Table 2. Lymphocyte subsets in patients and healthy donors.
| C | PT | RT | RT+CT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WBCa | 6.9 × 103±0.4 (5.6–10 × 103) | 7 × 103±0.5 (4.5–9.2 × 103) | 5.7 × 103±0.3 (4.1–8.5 × 103) | 4.3 × 103±0.2 (3.2–5.3 × 103) |
| Lymphocyteb | 2 × 103±0.2 (1.1–3 × 103) | 1.9 × 103±0.1 (1.3–2.2 × 103) | 1.7 × 103±0.1 (0.8–3 × 103) | 1.1 × 103±0.1 (0.6–1.7 × 103) |
| CD3+CD4+ c | 858±107 (385–1512) | 782±77 (435–1045) | 625±79 (230–1572) | 336±24 (198–606) |
| CD3+CD8+ d | 371±76 (133–885) | 260±38 (102–399) | 244±32 (95–447) | 311±39 (87–476) |
| CD3−CD56+ e | 160±32 (49–410) | 293±47 (74–462) | 144±23 (10–428) | 84±12 (7.7–150) |
| IFN-γ+NK cell frequencyf | 2.1±0.6 (0.0–6.5) | 6.2±0.8 (2–9.8) | 3.5±0.6 (0.1–10) | 4.4±0.6 (1–11) |
| LUg | 2.6±0.4 (1–6.6) | 13±2.9 (1.9–32.5) | 6.6±1.2 (1.3–19.5) | 4.4±0.6 (0.3–10.4) |
Absolute number (mean±s.e.m.) of WBC, lymphocytes, CD4/CD8T cells, NK cells per microlitre. Frequency of NK cells expressing IFN-γ and NK lytic unit in healthy donors (C) and patient groups before treatment (PT) after radiation therapy (RT) and after radiation+chemotherapy (RT+CT).
The difference between the healthy donors and post-treatment group RT+CT were significant at P⩽ 0.001. The difference between pretreatment and post-RT was significant at P⩽0.05. The difference between PT and RT+CT as well as between RT and RT+CT was significant at P⩽0.001.
The difference between the healthy donors and post-treatment group RT+CT were significant at P⩽0.01. The difference between PT and RT+CT as well as between RT and RT+CT was significant at P⩽0.01.
Healthy donors, PT and RT groups did not differ significantly. All of these groups had significant difference compared to RT+CT (P⩽0.01–0.001).
No significant differences between the patient groups or normal donors.
Elevation in NK cells in PT patients compared to healthy volunteers was significant at P⩽0.05. RT+CT patients had significant decrease compared to healthy donors (P⩽0.05) as well as PT patients (P⩽0.001).
Normal donors had decreased numbers of IFN-γ-positive cells compared to PT (P⩽0.01) as well as RT+CT groups (P⩽0.05). Decrease in RT group compared to PT was also significant (P⩽0.05).
Normal donors had decreased number of lytic units compared to PT and RT groups (P⩽0.01–0.001). Number of lytic units in PT group was elevated compared to RT (P⩽0.05) as well as RT+CT groups (P⩽0.01).