Correlation between circulating blood and microenvironment T lymphocytes in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. Issue 7 (19th May 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Laddaga, Filomena Emanuela; Ingravallo, Giuseppe; Mestice, Anna; Tamma, Roberto; Perrone, Tommasina; Maiorano, Eugenio; Ribatti, Domenico; Specchia, Giorgina; Gaudio, Francesco
• Is Part Of: Journal of clinical pathology. Volume 75:Issue 7(2022)
• Page Start: 493
• Page End: 497
• Publication Date: 2021-05-19
• Subjects: lymphocyte count -- lymphoma -- lymphocytes; Pathology -- Periodicals; Pathology, Molecular -- Periodicals; 616.0705
• DOI: 10.1136/jclinpath-2020-207048
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0021-9746

Abstract

Abstract : Aims: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is characterised by marked clinical and biological heterogeneity, attributable to the tumour cells and their microenvironment. Methods: In this study, we investigated circulating subsets of blood lymphocytes and monocytes and their relationship with T cells in the tumour microenvironment (TME) in chemoresistant and chemosensitive patients with DLBCL. Results: The study showed that (1) absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) and CD3+ and CD4+ cells were reduced in chemoresistant patients compared with chemosensitive patients; (2) lymphocyte:monocyte ratio (LMR) showed a positive correlation with peripheral blood CD3+ and CD4+ cells; (3) ALC, LMR, peripheral blood CD3+ and CD4+ cells showed a positive correlation with T cells in the TME. Conclusions: Overall, these data suggest that DLBCL with high TME T cells display a pre-existing antitumour immune response. In the rituximab-containing regimen, TME T cells are stimulated further to participate in the immune response against lymphoma cells. In contrast, DLBCL lymphomas with low T-cell infiltration reflect the absence of a pre-existing antitumour immunity and have a lower likelihood of obtaining an optimal response to therapy.