Cytomegalovirus infection in immunocompromised cancer patients: Immunovirological study

Abstract

The present study was conducted to in vestiga te chan_ges in some immunological parameters as a consequence of CMV infection. The study included: 32 leukemic patients, 30 bladd er cancer patients, and 27 apparently healthy normal controls: a ll the groups were further subdivided according to CMV Ab titer into hig h CMV Ab titer(>1 40EA) group, and low CMV Ab titer (<81EA) group.

In addition to anti-CMV IgG Ab by ELlStest for CMV-IgM, antigenemia, DNAem ia (PBL-PCR), and viremia (plasma-PCR) were carried out for all subject groups of leukemias and bladder cancer. But for normal control group antigenemia and viremia were done .

Higher seroprevalence of CMV-Ab titer was observed among elderly(>50 years) leukemic patients as evidenced by 0% incidence of • low CMV Ab titer (<81) , and 100% incidence of high CMV Ab titer(>8 l ), this might be due to disturbed balance between CMV and host immunity.

The seroprevalence of CMV Ab was l 00% among cancer patients (leukemias+bladder cancer) subdivided into groups with high CMV Ab titer (28%, and 63%) for both leukemic and bladder cancer patients respectively, and grou ps with low CMV Ab titer (15.6%, and 6.6%) for the same patients.