PURPOSE: To investigate the prognostic value of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), especially regulatory T cells (Tregs), in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients after resection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, Foxp3-positive, and granzyme B-positive TILs were assessed by immunohistochemistry in tissue microarrays containing HCC from 302 patients. Prognostic effects of low- or high-density TIL subsets were evaluated by Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analysis using median values as cutoff. RESULTS: CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ TILs were associated with neither overall survival (OS) nor disease-free survival (DFS). The presence of low intratumoral Tregs in combination with high intratumoral activated CD8+ cytotoxic cells (CTLs), a balance toward CTLs, was an independent prognostic factor for both improved DFS (P = .001) and OS (P < .0001). Five-year OS and DFS rates were only 24.1% and 19.8% for the group with intratumoral high Tregs and low activated CTLs, compared with 64.0% and 59.4% for the group with intratumoral low Tregs and high activated CTLs, respectively. Either intratumoral Tregs alone (P = .001) or intratumoral activated CTLs (P = .001) alone is also an independent predictor for OS. In addition, high Tregs density was associated with both absence of tumor encapsulation (P = .032) and presence of tumor vascular invasion (P = .031). CONCLUSION: Tregs are associated with HCC invasiveness, and intratumoral balance of regulatory and cytotoxic T cells is a promising independent predictor for recurrence and survival in HCC. A combination of depletion of Tregs and concomitant stimulation of effector T cells may be an effective immunotherapy to reduce recurrence and prolong survival after surgery.
PURPOSE: To investigate the prognostic value of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), especially regulatory T cells (Tregs), in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients after resection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, Foxp3-positive, and granzyme B-positive TILs were assessed by immunohistochemistry in tissue microarrays containing HCC from 302 patients. Prognostic effects of low- or high-density TIL subsets were evaluated by Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analysis using median values as cutoff. RESULTS: CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ TILs were associated with neither overall survival (OS) nor disease-free survival (DFS). The presence of low intratumoral Tregs in combination with high intratumoral activated CD8+ cytotoxic cells (CTLs), a balance toward CTLs, was an independent prognostic factor for both improved DFS (P = .001) and OS (P < .0001). Five-year OS and DFS rates were only 24.1% and 19.8% for the group with intratumoral high Tregs and low activated CTLs, compared with 64.0% and 59.4% for the group with intratumoral low Tregs and high activated CTLs, respectively. Either intratumoral Tregs alone (P = .001) or intratumoral activated CTLs (P = .001) alone is also an independent predictor for OS. In addition, high Tregs density was associated with both absence of tumor encapsulation (P = .032) and presence of tumor vascular invasion (P = .031). CONCLUSION: Tregs are associated with HCC invasiveness, and intratumoral balance of regulatory and cytotoxic T cells is a promising independent predictor for recurrence and survival in HCC. A combination of depletion of Tregs and concomitant stimulation of effector T cells may be an effective immunotherapy to reduce recurrence and prolong survival after surgery.
Authors: Shona Hendry; Roberto Salgado; Thomas Gevaert; Prudence A Russell; Tom John; Bibhusal Thapa; Michael Christie; Koen van de Vijver; M V Estrada; Paula I Gonzalez-Ericsson; Melinda Sanders; Benjamin Solomon; Cinzia Solinas; Gert G G M Van den Eynden; Yves Allory; Matthias Preusser; Johannes Hainfellner; Giancarlo Pruneri; Andrea Vingiani; Sandra Demaria; Fraser Symmans; Paolo Nuciforo; Laura Comerma; E A Thompson; Sunil Lakhani; Seong-Rim Kim; Stuart Schnitt; Cecile Colpaert; Christos Sotiriou; Stefan J Scherer; Michail Ignatiadis; Sunil Badve; Robert H Pierce; Giuseppe Viale; Nicolas Sirtaine; Frederique Penault-Llorca; Tomohagu Sugie; Susan Fineberg; Soonmyung Paik; Ashok Srinivasan; Andrea Richardson; Yihong Wang; Ewa Chmielik; Jane Brock; Douglas B Johnson; Justin Balko; Stephan Wienert; Veerle Bossuyt; Stefan Michiels; Nils Ternes; Nicole Burchardi; Stephen J Luen; Peter Savas; Frederick Klauschen; Peter H Watson; Brad H Nelson; Carmen Criscitiello; Sandra O'Toole; Denis Larsimont; Roland de Wind; Giuseppe Curigliano; Fabrice André; Magali Lacroix-Triki; Mark van de Vijver; Federico Rojo; Giuseppe Floris; Shahinaz Bedri; Joseph Sparano; David Rimm; Torsten Nielsen; Zuzana Kos; Stephen Hewitt; Baljit Singh; Gelareh Farshid; Sibylle Loibl; Kimberly H Allison; Nadine Tung; Sylvia Adams; Karen Willard-Gallo; Hugo M Horlings; Leena Gandhi; Andre Moreira; Fred Hirsch; Maria V Dieci; Maria Urbanowicz; Iva Brcic; Konstanty Korski; Fabien Gaire; Hartmut Koeppen; Amy Lo; Jennifer Giltnane; Marlon C Rebelatto; Keith E Steele; Jiping Zha; Kenneth Emancipator; Jonathan W Juco; Carsten Denkert; Jorge Reis-Filho; Sherene Loi; Stephen B Fox Journal: Adv Anat Pathol Date: 2017-11 Impact factor: 3.875
Authors: Shawn M Jensen; Christopher G Twitty; Levi D Maston; Paul A Antony; May Lim; Hong-Ming Hu; Ulf Petrausch; Nicholas P Restifo; Bernard A Fox Journal: J Immunol Date: 2012-06-20 Impact factor: 5.422
Authors: Grit S Herter-Sprie; Shohei Koyama; Houari Korideck; Josephine Hai; Jiehui Deng; Yvonne Y Li; Kevin A Buczkowski; Aaron K Grant; Soumya Ullas; Kevin Rhee; Jillian D Cavanaugh; Neermala Poudel Neupane; Camilla L Christensen; Jan M Herter; G Mike Makrigiorgos; F Stephen Hodi; Gordon J Freeman; Glenn Dranoff; Peter S Hammerman; Alec C Kimmelman; Kwok-Kin Wong Journal: JCI Insight Date: 2016-06-16