T-lymphocyte levels in the peripheral blood of patients with cancer of the head and neck.

Percentage and levels of circulating T-lymphocytes were studied in forty-six patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck before and/or after treatment and compared with control values obtained in fifty-one healthy volunteers. Mean percentages of circulating T-cells and mean T-cell levels in cancer patients prior to treatment were significantly lower than control values. After surgery or radiation therapy the mean percentage of T-cells remained lower in comparison with that of the controls whereas T-cell levels in patients evaluated after surgical treatment increased in comparison with pretreatment values and were not significantly different from those of the controls.