RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Non Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is one of the immune system cancers. The occurrence and progression of malignant lymphomas depends on cellular pathways deregulation. Understanding the relationship between the immune system at the genetic level and malignant transformation is critical to reach its etiology. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this work is to evaluate the expression of five immune related genes (PD-1, FOXP3, GrA, GrB and CD11c) in patients with diffuse large B cell non Hodgkin lymphoma (DLBCL). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted on fifty patients with DLBCL and fifty sex and age matched apparently healthy subjects. The participants were subjected to these laboratory investigations: complete blood count, serum lactate dehydrogenase and ß2microglobulin (ß2M) levels and determination of PD-1, FOXP3, GrA, GrB and CD11c gene expressions. RESULTS: The results of this study revealed that PD-1, FOXP3, GrA, GrB and CD11c gene expressions were significantly increased in DLBCL patients. CONCLUSION: Patients with DLBCL have variablePD-1, FOXP3,GrA, GrB and CD11cgene expressions levels, which are correlated with the overall survival (OS) indicating that they can be good predictors of outcome in these patients.
