Effects of PSK on interleukin-2 production by peripheral lymphocytes of patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma during chemotherapy.

The effects of PSK on OKT 4/OKT 8 cell ratio, interleukin-2 (IL-2) production and expression of IL-2 receptor were examined in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from patients with advanced ovarian cancer during the course of chemotherapy. Preoperative levels of OKT 4/OKT 8 cell ratio and IL-2 production in PBL from patients with advanced ovarian cancer were significantly lower than those in cases of benign ovarian tumor. However, the expression of IL-2 receptor did not show any significant difference between ovarian cancer and benign ovarian tumor patients. When a combination chemotherapy of cisplatin, adriamycin and cyclophosphamide was given, the OKT 4/OKT 8 cell ratio was significantly increased with a significant decrease of the absolute number of the OKT 8 cell subset, while the expression of IL-2 receptor and the absolute number of the OKT 4 cell subset remained unchanged. In contrast, the IL-2 production was markedly depressed after the first course of chemotherapy. When PSK was combined with combination chemotherapy, the degree of inhibition of IL-2 production was reduced (though the effect was not statistically significant). If treatment with PSK was initiated after completion of combination chemotherapy, in addition to a significant elevation of OKT 4/OKT 8 cell ratio the depressed IL-2 production was restored to benign control levels. On the other hand, the expression of IL-2 receptor remained unchanged even if PSK was given after completion of chemotherapy.