Effects of Chemotherapy with Dexamethasone on Cell Immune Function in Patients with Malignant Tumor

Objective To observe the change of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets of the inpatients with malignant tumor before and after chemotherapy with dexamethasone and chemotherapy and its clinical significance. Methods Seventy - six patients were divided into two groups: thirty cases were treated with chemotherapy and dexamethesone, and fouty - six cases with chemotherapy. Lymphocyte subsets and its activity were determined by Flow Cytometry in these two groups before and after treatment. Results In the group of chemotherapy with dexamethasone, the difference of CD8+ and NK cells level decreased significantly(P 0.01) ,and the difference of CD3+ and CD4+ cells level had no change ( P 0,05) . Conclusion Dexamethasone enhances the suppression of cell immune function in patients with malignant tumor treated by chemotherapy.