Correlation of tumor necrosis factor and prostaglandin E2 production of monocytes in bladder cancer patients.

Patients with advanced malignant neoplasms have a variety of abnormal monocyte and lymphocyte functions. The authors examined tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production of monocytes in 48 patients with bladder cancer and 16 control subjects. Monocytes were isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells by adherence to plastic tissue. They were cultured with lipopolysaccharide for 24 hours, and the culture supernatant was obtained. The TNF was measured by enzyme immunoassay using anti-recombinant human TNF antibody, and PGE2 was measured by radioimmunoassay. As a result, in high-stage bladder cancer patients, there was a significant inverse correlation between TNF and PGE2 production of monocytes. However, there was no significant correlation in control subjects and low stage patients. Accordingly, some patients with high-stage bladder cancer had higher TNF production but lower PGE2 production of monocytes, and vice versa.