Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,University of Tuebingen, Calwer Straße. 7, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany.
Anticancer Res. 2013 May;33(5):2233-8.
Detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the peripheral blood of patients with primary breast cancer is associated with poor clinical outcome. Recent studies have found evidence for immunological influence on tumor cell dormancy. We therefore investigated the relationship between peripheral T-cells and CTCs, as immunological factors may contribute to the fate of CTCs.
The peripheral blood immune status of 116 patients with primary breast cancer was analyzed by flow cytometry. Results were correlated with the presence of CTCs and clinicopathological parameters of these patients.
Appearance of CTCs was significantly associated with grade III tumors (p<0.05). Interestingly, CTC-positive patients presented with a significant increase of peripheral CD95(FAS)-positive T-helper cells. As immune response is regulated by CD95(APO-1/FAS)-CD95ligand interaction and tumor cells induce apoptosis via the CD95/CD95L (ligand) pathway, this might lead to tumor cell escape by apoptotic T-helper cells.
Absence of T-cell help at the time of priming may result in a loss of long-term antigen-activation of CD8 lymphocytes and could lead to an ineffective anti-tumor cell response. This might contribute to systemic immunosuppression and open the door for tumor cell dormancy.
原发性乳腺癌患者外周血循环肿瘤细胞（CTC）的检测与不良临床结局相关。最近的研究发现肿瘤细胞休眠存在免疫影响的证据。因此，我们研究了外周 T 细胞与 CTC 之间的关系，因为免疫因素可能影响 CTC 的命运。
采用流式细胞术分析 116 例原发性乳腺癌患者外周血免疫状态。将结果与这些患者 CTC 的存在及临床病理参数相关联。
CTC 的出现与 III 级肿瘤显著相关（p<0.05）。有趣的是，CTC 阳性患者外周 CD95（FAS）阳性辅助性 T 细胞显著增加。由于免疫反应受 CD95（APO-1/FAS）-CD95 配体相互作用调节，且肿瘤细胞通过 CD95/CD95L（配体）途径诱导细胞凋亡，这可能导致凋亡辅助性 T 细胞逃避肿瘤细胞。
在初始阶段缺乏 T 细胞辅助可能导致 CD8 淋巴细胞的长期抗原激活丧失，并可能导致抗肿瘤细胞反应无效。这可能导致全身性免疫抑制，并为肿瘤细胞休眠打开大门。
