Pre-and Post-operative T-cell Subset Study on the Splenectomized Gastric Cancer Patients

Park, Jin Woo; Yang, Han Kwang; Kim, Jin Pok

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In gastric cancer surgery, a splenectomy might enhance the radicality of the operation, but, on the other hand, it can alter the immune status of the patients. In the immunological aspect, many studies suggest that a splenectomy is therapeutically effective for stage IV gastric cancer and that the spleen must be preserved for stage I or II disease. However, a splenectomy for stage III gastric cancer is controversial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of splenectomy on the immune status of stage III gastric cancer patients.
METHODS
From 1989 to 1995, a splenectomy was done in 76 patients with stage III gastric cancer at the Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Seoul National University. From the patients treated during this period, we selected 18 patients for a splenectomy group and 18 patients for a non-splenectomy group. T-lymphocyte subset studies were performed pre-and post-operatively in all of these patients. Postoperative PHA stimulation lymphocyte cultures were performed in 10 patients of the splenectomy group and all of the patients in the non-splenectomy group. The postoperative studies were performed at around 2 years after the operations.
RESULTS
In the splenectomy group, the ratio of T4 (helper cell)/T8 (suppressor cell) was significantly decreased after the operation; this may be due to a decrease in the proportion of T4. In the non-splenectomy group, the proportion of T3 was increased significantly after the operation; this may be due to an increase in the proportion of T8. The results of the PHA stimulation lymphocyte cultures did not show significant differences between the 2 groups.
CONCLUSIONS
In stage III gastric cancer, a splenectomy may be detrimental because the effect of the reduction in the proportion of T4 can be somewhat higher than that of T8. Thus, a splenectomy in stage III gastric cancer might lower the patient's postoperative immune status.