Table 2 Identification of eosinophilia in human cancers
Cancer Type | Treatment | Eosinophil localization | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
Colonic epithelial neoplasms [48] | Resection | Tumor tissue | Tissue eosinophilia significantly identified in adenomas was not found in invasive carcinomas. |
Cutaneous T Cell Lymphoma (CTCL)[49] | Physical exam and blood draw | Blood | Patients in the late stages of CTCL were found to have significantly elevated IgE levels and eosinophilia. |
Gastric cancer [50] | Gastrectomy with lymph node dissection without preoperative irradiation and immunochemotherapy | Blood, tumor tissue | Tissue eosinophilia was significantly associated with poorly differentiated tumors and increased patient survival. The degree of eosinophilic infiltration into tumors correlated with blood eosinophilia. |
Hodgkin's disease [51] | Chemotherapy and/or radiation | Diagnostic lymph nodes | Clinical outcome was significantly worse for patients with tissue eosinophilia |
Malignant glioma [52] | IL-2 combined with ex vivo activated autologous killer cells was infused via an indwelling catheter placed into the surgical resection cavity. | Intracavitary fluid, inracavitary tissue, cerebral spinal fluid | Immunotherapy induced eosinophilia in the intracavitary fluid, tissue, and cerebral spinal fluid. Identified eosinophilia appeared to correlate with longer patient survival. |
Non-hematological cancers that had either failed conventional therapy or for which no standard therapy exists [53] | Simultaneous subcutaneous injections of IL-2 and IL-4 were given 5 days a week for 3 consecutive weeks followed by a 1 week rest period = 1 cycle. | Blood samples were drawn before the start of therapy and at the completion of each cycle of treatment. | Eosinophilia of unknown significance occurred in all patients and was generally highest when measured on the fifth day of the third treatment week. |
Oral squamous cell carcinoma [54] | Resection | Tumor tissue of the oral tongue, floor of the mouth, retromolar area and inferior gingiva | Tissue eosinophilia may represent a favorable prognostic factor in clinical stage II and III oral squamous cell carcinomas from the floor of the mouth, oral tongue, retromolar area, and inferior gingiva. |
Penile cancer [55] | Partial penectomy, circumcision, lymphadenectomy and/or irradiation depending upon staging | Tumor tissue | Penile cancer patients with tissue eosinophilia tended to live longer. Eosinophils were identified at a higher rate in stages I and II than in stages III and IV. |
Renal cell carcinoma [56] | IL-2 was given subcutaneously for 5 days per week, together with interferon-alpha by intramuscular route twice weekly, for 4 consecutive weeks corresponding to one treatment cycle. | Blood | Pre-treatment and post-treatment eosinophilia was a predictive indicator of immunotherapy failure. |
Uterine cervix carcinoma [57] | Hysterectomy | Tumor tissue | Eosinophilia was associated with statistically improved survival in women with stage IB cervical carcinomas. |