Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Jan 15;13(2 Pt 1):388-97.
doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-06-1734.

CD8+ T-cell content in diagnostic lymph nodes measured by flow cytometry is a predictor of survival in follicular lymphoma

Björn Engelbrekt Wahlin  1 , Birgitta Sander, Birger Christensson, Eva Kimby
Affiliations

CD8+ T-cell content in diagnostic lymph nodes measured by flow cytometry is a predictor of survival in follicular lymphoma

Björn Engelbrekt Wahlin et al. Clin Cancer Res. .

Abstract

Purpose: Follicular lymphoma is a heterogeneous disease with variable prognosis and clinical course. We hypothesized that the presence of nonmalignant T cells in the microenvironment of the tumor may affect the outcome.

Experimental design: Using flow cytometry, we evaluated the T-cell subsets in the lymph node microenvironment of follicular lymphoma. All patients in South Stockholm County with indolent follicular lymphoma and with flow cytometry done on a diagnostic lymph node between 1994 and 2004 were included (N = 139). Diagnosis and grade (1, 2, and 3a) were confirmed by re-review. Flow cytometry results were reanalyzed. Lymphocyte subsets, the Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index, grade, and clinical characteristics were evaluated in univariable and multivariable Cox analysis with respect to overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS).

Results: Higher CD8+ T-cell levels correlated with longer OS and DSS, independently of the Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (OS, P = 0.017; DSS, P = 0.020) and independently of all other prognostic factors (OS, P = 0.001; DSS, P = 0.004). Median OS was not reached for patients in the upper quarter of CD8+ T-cell levels (>8.6%), 10.4 years for patients in the middle half (4.2-8.6%), and 6.0 years for patients in the lower quarter (<4.2%). Furthermore, patients who had not required treatment within 6 months from diagnosis had more CD8+ T cells (P = 0.011).

Conclusions: Higher levels of CD8+ T cells predict a better prognosis, and these data support an important role for nonmalignant immune cells in the biology of follicular lymphoma. Evaluating the CD8+ T cells by flow cytometry at diagnosis may provide prognostic information.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources