Effect of treatment on the immunological status of women with advanced breast cancer

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Abstract
An immunological profile has been serially studied in 72 patients with advanced breast cancer during the course of a randomized trial of chemotherapy and hormonal manipulation. DNCB+ patients were more likely to respond to either therapy, but no other test was predictive of response. In the follow-up period all chemotherapy patients had a reduction in white-cell count which was significantly greater in those responding to treatment. None of the other tests (phytohaemagglutinin response, immunoglobulins G, A and M, or Mantoux test) demonstrated changes that could be related to treatment or response, but there was a gradual unexplained fall in IgM levels in all groups the study progressed. It is concluded that the chemotherapeutic regimen (cyclophosphamide, vincristine, adriamycin and 5-fluorouracil) is relatively non-immunosuppressive, and that hormonal therapy (oophorectomy, tamoxifen or androgens) had no detectable effect on the immune response.