Abstract:
Objective To explore the optimal time point for combining chemotherapy and immunotherapy and provide an experimental basis for immunotherapy intervention in clinical.
Methods Twenty-three lung cancer patients who completed five chemotherapy cycles between November 2015 and December 2016 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University were enrolled in this study. Numbers of T lymphocyte subsets, B lymphocytes, and NK lymphocytes in peripheral blood were counted. Expression levels of T lymphocyte co-suppression molecule and cytokines in the peripheral blood mononuclear cell were detected using flow cytometry to analyze the dynamic changes of such indicators from one cycle to five cycles of chemotherapy.
Results Significant decreases in the levels of CD8+ T lymphocytes, CD19+ B lymphocytes, and CD16+ CD56+ NK cells and an increase in CD4+ T lymphocytes were observed in the course of multi-cycle chemotherapy for patients with lung cancer. Differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The co-suppression molecular expression of PD-1, CTLA-4, and CCR-4 with T lymphocytes was downregulated, and the differences were significant (P < 0.05).
Conclusion Profiling the dynamic changes of lymphocyte subsets and the expression of T lymphocyte co-suppression molecule are significant in multiple chemotherapy cycles for patients with lung cancer. In the later stage, the combined application of PD-1, PDL1, CTLA-4, or CCR-4 antibody may exert good therapeutic effects for patients with a high expression level of related immune checkpoints.
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