Abstract
Evidence had been presented for the value of immunotherapy in the treatment of malignant prostate tumors. The palliative effects of estrogen therapy may be lessened by a reduction in the patient's immunologic response. Estrogen may affect the proliferation and differentiation of thymus-dependent lymphocytes into effector lymphoctyes. Suppression of phytohemagglutinin-induced blastogenesis was observed after estrogen therapy. Peripheral blood lymphocytes, cultured on autologous serum from patients with other malignant diseases who were taking estrogen, showed similar suppression. A better clinical response and increased survival, after cryosurgical ablation of prostate tumors, has been obtained in patients who did not have hormonal therapy. This result implies that alterations of the endocrine environment have effects on immunologic responsiveness.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1082-1084 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Canadian Medical Association journal |
| Volume | 115 |
| Issue number | 11 |
| State | Published - Dec 4 1976 |
| Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine