title: Regulatory T cells in malignant pleural effusions subsequent to lung carcinoma and their impact on the course of the disease.
abstract: Tumors exert suppressive effects on the host immune system and tumor progression can be linked to functional impairments of immune cells. Regulatory T cells (Treg) are a subpopulation of T lymphocytes and play a key role in suppressing immune responses against autoimmune diseases and cancer. The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of Treg in malignant and benign pleural effusions and to evaluate the relationship between Treg frequency and disease advance. Pleural effusions from 76 patients were subjected to a routine laboratory diagnosis and analyzed by conventional cytology. Biological materials were divided into three groups: malignant pleural effusions with malignant cells, effusions from patients with malignancy but without malignant cells, and non-malignant pleural effusions. The frequency of Treg in malignant pleural effusions was significantly higher compared to non-malignant effusions. In general, the increase in Treg frequency was correlated with a decrease in the percentage of lymphocytes and an increase in T CD4+ and T CD4+ CD25+ cells. The highest percentage of Treg was observed among patients with the most advanced clinical stage of lung cancer in terms of size and location of a primary tumor, T4. A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed a statistically significant trend towards an adverse outcome for patients representing higher Treg counts. Overall, our results support the extraordinary potential of Treg control in future anticancer therapy.
authors: Department of Histology and Embryology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Budna
authors: Department of Oncology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors: Ł
authors: Ł
authors: Spychalski
authors: Department of Clinical Immunology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland. Electronic address: markacz@ump.edu.pl.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Kaczmarek
authors: Department of Clinical Immunology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Frydrychowicz
authors: Department of Pulmonology, Allergology and Respiratory Oncology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Goździk-Spychalska
authors: Department of Pulmonology, Allergology and Respiratory Oncology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors: H
authors: H
authors: Batura-Gabryel
authors: Department of Clinical Immunology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Sikora
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008297:Male; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016066:Pleural Effusion, Malignant / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D047368:Tumor Burden
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Clinical course of the disease; Lung cancer; Malignant pleural effusions; Treg