Association of T lymphocyte subset counts with the clinical features of colorectal cancer

Abstract

Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common gastrointestinal malignancy. The T lymphocyte subsets are important in the development, invasion and metastasis of tumors, including CRC. Nevertheless, limited research has explored the relationship between T cell subpopulations and the clinical characteristics of CRC. This study compared the T lymphocyte subsets in patients with CRC and healthy individuals and assessed the relationship between these values and clinical characteristics. Methods Peripheral blood was collected from 100 patients with CRC and 54 healthy individuals. The numbers of CD3+ T, CD4+ T, and CD8+ T lymphocytes, natural killer (NK) cells, and the CD4+/CD8+, ratio in peripheral blood were measured using flow cytometry and were compared between CRC patients and healthy individuals. Spearman’s correlation analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between the T lymphocyte subsets in patients diagnosed with CRC and the levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and thymidine kinase 1 (TK1). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were utilized to evaluate the potential utility of the T lymphocyte counts in predicting lymph node metastasis, vascular infiltration, and high Ki-67 expression. Results The CRC patients had lower counts of CD3+ T, CD4+ T, and CD8+ T lymphocytes compared to the healthy population (P < 0.05). However, no significant differences were observed in the CD4+/CD8+ ratio or NK cells (P > 0.05). Notably, the CD3+ T, CD4+ T, and CD8+ T lymphocyte counts were higher in patients with stage I-II disease, no lymph node metastasis, no vascular invasion, and low Ki-67 expression than in those with stage III, lymph node metastasis, vascular invasion, and high Ki-67 expression (P < 0.05). There was a negative association between the CD3+ T, CD4+ T, and CD8+ T lymphocyte counts and CEA and TK1 levels in patients with CRC. The ROC curves demonstrated that CD3+ T, CD4+ T, and CD8+ T lymphocyte counts had significant predictive value for lymph node metastasis, vascular infiltration, and high Ki-67 expression. Conclusions The peripheral blood CD3+ T, CD4+ T, and CD8+ T lymphocyte counts are related to the clinical traits of patients with CRC and can predict the prognosis of the disease.