[Significance off the immunological status for the disease prognosis of oncological patients]

The importance of immune response indices in tumor patients is discussed on the basis of literature data and the author's findings. Although a correlation between clinical course of malignant disease and the patient's immunocompetence was established, the relationship of immune response indices and clinical TNM staging is not stable. Reasons are given for introducing U-criterion of immune response evaluation into TNM classification. The relationship between immune response in cancer patients and type of therapy as well as the practical importance of this parameter are discussed.