Abstract
Interferon-alpha (IFN-α) producing capacity was measured in 47 patients with prostatic cancer by whole blood assay. The mean IFN-α producing capacity of prostatic cancer patients was 3657IU/ml, which indicated a significantly (p<0.005) lower value than that in healthy male aged 50 years or more.
IFN-α producing capacity in patients with Stage D disease was lower than that with Stage A, B or C. The higher the grade of the disease, the lower tended to be the capacity. A certain relationship was suspected between IFN-α producing capacity and the prognosis of each patient. In particular, in patients with prostatic cancer in Stage D, the prognosis was worse in low IFN-α producing capacity group (<3000IU/ml) than in normal or high IFN-α producing capacity group (≥3000IU/ml). It was considered that IFN-α producing capacity might be useful in developing the prognosis of patients with prostatic cancer.
