Increased serum concentrations of cholesterol and triglycerides in the progression of breast cancer.

The course of serum concentrations of cholesterol and triglycerides was investigated in patients with advanced breast cancer. The patients studied were divided into two groups according to their clinical status: group-I consisted of 51 patients who already had metastases at the start of the investigation, but progressed further during the time of observation; group-II consisted of 14 patients in remission who experienced recurrence of disease while under observation. In group-I, 28 patients (54.9%) were found to have normal serum triglyceride levels at the beginning of the observation period; 22 patients (78.6%) from this group experienced a significant (P less than 0.0001) increase above the normal range upon further disease progression. Similarly, serum cholesterol levels were normal in 32 patients (62.8%) at the start of the investigation, but increased significantly (P less than 0.0001) above the normal range upon disease progression. In group-II, 8 patients (57.2%) had normal serum triglyceride levels at the beginning of the observation period, but the levels increased in 4 patients (50%) significantly (P less than 0.005) upon the occurrence of metastases. Within the same group, a significant increase (P less than 0.001) of initially normal serum cholesterol levels was found in 4 (44.9%) out of 9 patients. In summary, a rise in serum levels of triglycerides and/or cholesterol should receive increased attention and could indicate progression or recurrence of breast cancer.

Impaired primary, but not secondary, immune response in breast cancer patients under adjuvant chemotherapy.

The antibody response after vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) was studied in patients with breast cancer. Although sex- and age-matched control persons produced high titers of anti-TBE antibodies 2 to 4 weeks after the second of two consecutive vaccinations, patients with breast cancer who were first vaccinated after the start of adjuvant chemotherapy consisting of cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil (CMF) failed to do so. The lack of anti-TBE antibody production was found not only in patients under CMF chemotherapy, but also in those primarily vaccinated 6 to 12 months after the termination of CMF treatment. Patients with breast cancer who had been vaccinated either before or after the onset of disease, but before the initiation of chemotherapy, were shown to have developed significant anti-TBE antibody titers which persisted throughout the course of adjuvant treatment and could be boostered by revaccination during the course of CMF administration. The authors conclude that patients with breast cancer undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy experience a serious and prolonged defect in primary antibody production, whereas secondary immune responses remain unimpaired.