Abrogation of suppressor cells activity by cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (CDDP) treatment using therapeutic doses in ovarian cancer patients.

We examined the activity of natural killer (NK) cells and suppressor cells and the population of peripheral blood lymphocytes before and after cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (CDDP) treatment using therapeutic doses in 15 ovarian cancer patients. CDDP did not decrease NK cell activity but selectively abrogated suppressor cell activity up to 7 days after treatment (P < 0.05). The CD56+CD16+ cell and CD8+CD11+ T cell populations significantly decreased; however, the CD4+2H4+ T cells, showed a significant increase after treatment (P < 0.05). We conclude that CDDP treatment using therapeutic doses could selectively abrogate suppressor cell activity.