Peripheral Blood Lymphocyte Depletion After Hepatic Arterial {sup 90}Yttrium Microsphere Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma
- Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA and Department of Nutrition and Exptl Biology, Saverio De Bellis Medical Research Institute, Castellana Grotte, Bari (Italy)
Purpose: The short- and long-term effects of {sup 90}Yttrium microspheres therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) on peripheral blood lymphocytes are unknown and were therefore examined. Methods and Materials: Ninety-two HCC patients were enrolled in a {sup 90}Yttrium therapy study and routine blood counts were examined as part of standard clinical monitoring. Results: We found an early, profound, and prolonged lymphopenia. In a subsequent cohort of 25 additional HCC patients, prospective flow cytometric immune-monitoring analysis was performed to identify specific changes on distinct lymphocyte subsets (i.e., CD3, CD4, CD8 T, and CD19 B lymphocytes) and NK cells absolute numbers, in addition to the granulocytes and platelets subsets. We found that the pretreatment lymphocyte subset absolute numbers (with the exception of NK cells) had a tendency to be lower compared with healthy control values, but no significant differences were detected between groups. Posttherapy follow-up revealed that overall, all lymphocyte subsets, except for NK cells, were significantly (>50% from pretherapy values), promptly (as early as 24 h) and persistently (up to 30 months) depleted post-{sup 90}Yttrium microspheres therapy. In contrast, granulocytes increased rapidly (24 h) to compensate for lymphocyte depletion, and remained increased at 1-year after therapy. We further stratified patients into two groups, according to survival at 1 year. We found that lack of recovery of CD19, CD3, CD8, and especially CD4 T cells was linked to poor patient survival. No fungal or bacterial infections were noted during the 30-month follow-up period. Conclusions: The results show that lymphocytes (and not granulocytes, platelets, or NK cells) are sensitive to hepatic arterial {sup 90}Yttrium without associated clinical toxicity, and lack of lymphocyte recovery (possibly leading to dysregulation of adaptive cellular immunity) posttherapy indicates poor survival.
- OSTI ID:
- 22056112
- Journal Information:
- International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics, Vol. 82, Issue 3; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2012 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0360-3016
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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