Decreased absolute counts of T lymphocyte subsets and their relation to disease in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
OBJECTIVE
Apoptosis of circulating CD8+ T cells seen in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck [SCCHN (Hoffmann T, et al. Clin Cancer Res 2002;8:2553-62)] suggested a possibility of lymphocyte imbalance. Therefore, absolute numbers and percentages of lymphocyte subsets were examined in the peripheral blood of SCCHN patients and controls.


METHODS
Venous blood was obtained from 146 patients with SCCHN and 54 normal volunteers. Absolute numbers of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T lymphocytes were determined using fluorobeads in a flow cytometry-based technique. Percentages of T lymphocyte subsets were also evaluated by flow cytometry. The patients were grouped at the time of blood draw [active versus no evidence of disease (NED), type of therapy administered, and the length of follow-up].


RESULTS
Patients with SCCHN had significantly lower absolute numbers of CD3+ CD4+, and CD8+ T cells than normal controls. However, no differences in the percentages of T-cell subsets between patients and normal controls were observed. Patients with active disease had significantly lower CD3+ and CD4+ T-cell counts than those with NED. Patients who had NED after surgery and radiotherapy had the lowest T-cell counts among the NED cohort. Patients who had NED for >2 years did not recover their T-cell counts, and the T-cell imbalance was evident many years after curative surgery. The tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage or site of the disease was not related to the absolute T-cell count. Patients with recurrent disease at the time of blood draw tended to have the lowest CD4+ T-cell counts.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with SCCHN have altered lymphocyte homeostasis, which persists for months or years after curative therapies.
Kuss
Iris
I
University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and Departments of Pathology and Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
Hathaway
Bridget
B
Ferris
Robert L
RL
Gooding
William
W
Whiteside
Theresa L
TL
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017209:Apoptosis; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000096:biosynthesis; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000096:biosynthesis; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D011878:Radiotherapy; D012044:Regression Analysis; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000166:cytology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D013997:Time Factors
D017252:CD3 Complex; D015704:CD4 Antigens; D016827:CD8 Antigens