NKT cells in peripheral blood of patients with esophageal carcinoma and its clinical significance

Objective To explore the expression, as well as the proportion of subsets of the natural killer (NK) T cells in peripheral blood of patients with esophageal carcinoma before and after surgery, and provide ideas and experimental basis for immune treatment through tests. Methods Using CD3, CD56, CD4 and CD8 antibody to study the NKT cells and its subsets. Peripheral NKT cell subsets in 59 patients with esophageal carcinoma were analysed by flow cytometer. Results With the ratio of CD+3 CD+56 CD+8/CD+3 CD+56 CD+4 gradually increased, the proportion of phase Ⅲ- Ⅳ patients with esophageal carcinoma is gradually decreased between the groups. One-way ANOVA analysis showed that there were differences between the groups (P ＜0.05). The ratio of CD+3 CD+56 CD+8/CD+3 CD+56 CD+4 was in Non-linear related to CD+3 CD+56 CD+4NKT cells; CD+3 CD+56 CD+8; NKT cells were positively correlated with CD-3 CD+56 NK cells and negatively correlated with CD+3 T cells.Conclusion The ratio of CD+3 CD+56 CD+8/CD+3 CD+56 CD+4 may relate to tumor burden, and is helpful to determine the extent of disease in patients with esophageal carcinoma and prognosis. Key words: Esophageal neoplasms;  Natural killer T cell;  Flow cytometry