Aim: To investigate the differences of twenty lymphocyte subsets between colorectal carcinoma patients and healthy individuals.
Methods: Twenty peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets from 168 colorectal carcinoma patients and 102 healthy individuals were examined by flow cytometry (FCM). The differences of these lymphocyte subsets between healthy individuals and colorectal carcinoma patients at different clinical stages were analyzed statistically with SPSS 17.0 software.
Results: Compared with healthy people, the percentages of CD29(+), 45RA(+), CD4(+) CD45RO(+) and CD8(+) CD28(-) cells in peripheral blood of colorectal carcinoma patients increased significantly (P<0.05), while the percentages of NKT, 45RO(+), CD4(+) CD45RA(+), CD28(+) and CD8(+) CD28(+) cells decreased significantly (P<0.05). The percentage of CD8(+) CD28(-) cells in IV stage patients was significantly higher than that in healthy individuals, I+II and III stage patients (P<0.05).
Conclusion: The cellular immunity of colorectal carcinoma patients is attenuated, while the humoral immunity is strengthened. The traditional lymphocyte analysis using CD3(+), CD4(+), NK or CD4(+)/CD8(+) ratio can not precisely evaluate the immunological function of colorectal carcinoma patients. The analysis of multi-lymphocyte subsets including CD8(+) CD28(+) and CD8(+) CD28(-) cells, is likely a better way to evaluate the immunological status of colorectal carcinoma patients.