What is known and objective: Suppression of antilymphoma effector cells, mainly T cells, is a key prerequisite for tumorigenesis and resistance in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The aim of the study was to determine whether mannatide (MT), an immunomodulator, could enhance the immunological response in DLBCL patients receiving standard regimens.
Methods: Patients with aggressive DLBCL treated with first-line standard regimens were included in this single-centre retrospective study. T-cell subtypes were detected using flow cytometry before and after the first cycle of treatment. Patients in MT group were treated with MT combined with standard first-line regimens, and patients in control group with standard first-line regimens. Chi-square test or Fisher's exact tests were used for categorical variables and independent t-tests for continuous variables. Results and discussion: Among the 138 DLBCL patients enrolled in this study, 34 (24.64%) were assigned to the MT group, while 104 (75.36%) patients were included in the control group. There were no significant differences in clinicopathological characteristics and baseline T-cell subtypes between the two groups (p > 0.05). After treatment, CD3 + CD8 + T-cell percentage of MT group was significantly higher than that of control group (p = 0.01), while CD3 + CD4 + T-cell percentage of MT group was significantly lower than that of control group (p < 0.01). Thus, the CD4 + /CD8 + ratio of MT group was significantly lower than that of control group (p = 0.03). In the subgroup of DLBCL patients treated with EPOCH/R-EPOCH, significant differences were also found in post-treatment CD3 + CD8 + T-cell percentage (p < 0.01), CD3 + CD4 + T-cell percentage (p = 0.02) and CD4 + /CD8 + ratio (p = 0.01) between MT and control groups. What is new and conclusion: CD3 + CD8 + T-cell percentage increased in DLBCL patients receiving MT treatment. Further studies are required to determine the clinical benefits of MT. K E Y W O R D S CD8 + T cell, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, immunologic response, mannatide | 833 WANG et Al. How to cite this article: Wang M, Wang B, Fang W. CD8 + T-cell percentage increases in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients receiving mannatide combined with standard regimens. J Clin