Research Papers:
The relative change in regulatory T cells / T helper lymphocytes ratio as parameter for prediction of therapy efficacy in metastatic colorectal cancer patients
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Abstract
Tong Xu1, Jiezhen Lu1 and Hanxiang An1
1Department of Medical Oncology, Xiamen Cancer Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China
Correspondence to:
Tong Xu, email: [email protected]
Hanxiang An, email: [email protected]
Keywords: colorectal cancer; regulatory T cells; therapy efficacy; T helper lymphocytes; change
Received: April 26, 2017 Accepted: August 29, 2017 Published: November 21, 2017
ABSTRACT
Purpose: The evaluation of regulatory T (Treg) (CD4+CD25high CD127neg) lymphocyte count with respect to the T helper (TH) (CD4) number has been shown to represent the main immune parameters capable of signifying the functional status of the anticancer immunity in cancer patients. This study is aimed to explore a correlation between therapy efficacy and changes in Treg/TH ratio and other biochemical and haematological parameters in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).
Experimental Design: Measurements of regulatory T cells were performed by flow cytometric analysis pre- and post-therapies in a prospective study.
Results: We investigated levels of Treg/TH ratio in the peripheral blood of 25 mCRC patients pre- and post-chemotherapy ± targeted therapy. There were significant differences in levels of Treg/TH ratio pre- and post-treatments among patients on study, patients with partial response (PR), stable disease (SD) and progressive disease (PD) (P= 0.012, P= 0.011, and P= 0.043, respectively). Moreover, the relative change in Treg/TH ratio showed statistically significant difference among patients with PD as compared to those with PR and SD. Our findings demonstrated a statistically significant strong correlation between the relative change in Treg/TH ratio and therapeutic response. (Spearman’s rho= 0.788/p<0.001).
Conclusions: The monitoring of the relative change in Treg/TH ratio could constitute a promising clinical index for response prediction and a timely change in regimen. Further prospective evaluations of these parameters investigated, particularly their association with overall survival, are warranted.
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