Impact of smoking on the immunological profile of patients with laryngeal carcinoma

Immunity plays an important role in the prognosis and the natural development of cancer. Previous studies have shown that the presence of tumor in the body could modify the immune response leading to immunosuppression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the immunological changes of patients with larynx squamous cell carcinoma undergoing potentially curative surgery. We assessed the serum levels of cytokines (IL–1, IL–2, IL–4, IL–6, IL–8, IL–10, IFN–gamma, TNF–alpha, GM–CSF), chemokines (MCP–1 and MIP–1alpha) and growth factors (VEGF and bFGF) in laryngeal cancer patients before, during and after surgery. We have used a novel multianalyte XMap profiling technology that allows simultaneous measurement of multiple parameters in small volumes of samples. To investigate the changes in immune mediators ' profile induced by tumor resection, we assessed the culture supernatants of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) derived from the patients, before and after surgery. The results suggested a predominance of a Th2 type of immune response associated with the presence of the tumor (especially in the case of heavy smokers who smoke more than 40 pack–years). However, shifts towards a Th1 type of immune response as well as an improvement of monocyte functions were noticed after surgery.