ABSTRACT
Aims: As a population of immunosuppressive cells,
polymorphonuclear-myeloid derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSCs) are
responsible for lung cancer metastasis, and metastasis is a main cause
of the recurrence after surgery of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Lectin-type oxidized LDL receptor 1 (LOX-1) is a newly confirmed maker
for identifying PMN-MDSCs in human. In this study, we tried to confirm
the relationship between the frequency of newly identified
CD15+LOX-1+ PMN-MDSCs and NSCLC
recurrence after surgery.
Methods: Flow cytometry (FCM) was used to detect the proportion
of CD15+LOX-1+ PMN-MDSCs in the
peripheral blood (PB) cells of healthy controls (HC) and NSCLC patients.
The correlation of CD15+LOX-1+PMN-MDSC frequency with levels of cytokeratin 19-fragments (CYFRA21-1),
carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) was
analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to
estimate the diagnostic efficacy of
CD15+LOX-1+ PMN-MDSC frequency for
NSCLC. Additionally, the association of
CD15+LOX-1+ PMN-MDSCs with NSCLC
prognosis and recurrence after surgery was explored.
Results: The proportion of
CD15+LOX-1+ PMN-MDSCs increased
significantly in PB of NSCLC patients.
CD15+LOX-1+ PMN-MDSC proportion was
positively correlated with levels of CEA and CYFRA21-1, but not CA125.
The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of PMN-MDSC percentage was higher
than CYFRA21-1, CEA and CA125. Compared to NSCLC patients before
surgery, the proportion of
CD15+LOX-1+ PMN-MDSCs decreased in
patients after surgery. The frequency of
CD15+LOX-1+ PMN-MDSCs was lower in
NSCLC patients without recurrence compared to those with recurrence
after surgery.
Conclusions: Circulating
CD15+LOX-1+ PMN-MDSCs are a
potential diagnostic marker for NSCLC, and are associated with NSCLC
recurrence after surgery.
KEYWORDS: Polymorphonuclear-myeloid derived suppressor cells,
non-small cell lung cancer, biomarker, diagnosis, recurrence after
surgery