It is well known that cell-mediated immunity is suppressed in patients with neoplastic diseases. We have reported that soluble receptors for interleukin-2 (sIL-2R) and tumor necrosis factor (sTNF-R1) are elevated in the serum of patients with advanced colorectal cancer. The presence of these soluble receptors and immunosuppressive cytokines, including interleukin-10 (IL-10), might be important in the mechanisms of immunosuppression. cis-Diaminedichloroplatinum (cisplatin) has been reported to immunomodulate, especially when used in low dose in combination with 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU). In this study, cisplatin and UFT, a form of uracil and tegafur which is a prodrug of 5-FU, were administered with immunomodulator Polysaccharide K (PSK) to ten patients with colorectal cancer, who showed distant metastasis in the liver or lung, and the serum levels of sIL-2R and sTNF-R1 and the production of gamma-interferon (gamma-INF) and interleukin-10 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells were measured. The serum concentrations of sIL-2R and the production of IL-10 were reduced (p < 0.05) after 2 months of treatment. Thus, this combination appeared to have immunomodulative potential in patients with advanced colorectal cancer.
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Shibata et al. (2002) studied this question.
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