ADVERSE-EFFECTS OF INTRAPORTAL CHEMOTHERAPY ON NATURAL-KILLER-CELL ACTIVITY IN COLORECTAL-CANCER PATIENTS

Background: Adjuvant intraportal chemotherapy has been used with a vie w to prevent the development of metachronous hepatic metastases follow ing curative resection for colorectal cancer. To evaluate the effects of this therapy on systemic antitumor immunological activity, 35 color ectal cancer patients who underwent curative resection were investigat ed. Method: Among them, 19 had adjuvant intraportal chemotherapy with mitomycin C and 5-fluorouracil (treated group) and 16 had no chemother apy (untreated group). Natural killer (NK) cell activity, lymphocyte s ubpopulations, and immunosuppressive acidic protein (IAP) in the perip heral blood were measured serially before and after operation, and the values were compared between the two groups. Result: The NK cell acti vity and the percentages of CD16 positive and CD56 positive cells were markedly reduced in the treated group postoperatively. Significant di fference was also observed between the two groups on the 4th postopera tive day in regard to NK cell activity and CD56 positive cells. Conclu sions: Intraportal chemotherapy in our study reduced the NK cell activ ity and its population in the peripheral blood. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, I nc.