Abstract
The objective of this study was to examine variations of T8 lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of patients with ovarian carcinoma after surgical treatment and chemotherapy in relation to clinical response. In a prospective randomized study 30 women with ovarian carcinoma were studied. In the control group 30 patients had benign tumors of ovary. We examined the distribution of T8 lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of women with ovarian carcinoma preoperatively, during chemotherapy and 1 and 3 months postoperatively as well as in the control group. Quantification of suppressor/cytotoxic lymphocytes in peripheral blood was performed using specific monoclonal antibody (anti-T8) and flow cytometry. Values of T8 lymphocytes in the group of patients with complete response, 1 month after operation, were higher (0.67±0.3) compared to the control group (0.53±0.24), but lower in patients with partial response (0.45±0.20) and no effect (0.36±0.1). Three months after the operation, we recorded a decreased number of peripheral T8 lymphocytes in all patients of the examined group, compared to the values after 1 month.