Alterations in the peripheral blood lymphocyte CD25 and Ki67 indices in renal cell carcinoma and their significance: a preliminary study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To investigate pre- and postoperative expression and alterations in the indices of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) CD25 and Ki67 in 32 patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who underwent unilateral radical nephrectomy. We investigated the relationship between the above parameters in PBL and CD8+Ki67+ T cells infiltrated in tumor cells.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Blood samples were collected preoperatively and on postoperative day 7 (POD7). The PBL CD25 and Ki67 indices were detected by flow cytometry in 32 patients with RCC and in 16 healthy individuals. We conducted double immunohistochemistry for CD8 and Ki67 in tumoral, peritumoral and normal kidney tissues.

RESULTS

The PBL CD25 and Ki67 indices on POD7 were higher than their preoperative levels (CD25: 21.37 +/- 4.66 vs. 20.30 +/- 6.23%; Ki67: 21.92 +/- 16.08 vs. 17.05 +/- 9.87%), with no significance (p = 0.397 and 0.076, respectively). The pre- and postoperative PBL CD25 and Ki67 indices were significantly higher in patients than in the control group (where they were 14.72 +/- 5.40 and 7.50 +/- 5.25, respectively, p < 0.01). A negative correlation was observed between the level of the PBL CD25 index on POD7 and the expression of CD8+Ki67+ T cells infiltrated in tumor cells (r = -0.417 and -0.657, p = 0.017 and 0.000, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The PBL CD25 and Ki67 indices could be useful parameters to evaluate performance status in RCC patients. The data we obtained seemed controversial and puzzling and further investigation is required.