DECREASED SERUM TRYPTOPHAN IN PATIENTS WITH CANCER CACHEXIA CORRELATES WITH INCREASED SERUM NEOPTERIN

We investigated serum tryptophan (Trp), neopterin (NPT) and immunosuppressive acidic protein (IAP), one of tumor-associated tumor marker, concentrations in 28 patients with gastrointestinal tumors representing cancer cachexia and 10 healthy controls. NPT comes from activated macrophages presumably activated by tumor-sensitized T cells via gamma-interfron (IFN-gamma) excitation of the macrophages. We found that the NPT level was significantly higher than the control value. The negative correlation of NPT and tip concentrations indicates activity of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase(IDO), a Trp degradating enzyme, in cancer-burden patients. The activity of IDO can be induced by cytokines such as IFN-gamma, and therefore low Trp levels may, result from endogenous IFN-gamma production due to immune activation against tumors. We also found a positive correlation between NPT and IAP levels, suggesting that host immune activation against tumors played a role in the immunosuppression of cancer-burden states, followed by cancer-cachexia.