Prognostic implication of leucocyte subpopulations in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Oncotarget. 2017 Jul 18;8(29):47790-47800. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.17830.

Abstract

Background: Recent studies have suggested that variables related to host adaptive immunity and the tumor microenvironment may predict the outcome in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This study was undertaken to determine the prognostic value of peripheral blood leucocyte subpopulations in diffuse large-B-cell lymphoma patients.

Methods: We prospectively analyzed the 16 leukocyte subpopulations using Cytodiff flow cytometric technique in a cohort of 45 diffuse large-B-cell lymphoma patients at a single institution between February and December 2014. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate prognostic factors for overall survival and progression free survival.

Results: Diffuse large-B-cell lymphoma patients had decreased cytotoxic and non-cytotoxic NK&T cells as well as increased CD16+ monocytes, CD16- monocytes and mature neutrophils. The decreased CD16- monocyte/CD16+ monocyte ratio and increased mature neutrophil/cytotoxic NK&T cell ratio were related to poor progression-free and overall survival outcome in single and multivariate analysis. The co-constructed model using International Prognostic Index and mature neutrophil/cytotoxic NK&T cell ratio can also help discriminate the clinical outcome.

Conclusions: The decreased CD16-monocyte/CD16+monocyte ratio and increased mature neutrophil/cytotoxic NK&T cell ratio predict poor prognosis in diffuse large-B-cell lymphoma patients. This finding provides a strong rationale for the study of cellular immunotherapy in B-cell lymphoma.

Keywords: CD16- monocyte/CD16+ monocyte ratio; CytoDiff flow cytometric system; diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; mature neutrophil/cytotoxic NKandT cell ratio; prognosis.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Biomarkers
  • Female
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Humans
  • Immunophenotyping
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Leukocyte Count*
  • Leukocytes* / metabolism
  • Lymphocyte Count
  • Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / blood*
  • Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / diagnosis
  • Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / mortality*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Monocytes / metabolism
  • Neoplasm Staging
  • Neutrophils / metabolism
  • Prognosis
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • ROC Curve

Substances

  • Biomarkers