T lymphocyte subsets in the peripheral blood of patients with lung carcinoma

Objective To observe the state of cellular immunity of patients with lung carcinoma and the relationship between clinical pathological outcome and T lymphocyte subproportion.Methods Venous blood was obtained from 105 patients with lung carcinoma and 18 healthy volunteers.Percentages of T lymphocyte subsets were measured by flow cytometry.Results Compared to controls,105 patients with lung carcinoma had no significant differences in the percentages of CD_3~+,CD_4~+,CD_8~+ T cells and the CD_4~+/CD_8~+ ratio.Although there was no difference in the percentages of CD_3~+,CD_4~+and CD_8~+ T cells between the stage Ⅰ andⅡ and the controls,However,the patients with advanced carcinoma(stage Ⅲ,Ⅳ,) had significant higher percentages of CD_8~+ T cells and lower CD_4~+ T cells than that of the controls.Conclusion Analysis of T lymphocyte subset can provide useful information on the function of the patients with lung carcinoma.