Interleukin 2 activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with gynecologic malignancies.

We studied production of, absorption of and response to interleukin 2 (IL-2) by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 66 patients with gynecologic malignancies, in addition to measurement of the OKT 4/OKT 8 cell ratio. Patients with benign tumor served as controls. The OKT 4/OKT 8 cell ratio in patients with advanced (but not early) gynecologic malignancies was significantly lower than that in patients with benign tumor. PBMC from advanced cancer patients activated with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) had significantly lower IL-2 production compared to that from patients with benign tumors, while significant changes in their ability to respond to IL-2 and to absorb IL-2 were not observed. Absolute numbers of OKT 8 positive cells in PBMC of patients with good prognosis were significantly decreased after surgery and chemotherapy, while those of OKT 4 positive cells remained unchanged. Although IL-2 production in PBMC of patients with good prognosis was significantly elevated after chemotherapy, that in PBMC of patients with poor prognosis declined to about a half of pre-operative levels. The ability of PBMC to respond to IL-2 was significantly elevated not only in patients with good prognosis but also in patients with poor prognosis after termination of chemotherapy. On the other hand, the ability of PBMC to absorb IL-2 remained unchanged during the course of treatment. These findings may contribute to the understanding of tumor-induced immune suppression.