Sun Haoran, Cao Zepeng, Zhao Baochen, Zhou Dachen, Chen Zhongbiao, Zhang Bin
Department of General Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, No. 678 Furong Road, Hefei, 230601, Anhui Province, People's Republic of China.
BMC Gastroenterol. 2025 May 7;25(1):340. doi: 10.1186/s12876-025-03940-w.
Previous studies suggest the percentage of CD4⁺CD25⁺CD127 regulatory T cells (Tregs) in peripheral blood of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was significantly higher than that in healthy, which may be a significant predictor of HCC clinical outcome, and we examined the utility of Tregs in predicting prognosis in HCC after curative hepatectomy.
77 diagnosed HCC patients from August 2018 to March 2023 were selected as research objects, we retrospectively analyzed whether the preoperative percentage of CD4⁺CD25⁺CD127low Tregs in peripheral blood predicts prognosis after curative hepatectomy in HCC patients. The percentage of CD4⁺CD25⁺CD127 Tregs was detected by flow cytometry.
The percentage of CD4⁺CD25⁺CD127 Tregs was significantly elevated in patients who developed recurrence and death (p < 0.050). X-tile software was used to calculate optimal cut-off value of Treg percentage (5.85%), and patients were divided into two groups with high and low Treg percentage. Patients with higher preoperative Treg percentage had a significantly poorer prognosis (p < 0.050). Cox regression demonstrated the percentage of CD4⁺CD25⁺CD127 Tregs was an independent indicator for poor prognosis after hepatectomy. The Recurrence-free survival (RFS) (the log-rank test, p < 0.001) and Overall survival (OS) (the log-rank test, p = 0.008) in patients with higher Treg percentage were significantly lower than that in patients with lower Treg percentage. The results were confirmed by the subgroup analysis.
The percentage of CD4⁺CD25⁺ CD127 Tregs in peripheral blood is associated with poor prognosis in HCC patients. It can be suggested as a potential prognostic indicator for HCC patients after hepatectomy and complement existing risk stratification tools. Measuring the percentage of CD4⁺CD25⁺ CD127 Tregs may contribute to the formulation of treatment strategies and the improvement of the prognosis for HCC patients.
既往研究表明，肝细胞癌（HCC）患者外周血中CD4⁺CD25⁺CD127调节性T细胞（Tregs）的百分比显著高于健康人，这可能是HCC临床结局的重要预测指标，我们研究了Tregs在预测根治性肝切除术后HCC预后中的作用。
选取2018年8月至2023年3月确诊的77例HCC患者作为研究对象，回顾性分析外周血中CD4⁺CD25⁺CD127低表达Tregs的术前百分比是否可预测HCC患者根治性肝切除术后的预后。采用流式细胞术检测CD4⁺CD25⁺CD127 Tregs的百分比。
出现复发和死亡的患者中，CD4⁺CD25⁺CD127 Tregs的百分比显著升高（p < 0.050）。使用X-tile软件计算Treg百分比的最佳截断值（5.85%），并将患者分为Treg百分比高、低两组。术前Treg百分比高的患者预后明显较差（p < 0.050）。Cox回归显示，CD4⁺CD25⁺CD127 Tregs的百分比是肝切除术后预后不良的独立指标。Treg百分比高的患者的无复发生存期（RFS）（对数秩检验，p < 0.001）和总生存期（OS）（对数秩检验，p = 0.008）显著低于Treg百分比低的患者。亚组分析证实了该结果。
外周血中CD4⁺CD25⁺CD127 Tregs的百分比与HCC患者的不良预后相关。它可作为HCC患者肝切除术后潜在的预后指标，并补充现有的风险分层工具。检测CD4⁺CD25⁺CD127 Tregs的百分比可能有助于制定治疗策略并改善HCC患者的预后。
