Radiotherapy-induced early change in lymphocyte subset counts in patients with recurrent or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma.
Keywords:
cancer immunotherapy, radiotherapy, lymphopenia, immunomodulatory effectAbstract
Background: In addition to the direct effects of radiation therapy on cancer, the subsequent immune response activates the immune system.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate early changes in a subset of peripheral blood lymphocytes in patients with recurrent or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after radiation therapy.
Materials and methods: Lymphocyte subset analysis of seven consecutive patients with recurrent or metastatic HCC was performed at two time points: immediately before and two weeks after the start of radiation therapy.
Results: Absolute lymphocyte counts decreased two weeks after the start of radiation therapy, but the percentage of CD4+ lymphocytes increased from 30.5 +/- 5.4% before radiation therapy to 42.0 +/- 5.3% two weeks after the start of radiation therapy (p<0.01). The CD4+/CD8+ ratio increased significantly from 0.88 +/- 0.32 before radiation therapy to 1.45 +/- 0.62 two weeks after the start of radiation therapy (p=0.02).
Conclusion: This is the first report of recurrent or metastatic HCC that radiation therapy induces CD4+ T lymphocytes and increases the CD4+/CD8+ ratio in two weeks. Understanding the lymphocyte subset changes two weeks after the start of radiation therapy may help in developing treatment strategies for recurrent or metastatic HCC.
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