Effects of modified FOLFOX-6 chemotherapy on cellular immune function in patients with gastric cancer

Wang,Liang; Zhou,Donger; Ren,Haitao; Chen,Yan

doi:10.3892/ol.2018.8361

Effects of modified FOLFOX-6 chemotherapy on cellular immune function in patients with gastric cancer

Authors:
- Liang Wang
- Donger Zhou
- Haitao Ren
- Yan Chen
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Affiliations: Department of Hepatobiliary‑Pancreatic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, P.R. China, Department of Burns and Wound Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, P.R. China, Emergency Department, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning 116023, P.R. China
Published online on: March 28, 2018 https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2018.8361
Pages: 8635-8640

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Abstract

Tumor immunosuppression serves an important role in the occurrence and development of gastric cancer. However, the effect of chemotherapy on the immune function of patients remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate changes in cellular immune function and regulatory T cells (Tregs) in patients with gastric cancer prior to and following chemotherapy. In the peripheral blood of patients with gastric cancer, the percentage of CD4+ T cells was substantially decreased compared with that of healthy controls (11.39±5.91 vs. 22.34±3.37%, respectively; P<0.05). High frequencies of CD8+ T cells and Tregs were also observed in the peripheral blood of patients. Although the number of T cells decreased following chemotherapy (the proportions of CD4+ and CD8+ cells were 8.99±7.31 and 16.00±4.51%, respectively), the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ T cells increased (0.31±0.17 vs. 0.56±0.22; P<0.05). Furthermore, the level of C‑C motif chemokine ligand 20 (CCL20) was increased in patients prior to chemotherapy compared with healthy controls. As the sole receptor for CCL20, a high level of expression of C‑C motif chemokine receptor 6 on circulating Tregs was also identified in the patients, which decreased following chemotherapy. These results suggest that chemotherapy may efficiently promote cellular immune function and inhibit immunosuppression in patients with gastric cancer.

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