The association between CD2+ peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets and the relapse of bladder cancer in prophylactically BCG-treated patients

Abstract

SummaryWe investigated the potential existence of differences in the distribution of T-lymphocyte subsets and in the proliferative response of these CD2+ cells to polyclonal mitogens in patients with transitional cell bladder carcinoma (SBTCC) treated with prophylactic intracavitary instillations of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) according to their clinical response to this treatment. Before BCG treatment, different subset distribution (CD8+ and CD3+ CD56+), activation antigen expression (CD3+ HLA-DR+) and proliferative response to mitogenic signals were found in CD2+ cells from SBTCC patients prophylactically treated with BCG who remained free of disease or those who had recurrence of tumour. Otherwise, the prophylactic intracavitary BCG instillations in SBTCC patients are associated with a transitory variation of T-lymphocyte subset distribution (CD4 and CD8) and activation antigens expression (CD25).

Recurrences of Superficial Bladder Carcinoma are Associated with a Raise of CD8high>CD57+ and CD8low T Lymphocytes in Peripheral Blood

“…Two other groups have also shown the rise in peripheral CD8 + lymphocytes in patients with bladder carcinoma compared to healthy controls [38,39]. However, a third study by Agarwal and co-workers obtained different results.…”

“…However, total leukocytes, neutrophils and NK cells increase with age [41,42], which results in a decrease in percentage of other leukocyte populations. Secondly, instead of using a standard region, as is done in this study and by most other groups do [38,39], Agarwal and coworkers drew manually a lymphocyte region for each analysis [40], which is less reproducible.…”