Role of Interleukin-7 in the Development of and Recovery from Radiation-Induced Lymphopenia: A Post-hoc Analysis of a Prospective Cohort / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지
Cancer Research and Treatment
; : 962-972, 2021.
Article
in En
| WPRIM
| ID: wpr-913807
Responsible library:
WPRO
ABSTRACT
Purpose@#Radiation-induced lymphopenia is associated with worse outcomes in solid tumors. We assessed the impact of interleukin-7 (IL-7), a key cytokine in lymphocyte homeostasis, on radiation-induced lymphopenia. @*Materials and Methods@#A post-hoc analysis was performed in a prospective cohort of 98 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who were treated with radiotherapy in 2016-2018. Blood IL-7 levels were assayed before and at the end of radiotherapy. Acute severe lymphopenia (ASL) was defined as a total lymphocyte count of < 200/μL during radiotherapy. Cox and logistic regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of survival and ASL development, respectively. @*Results@#Patients with ASL (n=41) had significantly poorer overall survival than those without (12.0 months vs. 25.3 months, p=0.001). Patients with lymphocyte recovery showed significantly longer overall survival than those without (21.8 months vs. 10.3 months, p=0.042). ASL was an independent predictor of poor survival (hazard ratio, 2.07; p=0.015). Patients with ASL had significantly lower pre-radiotherapy IL-7 levels (2.07 pg/mL vs. 3.01 pg/mL, p=0.010). A high pre-radiotherapy IL-7 level was an independent predictor of a reduced risk of ASL development (hazard ratio, 0.40; p=0.004). IL-7 levels reflected a feedback response to ASL, with a higher ΔIL-7 in patients with ASL and a lower ΔIL-7 in those without ASL (0.48 pg/mL vs. –0.66 pg/mL, p < 0.001). Post-radiotherapy IL-7 levels were significantly positively correlated with the total lymphocyte counts at 2 months. @*Conclusion@#IL-7 is associated with the development of and recovery from ASL, which may impact survival. To overcome radiation-induced lymphopenia, a novel strategy using IL-7 may be considered.
Full text:
1
Database:
WPRIM
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
Language:
En
Journal:
Cancer Research and Treatment
Year:
2021
Document type:
Article