Department of Minimal Invasive Intervention, the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, People's Republic of China.
Department of Radiology, the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, People's Republic of China.
J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2023 Jun;34(6):991-998. doi: 10.1016/j.jvir.2023.01.032. Epub 2023 Feb 2.
To investigate the clinical relevance of serum chemokine ligand 14 (sCCL14) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the effect of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) on the expression level of sCCL14 and the immune microenvironment.
In this prospective single-center observational study, 52 patients with HCC were recruited from January 2019 to December 2021, their clinical data and blood samples were collected, and the relationship between sCCL14 and progression-free survival (PFS) and TACE treatment response was analyzed.
Among the 52 patients with HCC (Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer [BCLC] Stage A, 25.0%; BCLC Stage B, 44.2%; and BCLC Stage C, 30.8%), patients with BCLC Stage C HCC had significantly lower sCCL14 levels than those of patients with BCLC Stages A and B HCC (P = .001). sCCL14 levels were significantly higher in the first week after treatment than before TACE treatment (P = .024). Baseline sCCL14 levels in patients who showed complete response after TACE treatment were significantly higher than those in other groups, and lower baseline sCCL14 values were associated with shorter PFS times. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that sCCL14 level (hazard ratio, 1.855; 95% CI, 1.039-3.311; P = .037) was an independent prognostic factor of PFS. sCCL14 levels negatively correlated with the proportion of B lymphocytes and regulatory T cells in circulating blood and positively correlated with the absolute T-lymphocyte count.
sCCL14 may be a predictive biomarker of TACE effectiveness. Further studies are needed to validate and outline the role of combination immunotherapy.
探讨血清趋化因子配体 14（sCCL14）在肝细胞癌（HCC）患者中的临床相关性，以及经导管动脉化疗栓塞（TACE）对 sCCL14 表达水平和免疫微环境的影响。
本前瞻性单中心观察性研究纳入了 2019 年 1 月至 2021 年 12 月期间的 52 例 HCC 患者，采集其临床资料和血样，分析 sCCL14 与无进展生存期（PFS）和 TACE 治疗反应的关系。
52 例 HCC 患者中（巴塞罗那临床肝癌分期 A 期 25.0%，B 期 44.2%，C 期 30.8%），C 期 HCC 患者的 sCCL14 水平明显低于 A 期和 B 期 HCC 患者（P=0.001）。TACE 治疗后第 1 周 sCCL14 水平明显高于治疗前（P=0.024）。TACE 治疗后完全缓解患者的基线 sCCL14 水平明显高于其他组，较低的基线 sCCL14 值与较短的 PFS 时间相关。多变量 Cox 回归分析显示，sCCL14 水平（危险比 1.855，95%CI 1.039-3.311，P=0.037）是 PFS 的独立预后因素。sCCL14 水平与循环血液中 B 淋巴细胞和调节性 T 细胞的比例呈负相关，与绝对 T 淋巴细胞计数呈正相关。
sCCL14 可能是 TACE 疗效的预测生物标志物。需要进一步研究来验证和阐明联合免疫疗法的作用。
