Evidence for the role of natural immunity in the control of metastatic spread of head and neck cancer

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Deficient natural killer (NK) cell activity may contribute to the development of distant metastases in the head and neck cancer patient. A total of 246 previously untreated patients expressed deficient NK activity against K562 target cells when compared to 110 age-matched healthy controls (70±48 lytic units (LU) versus 95±52 LU) (PPP<0.01 by linear regression analysis) as determined by both single-parameter and multiparameter flow cytometric assessment. Contrastingly, no relationship could be identified between NK function with the percentage of circulating Leu 7+ cell subsets. In vitro measured NK cell function identifies a population at increased risk for developing distant metastases, thus supporting the role of natural immunity as defense mechanism against blood-borne disease.