Peripheral Immune Cell Populations in Patients with Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Ana Caruntu ^1,2 Liliana Moraru ¹ Mihaela Surcel ^3,4 Adriana Munteanu ^3,4 Carolina Constantin ^3,5 Cristiana Tanase ^3,6 Constantin Caruntu ^2,7 Monica Neagu ^3,4,5

¹Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, "Carol Davila" Central Universitary Emergency Military Hospital
²Physiology, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy
³Immunology, Victor Babes National Institute of Pathology
⁴Immunology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest
⁵Pathology, Colentina Clinical Hospital
⁶Department of Preclinical Sciences, Titu Maiorescu University
⁷Dermatology, “Prof. Dr. Nicolae C. Paulescu” National Institute of Diabetes, Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases

Objectives: Immune cells assure antitumor protection by eliminating tumor cells recognized through specific surface antigens. A strong link has been suggested between pathogenesis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and immune system, that correlate with tumor growth, invasion and metastasis. This study aims to assess the distribution of different subtypes of circulatory lymphocyte populations in pacients with HNSCC before undergoing curative surgical resection of the tumor in comparison with reported normal ranges.

Methods: Prior to surgical resection, peripheral blood was immediately tested for immune cell populations using the IVD kit BD Multitest™ IMK Kit: T lymphocytes (CD3+), B lymphocytes (CD19+), helper/inducer T lymphocytes (CD3+CD4+), suppressor/cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CD3+CD8+), and natural killer (NK) lymphocytes (CD3–CD16+ and/ or CD56+) were analyzed. Normal values for matching ages were used as comparison domains.

Results: For all patients CD3+ T cells and CD4+ T cells were in normal ranges. CD8+ T cells depicting cytotoxic or suppressor T lymphocytes are below normal registered values, thus leading to an increased ratio CD4/CD8. Circulatory B lymphocytes (CD19+) have a decreased value, while peripheral NK cells are increased. This immune compensatory process between these two types of cell populations has been reported in other neoplasias as well.

Conclusion: Changes in peripheral immune cells can be an accessible and useful tool for monitoring disease progression in HNSCC. It also suggests that meticulous immunophenotyping in selecting patients for immune therapies with antibodies directed against specific tumor antigens may identify the appropriate candidates for treatment and improve the outcome and prognosis for these patients.