Clinical significance of the proportion of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in peripheral blood of hepatocellular carcinoma patients: a report of 117 cases

• Published in: Ai zheng = Aizheng = Chinese journal of cancer Vol. 26; no. 7; p. 748
• Main Authors: Peng, Qi-Quan, Li, Sheng-Ping, Xu, Li, Li, Jin-Qing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Chinese
• Published: China 01.07.2007
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - immunology; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - pathology; CD4 Antigens - immunology; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit - immunology; Liver Neoplasms - immunology; Liver Neoplasms - pathology; Male; Middle Aged; Survival Rate; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - cytology; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - immunology

CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (Treg) cells, a subset of T cells, can suppress immune responses. Recent studies showed that Treg cells may significantly suppress immune responses, and lead to immune tolerance of tumor cells. However, the clinical significance of Treg cells in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still unclear. This study was to investigate the correlations of the proportion of Treg cells in peripheral blood to clinical characteristics and prognosis of HCC. The proportion of Treg cells in peripheral blood of 117 HCC patients, who underwent radical resection in Cancer Center of Sun Yat-sen University from Jan. 1999 through Dec. 2000, was detected by flow cytometry before operation. The proportion of Treg cells in peripheral blood of 40 healthy blood donors was detected as control. All the patients had been followed up till Dec. 30th, 2005. The correlations of Treg cell proportion to clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis of HCC were analyzed. The proportion of Treg cells in peripheral blood was s