Immunocompetence in advanced cancer patients prior to chemotherapy

A panel of immunologic tests were used to characterize the levels of immunocompetence in 30 patients with advanced lung and head and neck region cancer prior to their receiving chemotherapy. All cell mediated immunity parameters tested were significantly depressed in these patients when compared to controls. Antibody mediated immunity tests showed lower levels of isoantibody titers to blood group antigens, no difference from controls in titrations for established virus antibodies and significantly elevated serum IgA and complement levels. Primary vaccination with KLH revealed marked deficiencies in both the antibody and cell mediated immune response. The degree of immunoincompetence did not correlate with either response to chemotherapy or the diagnosis to study interval which emphasizes the severity of immunoincompetence in patients with advanced stages of disease.