Moreover, an important aspect of the present study was that baseline pretreatment measurements of IL-2, IFN-γ, and GM-CSF serum levels, as well as NK and LAK cell cytotoxicity were depressed in patients (either in the paclitaxel or docetaxel group) compared to healthy normal blood donors, indicating impaired immunity at the start of treatment, a finding that is consistent to those regarding other tumour types investigated by our group in the past, such as colon cancer, melanoma and renal–cell carcinoma. This evidence concerns the gene IL2 and colonic neoplasm.