Immunological studies on whole-body hyperthermia treatment for advanced cancer

There is renewed interest in the use of induced hyperthermia in the treatment of malignant disease. It has been proposed that the anti-tumour effects of hyperthermia are mediated by the immune system. The aim of this investigation was to determine whether whole-body hyperthermia (41.8°C) affected th...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Gee, Adrian Philip
Published: University of Edinburgh 1978
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.651379
id ndltd-bl.uk-oai-ethos.bl.uk-651379
record_format oai_dc
spelling ndltd-bl.uk-oai-ethos.bl.uk-6513792017-08-30T03:11:48ZImmunological studies on whole-body hyperthermia treatment for advanced cancerGee, Adrian Philip1978There is renewed interest in the use of induced hyperthermia in the treatment of malignant disease. It has been proposed that the anti-tumour effects of hyperthermia are mediated by the immune system. The aim of this investigation was to determine whether whole-body hyperthermia (41.8°C) affected the immune status of patients with advanced cancer. General immunocompetence has been monitored before, during, and after therapy, using several tests, in vitro. During treatment there was a stress-mediated leucocytosis, characterised by an increase in the concentration of phagocytically active immature neutrophils, a T-lymphopenia, and a B-lymphocytosis, but no change in the total lymphocyte concentration. Lymphoid antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, and phytohaema ggWgt induced lymphocyte transformation, were slightly depressed by heating. The day following treatment, the T lymphocyte concentration remained depressed, and there was a fall in the level of serum complement. Within 3-5 days of treatment, most parameters had returned to their pre-treatment values, and there was a marked increase in the T lymphocyte response to PHA, to 2-3 times the prehyperthermia level. This was no longer evident within a week of treatment. Hyperthermia therapy had no significant long-term effect on any of the indices of cellular, or humoral, immunocompetence that were monitored. Heating lymphocyte suspensions in vitro, for 2h at 42°C, abolished PHA-induced RNA and DNA synthesis, and severely depressed their capacity to form spontaneous normal and 'rapid' rosettes with unsensitised sheep erythrocytes. The ability of lymphoid cells to lose antibody-coated tumour cells was also reduced by heating the effector population in vitro. Granulocytes heated at 42°C were less efficient at phagocytosing low concentrations of latex particles. The depression of lymphocyte immune function occurred, to a lesser extent, when whole blood was heated in vitro before separation of the lymphocytes. These results indicate that heat treatment, both in vivo and in vitro, depresses general immunocompetence. In the clinical situation the depression lasts 24-48h following treatment, during which, thermoresistant, viable tumour cells may be seeded into the peripheral circulation, and become established as metastases.616.994University of Edinburghhttp://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.651379http://hdl.handle.net/1842/22238Electronic Thesis or Dissertation
collection NDLTD
sources NDLTD
topic 616.994
spellingShingle 616.994
Gee, Adrian Philip
Immunological studies on whole-body hyperthermia treatment for advanced cancer
description There is renewed interest in the use of induced hyperthermia in the treatment of malignant disease. It has been proposed that the anti-tumour effects of hyperthermia are mediated by the immune system. The aim of this investigation was to determine whether whole-body hyperthermia (41.8°C) affected the immune status of patients with advanced cancer. General immunocompetence has been monitored before, during, and after therapy, using several tests, in vitro. During treatment there was a stress-mediated leucocytosis, characterised by an increase in the concentration of phagocytically active immature neutrophils, a T-lymphopenia, and a B-lymphocytosis, but no change in the total lymphocyte concentration. Lymphoid antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, and phytohaema ggWgt induced lymphocyte transformation, were slightly depressed by heating. The day following treatment, the T lymphocyte concentration remained depressed, and there was a fall in the level of serum complement. Within 3-5 days of treatment, most parameters had returned to their pre-treatment values, and there was a marked increase in the T lymphocyte response to PHA, to 2-3 times the prehyperthermia level. This was no longer evident within a week of treatment. Hyperthermia therapy had no significant long-term effect on any of the indices of cellular, or humoral, immunocompetence that were monitored. Heating lymphocyte suspensions in vitro, for 2h at 42°C, abolished PHA-induced RNA and DNA synthesis, and severely depressed their capacity to form spontaneous normal and 'rapid' rosettes with unsensitised sheep erythrocytes. The ability of lymphoid cells to lose antibody-coated tumour cells was also reduced by heating the effector population in vitro. Granulocytes heated at 42°C were less efficient at phagocytosing low concentrations of latex particles. The depression of lymphocyte immune function occurred, to a lesser extent, when whole blood was heated in vitro before separation of the lymphocytes. These results indicate that heat treatment, both in vivo and in vitro, depresses general immunocompetence. In the clinical situation the depression lasts 24-48h following treatment, during which, thermoresistant, viable tumour cells may be seeded into the peripheral circulation, and become established as metastases.
author Gee, Adrian Philip
author_facet Gee, Adrian Philip
author_sort Gee, Adrian Philip
title Immunological studies on whole-body hyperthermia treatment for advanced cancer
title_short Immunological studies on whole-body hyperthermia treatment for advanced cancer
title_full Immunological studies on whole-body hyperthermia treatment for advanced cancer
title_fullStr Immunological studies on whole-body hyperthermia treatment for advanced cancer
title_full_unstemmed Immunological studies on whole-body hyperthermia treatment for advanced cancer
title_sort immunological studies on whole-body hyperthermia treatment for advanced cancer
publisher University of Edinburgh
publishDate 1978
url http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.651379
work_keys_str_mv AT geeadrianphilip immunologicalstudiesonwholebodyhyperthermiatreatmentforadvancedcancer
_version_ 1718520432242458624