Change of the peripheral blood immune pattern and its correlation with prognosis in patients with liver cancer treated by sorafenib.
OBJECTIVE
To study the change of the peripheral blood immune pattern and its correlation with prognosis in patients with liver cancer after treated by sorafenib.


METHODS
Patients with advanced liver cancer admitted in our hospital were enrolled and treated with sorafenib. After two months of the treatment, their peripheral blood was collected. The immune cell subset and cytokines level were determined by flow cytometry and luminex technology. According to the reaction expressed by patients towards sorafenib, patients were divided into the response group and the no response group. The changes of the peripheral blood immune pattern and its correlation with prognosis of patients in the two groups were compared.


RESULTS
Before and after treatment of sorafenib, there was no significant difference in the ratios of T cells, NK cells and their subtypes in peripheral blood of patients between the two groups; while after treatment the ratio of B cells and regulatory B cells (Breg) of patients in the response group was significant higher than that of the no response group (P < 0.05), and the prognosis conditions of patients with decreased ratio of Breg cells were better than other patients after undergoing chemotherapy. The levels of plasma cytokines IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL17, FIL-3L, IFN-γ, TNF-α, MCP-1 and VEGF showed no significant differences.


CONCLUSIONS
After treatment of sorafenib, the prognosis conditions of patients of advanced liver cancer with a reduced Breg ratio are better than patients with an unaltered or increased Breg ratio. The ratio of Breg in peripheral blood may be considered as early biological indicator for the prediction of the curative effects of sorafenib.
Tumor Laboratory, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Jianghan University, Wuhan, 430050, Hubei, China.
Chang-Jiang
CJ
Lei
Geriatric Department, the Central Hospital of Wuhan, Wuhan, 430014, Hubei, China.
Jia-Ni
JN
Liu
Tumor Laboratory, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Jianghan University, Wuhan, 430050, Hubei, China.
Rong
R
Wu
Oncology Department, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Jianghan University, Wuhan, 430050, Hubei, China. Electronic address: hkfc98@tom.com.
Zhi-Xiong
ZX
Long
Oncology Department, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Jianghan University, Wuhan, 430050, Hubei, China.
Jiang-Zhou
JZ
Zhang
Oncology Department, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Jianghan University, Wuhan, 430050, Hubei, China.
Dan
D
Tao
Oncology Department, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Jianghan University, Wuhan, 430050, Hubei, China.
Yan-Ping
YP
Liu
Chemotherapy; Liver cancer; Prognosis; Regulatory B cells; Sorafenib