Changes of the immune system in squamous cell carcinoma patients during surgical treatment

Changes of the immune status were found in 39 patients with squamous cell carcinoma. Patients' age was 65 ± 3 years. In all patients, the disease stage was T1-2N0M0. Investigations were conducted prior to the surgery, on the first postoperative day, and then on the fifth, seventh, tenth postoperative days, and 18 months after the surgery. Obtained data were compared with the parameters of cell-mediated immunity from 17 relatively healthy volunteers of the same age and sex (control group 1) and 20 patients operated for skin fibroma (control group 2), age and sex of the patients from the control group 2 matched the main group, the parameters were studied on the same day. The study determined that cell-mediated immunity of squamous cell carcinoma patients before surgical treatment was characterized by decrease in both relative and absolute number of lymphocytes bearing receptors CD16+, CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and it significantly increased on the tenth postoperative day. In humoral immunity of squamous cell carcinoma patients a decrease of IgG, M amounts, as well as the total amount of complement, its C3 and C4 fractions, TNFa, IL1β, IL-6, IL-10, INFγ, PI, phagocytic coefficient, spontaneous NBT-test, zymosan induced NBT-test were revealed, while amount of CIC was increased. Partial restoration of IgG, M occurs on the tenth postoperative day.