Abstract:

Objective To determine the levels of lymphocyte subsets and platelet（PLT） in peripheral blood of preoperative and postoperative patients with pancreatic cancer,and to investigate the correlation between these indicators and clinicopathologic parameters of pancreatic cancer patients. Methods A total of 66 patients with pancreatic cancer were enrolled,and 64 healthy subjects were enrolled as control group. The expression levels of lymphocyte subsets [CD3⁺T cells,CD3⁺CD4⁺T cells,CD3⁺CD8⁺T cells,B cells and natural killer（NK） cells] and the level of PLT were determined. The correlations with clinicopathologic parameters were evaluated. Results Compared with control group,the expression levels of CD3⁺T cells and CD3⁺CD4⁺T cells were decreased in preoperative pancreatic cancer group（P<0.05）,and the expression levels of CD3⁺CD8⁺T cells and PLT were increased（P<0.05）. The expression levels of CD3⁺T cells and CD3⁺CD4⁺T cells in postoperative group were higher than those in preoperative group（P<0.05）,and the expression levels of PLT were lower than those in preoperative group（P<0.05）. There was no statistical significance in the expression levels of CD3⁺T cells,CD3⁺CD4⁺T cells,CD3⁺CD8⁺T cells,B cells,NK cells and PLT between postoperative pancreatic cancer group and control group（P>0.05）. There was no correlation between the expression levels of CD3⁺T cells,CD3⁺CD4⁺T cells,CD3⁺CD8⁺T cells,B cells,NK cells and PLT in preoperative peripheral blood and some clinicopathologic parameters（age,tumor size,tumor site,nerve infiltration and the degree of differentiation）（P>0.05）. The expression levels of CD3⁺CD4⁺T cells and PLT had correlations with different tissue grades and with or without lymph node metastasis（P<0.05）. Preoperative peripheral blood level of CD3⁺CD4⁺T cells was negatively correlated with PLT（r=-0.44,P<0.01）. Conclusions The cellular immune function of preoperative pancreatic cancer patients is inhibited,and the cellular immune function can be restored after operative treatment. Lymphocyte immunologic abnormalities are associated with PLT and are associated with tissue grading and lymph node metastasis in pancreatic cancer.

Key words: Lymphocyte, Platelet, Pancreatic cancer