Pre- and post-chemotherapy expressions of Th1 and Th2 type cytokines and their clinical significance in gastric cancer patients / 中华肿瘤杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the pre- and post-chemotherapy expression levels of Th1 and Th2 type cytokines in peripheral blood CD4(+) T lymphocytes, the changes of Th1/Th2 ratio and their clinical significance in patients with gastric cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The levels of specific cytokines in 60 gastric cancer patients were detected by flow cytometry before and after chemotherapy with FOLFOX4.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The level of IFN-gamma from peripheral blood CD4(+) T lymphocytes after chemotherapy in the whole group of gastric cancer patients was 11.4% +/- 5.0%, significantly higher than that (9.5% +/- 3.4%) before chemotherapy (P < 0.05). The level of IL-10 after chemotherapy was 3.6% +/- 1.2%, significantly lower than that (4.2% +/- 1.8%) before chemotherapy (P < 0.05). The ratio of Th1/Th2 (IFN-gamma/IL-4) after chemotherapy was 3.4 +/- 1.0 versus 3.4 +/- 1.6 before chemotherapy, without significant difference (P > 0.05). Interestingly, the levels of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha of peripheral blood CD4(+) T lymphocytes in 15 gastric cancer patients who achieved partial response (PR) after chemotherapy were 14.8% +/- 8.0% and 5.9% +/- 2.0%, respectively, both were higher than that (6.9% +/- 2.5% and 4.2% +/- 1.3%) before chemotherapy (both P < 0.05). Furthermore, the ratio of Th1/Th2 (IFN-gamma/IL-4) after chemotherapy was 4.0 +/- 1.5, significantly higher than 2.5 +/- 1.2 before chemotherapy (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Effective chemotherapy may reduce the tumor burden and relieve the shift of Th1/Th2 ratio. Improvement in immune function may be a very important therapeutic measure due to poor response of chemotherapy in gastric cancer patients.</p>