Hsia Jiun-Yi, Chen Jung-Ta, Chen Chih-Yi, Hsu Chung-Ping, Miaw Jen, Huang Yu-Shan, Yang Chiou-Ying
Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan.
Chang Gung Med J. 2005 May;28(5):335-40.
Natural killer (NK) cells are important effector cells in the defense against tumors. The present study retrospectively examines the intratumoral NK cells in primary resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and the correlation between the patient' outcome and the intratumoral NK cells infiltration.
Immunohistochemistry was used to analyze the intratumoral NK cell infiltration in 38 archival specimens from patients with primary resected ESCC.
According to the cut-off point of the staining for intratumoral NK cell infiltration, 14 (37%) cases had high level infiltration and 24 (63%) low. The 5-year survival of patients with high level NK infiltration was significantly better than that of patients with a low level of NK infiltration (p < 0.01). Multivariate analysis did not show NK cell infiltration to be a significant prognostic factor.
Intratumoral NK cell infiltration is associated with a favorable outcome in ESCC. Intratumoral NK cell infiltration might be used as a variable with prognostic value in primary resected ESCC.
自然杀伤（NK）细胞是抵御肿瘤的重要效应细胞。本研究回顾性分析了原发性食管鳞状细胞癌（ESCC）手术切除标本中的肿瘤内NK细胞，以及患者预后与肿瘤内NK细胞浸润之间的相关性。
采用免疫组织化学法分析38例原发性ESCC手术切除患者存档标本中的肿瘤内NK细胞浸润情况。
根据肿瘤内NK细胞浸润染色的截断点，14例（37%）为高水平浸润，24例（63%）为低水平浸润。NK浸润水平高的患者5年生存率显著高于NK浸润水平低的患者（p < 0.01）。多因素分析显示NK细胞浸润不是一个显著的预后因素。
肿瘤内NK细胞浸润与ESCC的良好预后相关。肿瘤内NK细胞浸润可能作为原发性ESCC手术切除患者的一个具有预后价值的变量。
