RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The application of biological response modifiers (BRMs) has become the fourth cancer treatment following surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Polysaccharide-peptide (PSP) is a biological response modifier substance playing a special role in cancer treatment, which has been used in the treatment of gastric cancer, lung cancer, esophagual can cer, etc. With good results. OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of PSP on the immune function and quality of life (QOL) in patients receiving chemotherapy for gynecological malignancies. DESIGN: A comparative observation. SETTING: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shanghai Jiaotong University Affiliated First People's Hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Forty patients who had been operated on for gyneco logical malignancies were selected from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shanghai Jiaotong University Affiliated First People's Hospital from June 1999 to December 2002, including 36 cases of ovarian cancer with an average age of 52 years and 4 cases of endometrial cancer with an average age of 54 years. Patients with ovarian or endometrial cancer suffered from no contraindication in chemotherapy postoperatively were enrolled, otherwise were excluded.METHODS: The 40 patients were divided into study group (n=20) and control group (n=20) by matching according to stage and age. In the study group, the patients were treated with PSP capsules in addition to chemotherapy, whereas those in the control group were treated with chemotherapy only. PAC (phenacetin, spirin, caffeine) and MFP (melphalan, 5-fluorouracil, medroxyprogesterone acetate) regimens were adopted for the ovarian cancers and endometrial cancer respectively. The experiment lasted for two months from the beginning of the second course of chemotherapy to the beginning of the fourth one.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The indexes of blood immune function and QOL were observed before and after treatment.RESULTS: All the 40 patients were involved in the analysis of results. ①The average Karnofkky's scores before and after treatment were (84±9.6)and (90±8.6) in the study group (P ＜ 0.05), and (83±9.2), (80±12.8) in the control group (P ＞ 0.05). The average Karnofkky's score was 10 credits higher in the study group than in the control group (P ＜ 0.05). ② The CD4+,CD4+/CD8+ and natural killer cells after treatment in the study group were all obviously higher than those in the control group (28.14±4.10, 0.96±0.17,23.80±4.90; 23.12±3.97, 0.75±0.21, 5.32±3.90) (P ＜ 0.05, 0.01).CONCLUSION: PSP can improve the cellular immunity and QOL of patients with ovarian or endometrial cancers.