Th1/Th2 balance: the hypothesis, its limitations, and implications for health and disease.
Kidd P.
Altern Med Rev. 2003 Aug;8(3):223-46. Review.
PMID: 12946237
Th1 pathways typically produce activation
of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (Tc), NK cells,
macrophages, and monocytes, all of which can
attack cancer cells and generally defend against
tumors.55 IFN-gamma and other Th1 cytokines are
typically lower in advanced cancer patients, while
the Th2 marker IL-4 can be higher or unchanged
Traditional Chinese medicine Astragalus reverses predominance of Th2 cytokines and their up-stream transcript factors in lung cancer patients.
Wei H, Sun R, Xiao W, Feng J, Zhen C, Xu X, Tian Z.
Oncol Rep. 2003 Sep-Oct;10(5):1507-12.
PMID: 12883732
The inflammatory Th 17 subset in immunity against self and non-self antigens.
Jin D, Zhang L, Zheng J, Zhao Y.
Autoimmunity. 2008 Mar;41(2):154-62. Review.
PMID: 18324485
DOI: 10.1080/08916930701776605
Interleukin 2-mediated conversion of ovarian cancer-associated CD4+ regulatory T cells into proinflammatory interleukin 17-producing helper T cells.
Leveque L, Deknuydt F, Bioley G, Old LJ, Matsuzaki J, Odunsi K, Ayyoub M, Valmori D.
J Immunother. 2009 Feb-Mar;32(2):101-8.
PMID: 19238008
doi: 10.1097/CJI.0b013e318195b59e
Thus, although the impact of TH17 cells on the evolution of EOC remains to be established, our data suggest that local IL-2 treatment in ovarian cancer may result in the conversion of tumor-associated Treg into TH17 cells, relieve Treg-mediated suppression, and contribute to enhance antitumor immunity.
T-helper/T-regulator lymphocyte ratio as a new immunobiological index to quantify the anticancer immune status in cancer patients.
Brivio F, Fumagalli L, Parolini D, Messina G, Rovelli F, Rescaldani R, Vigore L, Vezzo R, Vaghi M, Di Bella S, Lissoni P.
In Vivo. 2008 Sep-Oct;22(5):647-50.
PMID: 18853761
RESULTS: The mean TH/TR ratio observed in patients with metasytases was significantly lower with respect to that found in both patients without metastases and controls. On the contrary, the absolute mean number of T-reg cells was higher in patients with metastases than in those without, but the difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The evaluation of T-reg cells in terms of their proportion with respect to T-helper cell total number seems to be more appropriate than the simple measurement of their absolute count, in order to quantify cancer-related immunosuppression. Thus, the TH/TR ratio could represent a useful biological marker to explore the immune status of cancer patients.
Molecular immunological approaches to biotherapy of human cancers--a review, hypothesis and implications.
Becker Y.
Anticancer Res. 2006 Mar-Apr;26(2A):1113-34. Review.
PMID: 16619514