LUNG-CANCER

The rate of infection in patients with malignant disease is significan tly higher than in patients with benign disease. To investigate whethe r immunological competence is impaired in patients with lung cancer, w e assessed neutrophil function (chemotaxis, phagocytosis, bacterial ki lling activity, and superoxide production), monocyte function (phagocy tosis and killing activity), lymphocyte subsets using flow cytometry, and proliferation of lymphocytes stimulated by phytohemagglutinin, con canavalin A, and pokeweed mitogen. Studies were performed on 22 untrea ted patients with lung cancer and 21 age-matched healthy volunteers. N utritional status was assessed by Niederman's nutritional index. In pa tients with lung cancer neutrophil chemotaxis, monocyte phagocytosis a nd killing, proliferation of lymphocytes stimulated by phytohemaggluti nin and concanavalin A, but not pokeweed mitogen, and the number of na tural killer cells were significantly lower than in healthy volunteers , whereas gamma delta T cells were increased (p < 0.05). The mean scor e on Niederman's nutritional index was worse in patients than in healt hy volunteers (p < 0.001). Our results suggest that the impaired immun ological competence and undernutrition may be among the mechanisms cau sing increased susceptibility to infection in patients with lung cance r.