Measurement and significance of CD4~+CD25~+ T cells in peripheral blood from patients with lung cancer

AIM: To discuss the changes and significance of CD4~+CD25~+ T cells in peripheral blood from patients with lung cancer. METHODS: The changes of CD4~+CD25~+ T cells in peripheral blood from 60 patients with lung cancer were evaluated by flow cytometry,and compared with ones from 60 healthy volunteers. RESULTS: ① The population of CD4+CD25+ T cells in peripheral blood from patients with lung cancer accounted for (14.7±1.8)% of the total number of CD4+ T lymphocytes,and the percentage was significantly higher than that of healthy volunteers [ (6.5±1.4)%, P0.05]; ② The number of CD4+CD25+T cells in peripheral blood from patients with lung cancer who had been treated with chemotherapy was lower than that of ones without chemotherapy[(14.7±1.8)% vs (6.8± 1.4)%, P0.05]; ③ The expression of CD4+CD25+T cells was higher in peripheral blood from patients with lung cancer of the higher histopathological grade,farther metastasis and poorer differentiation. CONCLUSION: The CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in peripheral blood from patients with lung cancer is significantly increased in comparison with healthy subjects. It may be responsible for immune suppression in lung cancer. The change of its expression will provide a clinical evidence for judging the curative effect.