Radiotherapy-induced changes of peripheral blood lymphocyte subpopulations in cervical cancer patients: relationship to clinical response.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the absolute number and percentage of peripheral blood lymphocyte subpopulations positive (+) cells CD8(+), CD8(+)NKG2D(+), CD8(+), Granzyme B(+) (GrB), CD16(+), CD16(+)NKG2D(+), CD56(+) and CD56(+)NKG2D(+) in cervical cancer patients before and after radiotherapy (RT), and to analyze whether their changes are related to the clinical response.


METHODS
Stage IIB - IVA cervical cancer patients received external irradiation and concomitant intracavitary brachytherapy. Blood samples for immunophenotypic analysis by flow cytometry were collected from each patient one day before starting RT and one day after completing RT. Fifteen healthy volunteers served as controls. Surface marker expression and granzyme B positivity were quantified on FACSCalibur flow cytometer.


RESULTS
Unlike their absolute numbers, the percentages of all analyzed lymphocyte subsets of all patients, including those with complete response (CR), were significantly increased (p <0.05) after RT. Only in patients with progressive disease (PD), CD8(+), CD8(+)NKG2D(+), CD16(+) and CD56(+)NKG2D(+) lymphocytes were not significantly increased. In healthy volunteers, the percentage of CD8(+)GrB(+) lymphocytes was lower than in patients after RT, while the percentages of CD56(+) and CD56(+)NKG2D(+) cells were higher than in patients before RT (p <0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Our data indicate that RT, besides its direct cytoreductive effect on tumor cells, may contribute to better immunological control of cervical cancer.
Eric
A
A
Institute of Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia.
Juranic
Z
Z
Tisma
N
N
Plesinac
V
V
Borojevic
N
N
Jovanovic
D
D
Milovanovic
Z
Z
Gavrilovic
D
D
Ilic
B
B
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001918:Brachytherapy; D019002:CD56 Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; D053804:Granzymes / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D008875:Middle Aged; D055655:NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily K / Q000032:analysis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D017452:Receptors, IgG / Q000032:analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*
D019002:CD56 Antigen; C428200:FCGR3B protein, human; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; C527085:KLRK1 protein, human; D055655:NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily K; D017452:Receptors, IgG; C509213:GZMB protein, human; D053804:Granzymes