Effect of Intraoperative Radiation Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer on Immunological Parameters

Hiroki Yamaue, Hiroshi Tanimura, Takuya Tsunoda, Masaji Tani, Makoto Iwahashi, Masaya Inoue, Tomiji Kawaguchi, Yoshinori Azuma, Yozo Aoki

Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Wakayama Medical College

This study is the first one that clarifies the effect of intraoperative radiation (IOR) therapy on the immunological parameters, including NK and LAK cell activity of inoperable pancreatic cancer patients treated with 3000∼3500 cGy-IOR, compared with that of cancer patients treated with 2000∼3000 cGy-external beam radiation. After IOR, the NK activity increased 7% in spite of an 8% decrease after external beam radiation. LAK activity was not involved after IOR, and it was inhibited in 26% by external beam radiation. IFN-γ-induced killer activity also increased 9% after IOR. Although the immunosuppressive acid protein (IAP) value increased only to 131 µg/ml after IOR, it reached 215 µg/ml after external beam radiation. There was no significant change in PHA blastgenesis in either group. The ratio of OKT4/8 was altered in the opposite way. Thus, there might be an immunological system to stabilize immunity in IOR.

Key words
intraoperative radiation, unresectable pancreatic carcinoma, immunological parameter of the pancreas cancer, natural killer cell activity, lymphokine-activated killer cell activity

Reprint requests
Hiroki Yamaue Department of Gastroenterological Surgey, Wakayama Medical College
27 Shichibancho, Wakayama, 640 JAPAN

Accepted
October 11, 1989

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