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Infiltration of a mixture of immune cells may be related to good prognosis in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma
Author(s) -
Cunha Lucas L.,
Morari Elaine C.,
Guihen Ana C. T.,
Razolli Daniela,
Gerhard Renê,
ogaki Suely,
Soares Fernando A.,
Vassallo José,
Ward Laura S.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
clinical endocrinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1365-2265
pISSN - 0300-0664
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2265.2012.04482.x
Subject(s) - cd20 , immune system , foxp3 , cd68 , pathology , cd8 , medicine , infiltration (hvac) , immunology , immunohistochemistry , physics , thermodynamics
Summary Objective Immune responses against differentiated thyroid carcinomas ( DTC ) have long been recognized. We aimed to investigate the role of immune cell infiltration in the progression of DTC . Design We studied 398 patients – 253 with papillary and 13 with follicular thyroid cancers, as well as 132 with nonmalignant tissues. Patients and measurements Immune cell infiltration was identified using CD 3, CD 4, CD 8, CD 20, CD 68 and F ox P 3 immunohistochemical markers. In addition, we assessed colocalization of CD 4 and IL ‐17 to identify T h17 lymphocytic infiltration and colocalization of CD 33 and CD 11b to identify infiltration of myeloid‐derived suppressor cells ( MDSC ). Results Immune cells infiltrated malignant tissues more often than benign lesions. The presence of chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis ( CLT ) concurrent to DTC , CD 68+, CD 4+, CD 8+, CD 20+, F ox P 3+ and T h17 lymphocytes but not MDSC s was associated with clinical and pathological features of lower tumour aggressiveness and a more favourable patient outcome. A log‐rank test confirmed an association between concurrent CLT , tumour‐associated macrophage infiltration, and CD 8+ lymphocytes and an increased in disease‐free survival, suggesting that evidence of these immune reactions is associated with a favourable prognosis. Conclusion Our data suggest that the tumour or peri‐tumoural microenvironment may act to modify the observed pattern of immune response. Immune cell infiltration and the presence of concurrent CLT helped characterize specific tumour histotypes associated with favourable prognostic features.