Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Air Force Medical Center, PLA, Air Force Medical University, Beijing, China.
Postgraduate Training Base of Air Force Medical Center, China Medical University, Beijing, China.
J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2024 Jul 25;150(7):365. doi: 10.1007/s00432-024-05896-y.
Currently, there is a lack of effective indicators for predicting the efficacy of immunotherapy in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to investigate the expression and prognostic value of peripheral T lymphocyte subsets in advanced HCC.
Patients with advanced HCC who were treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) from December 2021 to December 2023 were included in the study. Flow cytometry was used to detect lymphocyte subsets before treatment. The patients were divided into disease control (DC) and nondisease control (nDC) groups based on treatment efficacy. Relationships between the clinical characteristics/peripheral T lymphocytes and immunotherapy efficacy were analyzed. The effectiveness of peripheral T lymphocyte subsets in predicting immunotherapy efficacy for patients with advanced HCC was analyzed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.
A total of 40 eligible patients were included in this study. Non-DC was significantly associated with higher albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) scores. The percentages of γδVδ2PD1 T cells and γδVδ2Tim3 T cells were greater in the nDC group than in the DC group. Multivariable regression analysis revealed that the ALBI score and T lymphocytes expressing γδVδ2PD1 and γδVδ2Tim3 were founded to be independent influencing factors. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) values for these combinations was 0.944 (95% CI, 0.882 ~ 1.000).
The calculation of the ALBI score and determination of the percentages CD3γδVδ2PD1 T lymphocytes and CD3γδVδ2Tim3 T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of patients with advanced HCC are helpful for predicting the patients' responses to ICIs, helping to screen patients who may clinically benefit from immunotherapy. RETROSPECTIVELY REGISTERED: number: ChiCTR2400080409, date of registration: 2024-01-29.
目前，对于预测晚期肝细胞癌（HCC）患者免疫治疗疗效的有效指标仍缺乏研究。本研究旨在探讨晚期 HCC 患者外周 T 淋巴细胞亚群的表达及其与预后的关系。
选取 2021 年 12 月至 2023 年 12 月期间接受免疫检查点抑制剂（ICI）治疗的晚期 HCC 患者。采用流式细胞术检测患者治疗前外周血淋巴细胞亚群，根据治疗效果将患者分为疾病控制（DC）和非疾病控制（nDC）组。分析患者临床特征/外周 T 淋巴细胞与免疫治疗疗效的关系。采用受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线分析外周 T 淋巴细胞亚群对晚期 HCC 患者免疫治疗疗效的预测价值。
本研究共纳入 40 例符合条件的患者。非 DC 与较高的白蛋白-胆红素（ALBI）评分显著相关。nDC 组患者的 γδVδ2PD1 T 细胞和 γδVδ2Tim3 T 细胞比例高于 DC 组。多变量回归分析显示，ALBI 评分和表达 γδVδ2PD1 和 γδVδ2Tim3 的 T 淋巴细胞是独立的影响因素。这些组合的 ROC 曲线下面积（AUC）值为 0.944（95%CI：0.882~1.000）。
计算 ALBI 评分和检测晚期 HCC 患者外周血 CD3γδVδ2PD1 T 淋巴细胞和 CD3γδVδ2Tim3 T 淋巴细胞的比例有助于预测患者对 ICI 的反应，有助于筛选可能从免疫治疗中获益的患者。前瞻性注册：注册号：ChiCTR2400080409，注册日期：2024-01-29。
