Increased mineral dust-induced production of reactive oxygen species by blood monocytes from patients with malignant diseases.

Mononuclear leukocytes were isolated from the peripheral blood of 15 patients with malignant pulmonary diseases, 17 patients with pulmonary infections, 18 patients with chest film abnormalities of non-malignant, non-infectious etiology, and 15 healthy persons. The cells were exposed to zymosan yeast, BCG vaccine, quartz, or chrysotile asbestos, and the subsequent production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured by luminol-dependent chemiluminescence. All the stimulants caused significantly higher ROS production in the patient groups than in the healthy control group, and the asbestos-induced ROS production was significantly more pronounced in the cancer group than in the two non-cancer patient groups combined. After one-year follow-up, 5 of the 15 cancer patients were alive, and these patients had significantly lower mineral dust-induced ROS responses at the time of diagnosis than were found in the patients who died. This result was verified in a subsequent study comprising 19 patients with malignant pulmonary disorders (6 alive after one year). In conclusion, monocytes from patients with malignant diseases seem to be primed for an increased ROS production, and high ROS responses seem to correlate with a poor one-year survival of the patients.