Alterations and significance of T lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood in patients with carcinoma

Objective To detect the level of T lymphocyte subsets in the peripheral blood and evaluate its clinical significance in patients with carcinoma. Methods The total T lymphocytes (CD3+cells) and T lymphocyte subsets (CD3+CD4+ cells and CD3+CD8+ cells) were detected by flow cytometry in the peripheral blood of carcinoma patients (n=254) and the healthy persons (n=31) as control, and the ratio of CD3+CD4+/CD3+CD8+ was calculated. Results Compared with the healthy persons, the patients with carcinoma showed a significant decrease in the percentage of CD3+ cells, CD3+CD4+ cells and the ratio of CD3+CD4+/CD3+CD8+, P0.01; in contrast, the percentage of CD3+CD8+ cells was significantly increased, P0.01. The age and gender had no influence on the level of T lymphocyte subsets, P0.05. Conclusions These changes indicate that there is decreased cellular immunity in patients with carcinoma and might provide important information for the diagnosis of various kinds of carcinomas in clinic.