Abnormal Monocyte Chemotactic Response in Cancer Patients

Abstract

The in vitro monocyte chemotactic response (MCR) was used to measure effector cell function in 44 cancer patients. Twenty-four of the 44 cancer patients had decreased MCR's, compared to 3 ot 22 normal individuals and 2 of 24 control patients with valvular heart disease. There was a significantly higher incidence of local infection and/or previous granulomatous disease in the cancer patient group with normal MCR's compared to those with low MCR's. This suggests that infection in cancer patients may raise a low MCR to the normal range. Many common medications had no effect on the MCR, with the possible exception of dipyridamole. Abnormal MCR's occurred rarely in patients with minimal disease (stage I), but were found at all other stages. In melanoma patients with recurrent metastatic disease, the appearance of nodal metastases was delayed in patients with normal MCR. Thus decreased MCR is an abnormality that can appear early in the natural history of cancer in humans and may be one indicator ot the effectiveness of host response to the disease.