Associations among cytokines, EGF and lymphocyte subpopulations in patients diagnosed with advanced lung cancer

Abstract

Aging is considered the single most significant risk factor for the majority of common malignances including lung cancer. Together immunosenescence, changes occurring with aging in the immune system, and inflammaging, characterizes by a chronic, subclinical accumulation of pro-inflammatory factors, are suggested to stand at the origin of most of the diseases of the elderly, such as cancer. The aim of this study was to determine associations among lymphocyte subpopulations, pro-inflammatory cytokines and epidermal growth factor (EGF) in patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Forty-six advanced NSCLC patients were enrolled. Sixteen patients with newly diagnosed and before treatment and 30 patients after first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. Peripheral blood subpopulations were studied by flow cytometry and serum concentrations of soluble factors by ELISA. The frequency of naive CD4(+) T cells, naive B cells and central memory CD8(+) T cells were significantly lower in NSCLC patients after chemotherapy, while effector memory CD4(+) T cells and terminally differentiated CD8(+) T cells were significantly higher. IL-1 beta and TNF alpha significantly correlated among them before and after platinum-based chemotherapy. Terminally differentiated T cells expressing CD57(+) significantly correlated with TNF alpha and IL-1 beta. For the first time, associations between EGF serum levels and terminally differentiated CD4(+) T cells, and memory B cells were detected. This study confirms the association among terminally differentiated lymphocytes and pro-inflammatory cytokines in patients diagnosed with lung cancer, reinforcing the interconnection between terminally differentiated lymphocytes and pro-inflammatory cytokines.