Abstract

The present study aimed to identify the influence of the mind on specific anti-tumor immunity of cancer patients. The study involved 90 cancer patients (78 women and 12 men) with 18 various types of cancer. The presence of psychogenic medical history before diagnosis of cancer was the basic criterion of cancer patients selection for this study. The psychometric parameters, quality of life, delayed-type hypersensitivity skin reaction on the tumor-associated antigens of human melanoma cell line BRO, cytokines (30 Plex) in native plasma and 24 h blood supernatants were investigated before and after psycho-correction. The delayed-type hypersensitivity skin reaction onthe tumor-associated antigens in all cancer patients significantly increased (p= 0.0001) after elimination of psycho-emotional disorders by psychotropic drugs. In this case, there were no detected reliable changes in the concentrations of cytokines. The described newpathophysiological phenomenon consists in a spontaneous (non-immunogenic) increase of specific anti-tumor activity of the immune system of cancer patients who coped effectively with psycho-emotional disorders.

Key words: Cancer patients, specific anti-tumor immunity, delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction, psychogenic medical history, psycho-emotional disorders.

Abbreviation

Abbreviations: TAA, Tumor-associated antigens; DTH, delayed type hypersensitivity; IL, interleukin.