Alterations of the lymphocytic set-up in elderly patients with cancer

Abstract It is assumed that the increased incidence of neoplastic pathologies with advancing age is correlated with the immunosenescence and with the altered immune-surveillance. The present study was aimed at evaluating the role of the immunocompetent system and immunosenescence in carcinogenesis. A pool of 99 subjects (38 females, 61 males) has been analyzed in three groups as follows. Group A: 51 elderly subjects with cancer (16 females and 35 males, average age 73.7±7.5 years). Group B: 24 young subjects with cancer (12 females, 12 males, average age 49.5±10.3 years). Group C: 24 elderly subjects without any clinical evidence of cancer (10 females, 14 males, average age 74.6±6.3 years). Hemo-chromocytometric analysis and cytofluorimetric typifying have been performed in all subjects. A decrease of T (CD3 + )-lymphocytes has been observed in group A, if compared to group B ( P P + )-lymphocytes were fewer in group A, than in group C ( P P P P P P P P P P