Objective: To observe the correlations between the percentage of tumor infiltrating Th17 cells and clinicopathological parameters in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).
Methods: Tumor and normal mucosal tissues were collected from 28 CRC patients. The proportions of Th17 cells in lymphocytes were detected by flow cytometry. The supernatant levels of IL-17A in cultured normal and tumor tissues were measured by ELISA. The correlations between the proportions of tumor infiltrating Th17 cells as well as the tumor supernatant levels of IL-17A and clinicopathological parameters in CRC patients were further analyzed.
Results: There was no significant difference in the expression of Th17 cells between normal tissues (2.24 ± 0.24)% and tumor tissues (2.47 ± 0.34)% (P>0.05). Compared with normal tissues, the supernatant levels of IL-17A in tumor tissues were significantly up-regulated [(257.74±31.36) pg/mL vs (163.53±12.62)pg/mL, P<0.05]. The proportions of tumor infiltrating Th17 cells and the tumor supernatant levels of IL-17A had no associations with age, gender, tumor location, tumor size and growth characteristics (P>0.05), but they were correlated with tumor differentiation, lymph node metastasis and TNM stage (P<0.05). No associations between the proportions of infiltrating Th17 cells as well as the supernatant levels of IL-17A in the normal tissues and all clinicopathological parameters were found (P>0.05).
Conclusion: Th17 cells may be involved in the immunopathogenesis of the development of CRC.