Effect of immunotherapy and spleen preservation on immunological function in patients with gastric cancer.

Splenectomy is often performed in patients who undergo total gastrectomy for cancer of the upper stomach. Although splenectomy facilitates lymph node dissection of the splenic hilum and recent reports advocate spleen preservation, the role of the spleen is not fully elucidated in gastric cancer treatment. This prospective randomized study was performed to evaluate the role of the spleen in immunological function in gastric cancer patients who underwent total gastrectomy and received postoperative immunochemotherapy. Forty-five patients with gastric cancer were randomly allocated to four groups: 1. splenectomy without immunotherapy (OK-432 administration), 2. splenectomy with immunotherapy, 3. spleen preservation without immunotherapy, 4. spleen preservation with immunotherapy. Postoperative immunological function of these patients was compared among the four groups. NK cell activity of the peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) in spleen-preserved patients who received immunotherapy was significantly higher for 24 weeks after surgery than that of the splenectomized patients with and without OK-432 administration. IL-2 production of PBL in spleen-preserved patients with immunotherapy was significantly higher between 4 and 24 weeks after surgery compared with that of the splenectomized patients without immunotherapy. The results suggest that spleen preservation might be beneficial in patients with less advanced gastric cancer who receive postoperative immunochemotherapy after total gastrectomy.