Effects of transarterial chemoembolization on the immunological function of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

作者：Jingjing Guo, Saixia Wang, Yujing Han, Zhongyuan Jia, Runchao Wang · 发表于：Oncology Letters · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.3892/ol.2021.12815 · 被引用次数：50 · 研究领域：Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers、Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment and Prognosis、Immune Cell Function and Interaction

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) on the immune function of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A total of 114 patients with HCC were selected and their peripheral blood was collected before and 1 month after TACE treatment. Flow cytometry and reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR were performed to analyze the changes in immune function in patients before and after treatment. Kaplan‑Meier curves were plotted for survival analysis. The programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD‑L1) and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1) expression before TACE treatment were significantly higher in patients with poor TACE response compared with those patients with well response. Higher PD‑L1 mRNA expression in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells after TACE predicted a superior prognosis. After TACE treatment, the proportion of CD4 + /CD8 + cells were decreased while the expression levels of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1) were significantly increased. To conclude, TACE could reduce the proportion of CD4 + /CD8 + cells and improve the mRNA expression levels of PD1 in patients with HCC. The expression levels of PD1 and PD‑L1 were closely related to the therapeutic effect of TACE and the prognosis of patients with HCC. TACE combined with immunotherapy may have potential clinical value for patients with HCC.