Gastric cancer (GC) has been recognized as one of the most common cancers. Untimely detectability is a serious problem of many cancers, including GC. A study of immunological parameters makes it possible to assess an antitumor response, the prognosis of the disease and survival, and to evaluate the efficiency of drug therapy.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the informative value of the phagocytic component of the immune system in the screening of early GC.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
A total of 132 people, including 45 patients with GC at its early stage I—II GC, were examined. A control group consisted of 87 apparently healthy donors. Chemiluminescence analysis of spontaneous and induced production of active oxygen species was used as a method to examine the antitumor activity of neutrophilic granulocytes and monocytes.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In GC group, the intensity of spontaneous and induced chemilumnescence of neutrophils is considerably lower than that in the control group (p<0.05), whereas the area under the curve of spontaneous and induced chemilumnescence in patients with GC was 6.5 and 6.8 times, respectively, as large as that of the control values. Analysis of the chemiluminescence activity of monocytes in patients with GC revealed a decrease in the values of spontaneous and induced chemiluninence (p<0.05) as compared to the control group. The patients with GC were also seen to have a lower level of granulocytic and monocytic phagocytosis than those in the control group (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION
The found features of the phagocytic component of the immune system may be used in the screening of apparently healthy individuals in order to identify the early signs of immune disorders that absolutely require further clarifications. The immune deficiency syndrome in tumor diseases is a nonspecific and universal component of the pathological process, which is once again confirmed by the findings. Therefore, the signs of immune deficiency in the presence of symptoms of gastric disease increase the probability of detecting GC at its early stages.
