Blood albumin alterations and lymphocyte populations in advanced cancer patients

Objective: Patients with cancer (namely advanced cancer) exhibit poorly functionating immune system. It is now widely accepted that dynamics of changes, along the certain types of alterations in structures of lipid/protein themselves of immune system cells and blood plasma, plays a critical role in the maintenance of the immune status of organism. Biomarkers for prediction of disease outcome are of great interest in human medicine. Methods: The fluorescent probe ABM was used to characterize lymphocyte membranes and blood plasma albumin of cancer patients suffering from advanced cancer with wide metastasis and intoxication. The aim of these studies was to evaluate the potential applicability of measures of ABM fluorescence intensity as a standard tool in the analyses of host immune status and for a clinical interpretation of alterations in albumin per se and in lymphocyte functional activity in cancer patients receiving palliative care. We registered probe ABM spectral parameters in patients‟ lymphocytes and blood plasma, and ABM auto-fluorescence in plasma. Results: The fluorescence intensity of ABM in blood plasma and lymphocyte suspension differed from control values and showed specific differences in patient groups in accordance (correlation) with survival rate. A significant decrease in ABM fluorescence in plasma could be explained, in part, by a diminished binding capacity of the albumin of these patients. The lymphocyte distribution among the subsets of patients also differed. Interestingly, the ABM fluorescence in the cell suspension and blood plasma was also found to correlate with selected immunological parameters (CD4 + :CD8 + ratios, lymphocyte counts, etc.). Conclusion: Results strongly correlated with changes in ABM spectral characteristics and both clinical and pathological estimates of patient immune state. ABM spectroscopy appears to be useful for clinicians to monitor the course of certain diseases (e.g., gastrointestinal cancers).