Infiltrating CD4/CD8 high T cells shows good prognostic impact in pancreatic cancer.

Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in a certain tumor microenvironment are associated with the prognosis of cancer patients. The function of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the microenvironment of pancreatic cancer remains largely unknown. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of both CD4+ and CD8+ TIL subsets and their combined role in pancreatic cancer. In this study, pancreatic cancer tissues and corresponding adjacent normal tissues were collected from 90 patients. The expression levels of CD4 and CD8+ T cells in pancreatic cancer tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry method. The results showed that CD4+ iTIL expression was significantly correlated with tumor stage. CD8+ iTILs were significantly correlated with lymphatic vessel invasion and tumor stage; CD8+ sTILs not only showed correlation with lymphatic vessel invasion and tumor stage, but also had correlation with pathologic differentiation; the survival time of high CD4 expression group was longer compared to the low CD4 expression group. CD4+ T cells were capable of killing tumor cells and prolonging the survival time of patients either directly or indirectly. According to Cox regression analysis, it was indicated that pathological differentiation, lymphatic vessel invasion, tumor stage, CD4+ and CD8+ TILs were the principle risk factors of pancreatic cancer prognosis. Especially multivariate analysis showed that pathological differentiation and the combination of CD4+ and CD8+ TILs expression were independent predictors of pancreatic cancer survival. Expression levels of CD4+ and CD8+ TILs in pancreatic cancer may provide promising and useful markers for prognosis of pancreatic cancer.

Prognostic significance of CD4 and interleukin-22 expression in pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers. Interleukin-22 (IL-22) is a member of IL-10 cytokine family and primarily produced by Th17 cells which were differentiated from CD4 T cells. CD4 T cells play a central role in regulating the immune response and resisting cancer cells. However, the function of CD4 T cells and Interleukin-22 (IL-22) in the microenvironment of pancreatic cancer remains largely unknown. In the present study, we investigated expression of the IL-22 in tumor cells, CD4 expression in microenvironment of pancreatic cancer and assessed their effects on pathological characteristics and prognosis of pancreatic cancer. To analyze prognostic factors of pancreatic cancer, Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox proportional-hazards regression were applied. Expression of CD4 in pancreatic cancer was associated with pTNM stage (P=0.005). Expression of IL-22 in pancreatic cancer was related not only to pTNM stage (P=0.011) but also to lymph node involvement (P=0.016). Univariate analysis demonstrated that the main prognostic factors of pancreatic cancer are pathological differentiation, expression of low CD4, expression of high IL-22 and the combination of low CD4 expression and high IL-22 expression in pancreatic cancer tissues. Moreover, multivariate analysis clearly showed that pathological differentiation, and the combination of low CD4 expression and high IL-22 expression in pancreatic cancer tissues were independent prognostic factors for overall survival in pancreatic cancer. the present study indicated that CD4 and IL-22 might be used as independent prognostic markers and molecular targets for pancreatic cancer.

Association of the Laennec staging system with degree of cirrhosis, clinical stage and liver function.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the association of the Laennec staging system with degree of cirrhosis, clinical stage and liver function. METHODS: Liver biopsy was performed for 30 patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis to test the content of hydroxyproline in hepatic tissue, judge the degree of cirrhosis and determine the Laennec staging system. The association of the Laennec staging system with the degree of cirrhosis, clinical stage and liver function was compared. RESULTS: The Laennec staging system had a close association with clinical stage, model for end-stage liver disease score and degree of cirrhosis (r = 0.58, p < 0.01; r = 0.60, p < 0.01; r = 0.53, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The Laennec histological grading system can to some extent reflect the degree of cirrhosis, clinical stage and liver function, and is expected to predict the incidence of patient complications in a useful way.