Relationships Between Regular T Cells In The Immuno-microenvironment And TNM Stages Of Tongue Carcinoma

Background & Purpose:Tongue squamous cell carcinoma is the most common malignant tumor in the head and neck, which damages the quality of patients’life to a great extent, and its occurrence and development have always been the major study topic among maxillofacial surgeons. Since we have conquered in the clinical work to some extent, its principle in occurrence and evolution has been studied widely at present, and its treatment also is varied. But for the exact etiology, treatment and judgment for prognosis, it is still difficult to have satisfactory results. Nowadays we take the TNM stages as a main standard for the progress of tongue squamous cell carcinoma patients. But it is proved that their following are different among the patients of the same TNM stages in clinical works. So it is obvious that there are many limitations in TNM stages. Recently, more and more studies have proved that the tumor immuno-microenvironment plays an important role in occurrence and development of malignant tumors, and plenty of studies have been implemented in the tumor immuno-microenvironment, including regulatory T cells (Treg). Among many other tumors, function of Treg may be responsible for the immune escape of tumor cells and associated with the prognosis of patients with malignant. This research attempts to explore the relationship between the expression of regulatory T cells in immuno-microenvironment of patients with tongue cancer and their clinical pathology and prognosis through the analysis of the infiltration of Treg in cancer tissues. We hope to provide the basis for tongue cancer patients’ prognosis through immuno-microenvironment. Further to provide a new strategy for clinical treatment of tongue squamous cell carcinoma.Methods:Thirty cases of tongue squamous cell carcinoma, diagnosed with pathological examination, were retrospectively analyzed between 2010.01 and 2013.01 in Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery of Qilu Hospital Shandong University. Basic clinical characteristics of patients (sex, age), postoperative pathologic lesions of TNM stages were collected. And complete follow-up data of them were collected. Immunohistochemical staining method is used to detect the expression of forkhead box P3 (FoxP3)+Treg cells in tongue cancer. Adopt positive piece known as the positive control, TBS buffer instead of a resistance as a negative control. And compare with the expression of Treg cells in normal oral mucous squamous cells. All the data analysis is made by SPSS 18.0 statistical software. We use Fisher’s exact testt to testify the relationship between the expression of FoxP3+ Treg cells in patients with tongue cancer and their clinical pathology and prognosis. Only P<0.05 is thought to be statistically significant.Results1. There were a large number of FoxP3+ T cell infiltration in the core and invasive margin of tongue cancer tissue, and the FoxP3+ T cells didn’t distribute in normal oral mucous squamous epithelium.2. There was no significant difference among the infiltration of FoxP3+T cell in the core of the tumour tissue in different age (P= 0.6130), sex (P= 0.2635), TNM stage (P= 0.4497), pathological stage (P=0.1590), lymph node status (P=1) and postoperative survival of patients (P= 0.6817).3. There was no significant difference among the infiltration of FoxP3+T cell in the invasive margin in different age (P=0.4767), sex (P= 0.7104), TNM stage (P= 0.1281), pathological stage (P=0.7152), lymph node status (P= 0.7152) and postoperative survival of patients (P= 0.4270).4. The infiltration and distribution of FoxP3+T cell was different in tongue cancer of different TNM stages (P= 0.0017). There was no significant difference among the infiltration and distribution of FoxP3+T cell in different age (P= 0.2908), sex (P= 0.8772), pathological stage (P=0.8890), lymph node status (P= 0.6804) and postoperative survival of patients (P= 0.5493).Conclusions:1. A large amount of regulatory T cells distribute in tongue squamous cell carcinoma tissue, but not in normal oral mucous epithelium. Regulatory T cells take part in the immunity regular of tongue squamous cell carcinoma.2. There is no relationship between the infiltration of regulatory T cell count in the core or the invasive margin of tongue cancer and the patient’s gender, age, TNM stages, pathological stages, lymph node status, postoperative survival.3. The infiltration and distribution of regulatory T cell in cancer tissue is related to the TNM stages, but show no relationship with patient’s gender, age, lymph node status, pathological stages and postoperative survival.