Abstract
The production of interferon γ (IFN-γ) by phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was examined in 19 patients with uterine cervical cancer and 28 controls without cancer. The mean IFN-γ production of the cancer patients was significantly lower than that of the controls (P<0.05 in early cancer, P<0.01 in advanced cancer). The depletion of adherent monocytes from PBMC resulted in an increased IFN-γ production in 68% of the cancer patients and in 38% of the controls. The addition of indomethacin (1μg/ml) to PHA-stimulated cultures of PBMC enhanced IFN-γ production in both cancer patients and controls. However, this increase in IFN-γ production was significantly higher in cancer patients than in the controls (P<0.05).
These results suggest that depressed IFN-γ production in patients with uterine cervical cancer is due to monocytes which produce a mediator capable of suppressing INF-γ production, namely, prostaglandin E2.
