Abstract
The objective of this study was to predict the value of lymphocyte subsets in cancer progression. Peripheral blood was obtained from 327 untreated patients with cancer and 158 healthy volunteers. Levels of lymphocyte subsets were determined by flow cytometry. There were decreased levels of natural killer (NK) cells, CD8+ T cells, and naïve CD4+/CD4+ T cells in untreated patients with cancer compared to those in healthy controls. Inversely, there were elevated levels of the following T‐cell percentages in cancer patients compared to those in healthy controls: memory CD4+/CD4+, CD8+ T cells, HLA‐DR/CD8+, CD8+ CD38+/CD8+, and CD4+/CD8+. In addition, there are a decreasing trend in terms of CD4+ T‐cell counts and an increase CD8+ HLA‐DR/CD8+ T‐cell and CD8+ CD38+/CD8+ T‐cell percentages in the advanced stage. An increasing trend with advanced tumor stage and the percentages of CD8+ HLA‐DR/CD8+ T cells and CD8+ CD38+/CD8+ T cells was shown in this study. There are a negative correlation for CD4+ T‐cell counts and positive correlation for percentages of CD8+ HLA‐DR/CD8+ T cell and CD8+ CD38+/CD8+ T cells with the lymph node metastasis. In the presence of distant metastatic spread, we observed higher NK‐cell counts, CD8+ HLA‐DR/CD8+ T‐cell percentages, CD8+ CD38+/CD8+ T‐cell percentages, as well as lower CD4+ T‐cell counts than those in the absence of distant metastases spread. Abnormal levels of NK cell, CD8+ T cells, memory CD4+/CD4+, naïve CD4+/ CD4+, CD8+ HLA‐DR/CD8+, CD8+ CD38+/CD8+, and CD4+/CD8+ can be a potential blood biomarkers of cancer development. CD4+ T‐cell counts and percentages of CD8+ HLA‐DR/ CD8+ and CD8+ CD38+/ CD8+ can predict the cancer progression.
Highlights
The global burden of cancer continues to significantly increase due to the growth and aging of the worldwide population, as well as the increasing adoption of cancer-causing lifestyle factors such as smoking, poor diet, and sedentary behavior.[1]The tumor microenvironment includes immune cells, tumor cells, and the surrounding stroma.[2]
We demonstrated that decreased levels of natural killer (NK) cells, CD8+ T cells, naïve CD4+/CD4+ T cells, and elevated percentages of the following T cells were associated with cancer incidence: memory CD4+/CD4+, CD8+ HLA-DR+/ CD8+, CD8+ CD38+/CD8+, and CD4+/CD8+
CD4+ T-cell counts, and percentages of CD8+ HLA-DR/CD8+, CD8+ CD38+/CD8+ are associated with the cancer progression. This is the first study to investigate the predictive value of lymphocyte subsets in untreated patients with cancer
Summary
The global burden of cancer continues to significantly increase due to the growth and aging of the worldwide population, as well as the increasing adoption of cancer-causing lifestyle factors such as smoking, poor diet, and sedentary behavior.[1]. Recent studies have indicated that lymphocyte subsets are related to gender, age, and disease stage in cancer patients.[10,11] Levels of lymphocyte subsets differ significantly by gender. The aim of our study was to evaluate potential blood biomarkers of T-cell subsets in cancer disease progression and the clinical response to immune therapy, and the relationships between these levels and clinicopathological parameters in untreated cancer patients. These potential biomarkers might contribute to immune dysfunction in untreated cancer patients
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