Analysis of TH1 and TH2 cells by intracellular cytokine detection with flow cytometry in patients with ovarian cancer

Objective: Our aim is to assess the immune status of patients with ovarian cancer by analyzing the ratio of T helper type 1 (TH1) to T helper type 2 ( TH2) populations in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL). Methods: We examine d TH1/TH2 ratios in PBL obtained from 21 ovarian cancer patients who had ju st received postoperative chemotherapy, by detecting the intracellular IFN- gamma and IL-4 production with 3-color flow cytometry. Additionally, we eva luated the influence of a granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) inj ection on TH 1 and TH2 populations for a rescue of granulocytopenia due to the chemotherapy. Results: We could not find any significant difference of the TH1/TH2 ratios in terms of age, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) clinical stage and clinical tumor status. As for the clinical tumor status, however, the patients with residual cancer had a hig her TH1/TH2 ratio, though it was not statistically significant (p = 0.15). Anticancer chemotherapy is also considered to lead to the immunosuppressive state of the patients. TH1 and TH2 populations of PBL in the patients duri ng chemotherapy showed an unfavorable imbalance that was shifted from TH1 t o TH2 10 days after anticancer drug administration (p = 0.049). G-CSF admin istration, on the other hand, was likely to induce a cell population shift from TH2 to TH1 assessed by the intracellular cytokine assay (p = 0.051), a nd never induced an unfavorable imbalance from TH1 to TH2 in the T cell pop ulation by a 1-day injection of G-CSF. Conclusion: Together, these data ind icate that the TH1/TH2 ratio analyzed by intracellular cytokine flow cytome try seems to be a good indicator to assess the immune status in cancer. Cop yright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.