Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

PURPOSE: Recent studies of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) have suggested that the presence of regulatory T cells in the reactive background may explain the inhibition of the antitumoral host immune response observed in these patients. This study aimed to assess the relevance of regulatory T cells and CTLs present in the background of HL samples in the prognosis of a series of classic HL (cHL) patients. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Expression of granzyme B and TIA-1 (markers for CTL) and FOXP3 (a marker for regulatory T cells) were evaluated independently by immunohistochemistry in tissue microarrays of 257 cHL patients and correlated with patient outcome. RESULTS: The combined influence of the presence of FOXP3(+) and TIA-1(+) cells distinguished three risk groups of patients with 5-year overall survival of 100%, 88%, and 73%. The presence of a small number of FOXP3(+) cells and a high proportion of TIA-1(+) cells in the infiltrate represent an independent prognostic factor that negatively influenced event-free survival and disease-free survival in cHL. Compared with the features at diagnosis, relapsed samples tended to have more TIA-1(+) cells and a lower proportion of FOXP3(+) cells in the reactive background. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that low infiltration of FOXP3(+) cells in conjunction with high infiltration of TIA-1(+) cells in cHL may represent biological markers predicting an unfavorable outcome. Moreover, the variation of these markers over the course of the disease implies a possible role for them in the progression of HL cases.

Original publication

DOI

10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-04-1869

Type

Journal article

Journal

Clin Cancer Res

Publication Date

15/02/2005

Volume

11

Pages

1467 - 1473

Keywords

Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Child, DNA-Binding Proteins, Female, Forkhead Transcription Factors, Granzymes, Hodgkin Disease, Humans, Immunohistochemistry, Male, Middle Aged, Multivariate Analysis, Neoplasm Recurrence, Local, Poly(A)-Binding Proteins, Prognosis, Proteins, RNA-Binding Proteins, Serine Endopeptidases, Survival Analysis, T-Cell Intracellular Antigen-1, T-Lymphocytes, T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic