Abstract
Background and Aims : Histamine type 2 receptor antagonists are usually used in postoperative patients. Among these drugs, cimetidine has been reported especially to have advantages in immune function. In this study, we evaluated the effect of cimetidine in patients who had undergone operative treatment for gastric cancer by comparing with the effect of famotidine.
Materials and Methods : A total of 41 patients undergoing a distal gastrectomy with D2 lymph node dissection for gastric cancer were included in this study. Patients were divided into two groups : the cimetidine-treated group (C group, n=21) in which cimetidine was continuously administered at a dose of 800 mg/day from starting the onset of general anesthesia until 14 days after the operation, and the famotidine-treated group (F group, n = 20) in which famotidine was administered at a dose of 40mg/day in the same procedure. NK cell activity, CD3, CD4, CD8, and CD4/CD8 ratio were evaluated.
Results : In the F group, NK cell activity and CD3 levels on the first postoperative day were significantly lower compared with each preoperative level. On the other hand, in the C group, there was no significant difference between preoperative levels and postoperative levels in all of parameters.
Conclusion : It is suggested that cimetidine gives an inhibitory action for early postoperative immunodeficiency in patients with gastric cancer compared with famotidine.
