The Immunomadulation of Interleukin-2 in Patients with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma During Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy

Objective To observe the immunomadulation of IL-2 in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma during neo-adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy.Methods From July 1994 to October 1996,62 patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma were randomly divided into 2 groups.In group Ⅰ,32 patients were treated with combination of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy,radiotherapy,and IL-2.And in group Ⅱ,30 patients were treated only with combination of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy.Results The immunological functions of all patients were decreased before treatments.In group Ⅰ,the immunological functions improved after treatment with IL-2 and neo-adjuvant chemotherapy,the vigor of NK cells,the rate of OKT 4,and the amount of OKT 4/OKT 8 were significantly increased( P 0.05).And the immunological functions were not changed obviously following radiotherapy.However in group Ⅱ,they were not changed obviously after lone neo-adjuvant chemotherapy.And then following treatment with lone radiotherapy,most of them were decreased continuously,especially for the vigor of NK cells and the rate of OKT 3 or OKT 4.Conclusion IL-2 can actively protect and improve the immunological functions of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma during chemotherapy and radiotherapy.