Perioperative functional activity of the alternative pathway of complementin patients with colonic cancer

Objective: To investigate the functional capacity of the alternative pathwa y of complement in patients with cancer of the colon before, during, and af ter operation. Design: Prospective study. Setting: One university and two district hospitals, Denmark. Subjects: 28 patients having elective or emergency operations for colonic c ancer. Interventions. Measurements of C3b fixing capacity of the alternative compl ement pathway in serum before, during, and after operation. Main outcome measurements: The functional capacity of the alternative pathw ay of complement, and changes during operation. Results: The functional capacity of the alternative pathway in patients wit h cancer of the colon was above normal (p < 0.0001 for both men and women). and the capacity remained unchanged during operation despite dilution of s erum peroperatively. Conclusion: The alternative pathway seems to be the only immunological vari able that has so far been shown to have increased functional capacity in pa tients with cancer, and that remains unaltered (mean value) during operatio n. The importance of retaining normal function of the alternative complemen t pathway in the prevention of postoperative infective complications and re currence of cancer has not yet been elucidated.