Preoperative rIL-2 treatment in renal cancer: Early and late effects on lymphocyte subsets and proliferation, NK activity, IL-6 in vivo and in vitro production

The aim of this study is the evaluation of the immune state of 11 operable subjects with renal cancer in I and II Robson stage, preoperatively treated or not with 9,000,000 IU twice daily rIL-2, for 3 consecutive days before surgery: This was done by assessing baseline early (3rd day) and late (60th day) postoperative values of the following: percentage of circulating CD16 and CD57 lymphocytes; baseline and PHA-stimulated proliferative lymphocyte ability; production of systemic IL-6; and, spontaneous and LPS-stimulated monocyte production of IL-6. Those values were compared with the values obtained in 11 healthy subjects. Patients with renal cell cancer versus healthy subjects show the following at baseline: reduced spontaneous and stimulated proliferative PBMC ability; increased serum levels of IL-6; increased baseline monocyte production of IL-6: reduced monocyte ability of producing IL-6 after stimulation with IFS (ail statistically significant). The preoperative treatment with IL-2 induces the following effects: significant CD16 percentage increase; significant increase in the spontaneous (vs. baseline) and stimulated (vs. non-treated) lymphocyte proliferative ability, even at 60 days; significant reduction of the serum levels of IL-6 up to values overlapping those of the healthy subjects, even at 60 days; significant increase in the monocyte ability of producing IL-6 after stimulation with IFS, even al 60 days. The treatment is well tolerated and appears lo be capable of restoring the cytotoxic functions and repairing the systemic alterations in the production of cytokines, even al a long interval after surgery.