Immunosuppressive acidic protein (IAP) in gastric cancer patients.

Immunosuppressive acidic protein (IAP) in the serum from peripheral, splenic and regional venous blood of gastric cancer patients was assayed. Peripheral venous blood was collected before, and for several months after the surgery. The IAP values of peripheral venous blood, increased with advancing cancer stage; in patients at the same cancer stage, the IAP values of venous blood draining from the cancer lesion were the highest. In curatively operated patients, the IAP values increased during the first postoperative month and decreased thereafter. In patients with non-resectable cancer and in patients subjected to palliative surgery, these values remained high; they increased sharply just before death. Determination of the serum IAP values in gastric cancer patients may be useful in estimating the immunological state of gastric cancer patients and for monitoring the postoperative immunological status.