Relationship Between Stromal Regulatory T Cells and the Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer

Overview

Journal Surg Today

Specialty General Surgery

Date 2021 Jun 3

PMID 34081199

Citations 1

Authors

Kentaro Sekizawa

Kazuya Nakagawa

Yasushi Ichikawa

Hirokazu Suwa

Mayumi Ozawa

Masashi Momiyama

Atsushi Ishibe

Jun Watanabe

Mitsuyoshi Ota

Ikuma Kato

Itaru Endo

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: In addition to the direct power of anticancer drugs, the effectiveness of anticancer therapy depends on the host immune function. The present study investigated whether or not the reduction rate and histological response of preoperative chemotherapy were related to the immune microenvironment surrounding a primary tumor of the rectum.

Methods: Sixty-five patients received preoperative chemotherapy followed by resection from 2012 to 2014; all of these patients were retrospectively analyzed. CD3, CD8, and FoxP3 were immunohistochemically examined as markers for T lymphocytes, cytotoxic T lymphocytes, and regulatory T lymphocytes (Treg), respectively. The correlation between the tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte composition and the tumor reduction rate and histological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy was investigated.

Results: The average tumor reduction rate was 41.5% ± 18.8%. According to RECIST, 47 patients (72.3%) achieved a partial response (PR), and 1 patient (1.5%) achieved a complete response (CR). Eight patients (12.3%) showed a grade 2 histological response, and 2 (3.1%) showed a grade 3 response. A multivariate analysis demonstrated that a low Treg infiltration in stromal cell areas was significantly associated with the achievement of a PR or CR [odds ratio (OR) 7.69; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.96-33.33; p < 0.01] and a histological grade 2 or 3 response (OR 11.11; 95% CI 1.37-98.04; p = 0.02).

Conclusion: A low Treg infiltration in the stromal cell areas may be a marker of a good response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Citing Articles

Construction and validation of a progression prediction model for locally advanced rectal cancer patients received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by total mesorectal excision based on machine learning.

Hu J, Sheng Y, Ma J, Tang Y, Liu D, Zhang J Front Oncol. 2024; 13:1231508.

PMID: 38328435 PMC: 10849061. DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1231508.

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