Neutrophil function in cured cancer patients

Spontaneous and endotoxin-stimulated nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) dye reduction was evaluated in 86 individuals cured of various types of solid malignancies and in 55 healthy adults. Oxygen consumption tests, at rest and during phagocytosis, were performed with polymorphonuclear leukocytes of 22 patients and 10 controls, chosen at random. The results revealed an impaired capacity of patients' neutrophils to reduce NBT. The decrease in the stimulated reduction values was more pronounced (p less than 0.0005) than in spontaneous values (p less than 0.01), and was also noticed in patients who had been treated by surgery alone and in those with a disease-free interval of 10 years or more. Oxygen consumption by patients' leukocytes was similar to that of controls. The present results, especially those of the endotoxin-stimulated NBT test, might reflect a neutrophil dysfunction in cured cancer patients. The nature of such an abnormality and its possible clinical implication are still obscure.