Immune function in newly diagnosed children with malignancy
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Tumor genesis of many pediatric malignancies remains unclear. Data of immune function are lacking at diagnosis. We prospectively analyzed 109 pediatric patients with malignancy at diagnosis.
METHODS: Lymphocyte subpopulations were characterized by FACS, TREC-assay, and Immunoscope, cytokines by FACS and ELISA.
OBSERVATIONS: We detected higher values of CD4(+) T cells and consecutively shifted CD4(+)/CD8(+) ratio in all patients compared with the control group. In patients with lymphoma, interleukin-2 was upregulated in all subpopulations.
CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of these findings an altered immune function could be found in children with different malignancies at diagnosis. Further investigations are necessary to identify tumor-related immune deficiency for novel therapeutic approaches.
Bibliographical data
Original language | English |
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ISSN | 1077-4114 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 10.2012 |
Externally published | Yes |
PubMed | 22735887 |
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