Immunohistological study on HLA class II antigen expression and lymphocyte infiltration in cancer tissues of the uterine cervix
Nakamura, M.
Nihon Sanka Fujinka Gakkai Zasshi 44(3): 349-356
1992
ISSN/ISBN: 0300-9165 PMID: 1607758 Document Number: 399897
The collection between the presence and absence of HLA Class II antigen and stromal lymphocyte infiltration in cervical cancer tissue was analyzed immunohistologically. The correlation was also studied in relation to the prognosis of patients with cervical carcinoma. Immunohistological staining was performed with a monoclonal antibody differentiating monomorphic determinants of HLA-DR and an antibody (HU-30) differentiating HLA-DR1/2, one of the polymorphic determinants, in 36 patients with cervical carcinoma. Infiltrating lymphocytes were identified immunohistologically with various monoclonal antibodies, and the following results were obtained; 1) Twenty-six (72.2%) of the 36 patients were evaluated as positive for HLA-DR1/2 from the reaction with HU-30. 2) Cancer cells from 21 (80.8%) of the 26 patients were HLA-DR positive, while those from 5 (19.2%) were HLA-DR negative. 3) Cancer cells from 12 (46.2%: group A) of the 21 patients were also positive for HLA-DR1/2, while those from 9 (34.6%) were negative for the determinant. 4) There was no patient whose stromal lymphocytes were negative for HLA-DR1/2 and whose cancer cells alone were positive for the determinant. Thus, there was a total of 14 patients (53.8%: group B) whose cancer cells were negative for HLA-DR. 5) The lymphocytes that infiltrated the area surrounding the cancer lesion were mainly T cells, with Leu-3a cells (helper/inducer T cell) more abundant than Leu-2a cells (suppressor/cytotoxic T cell). 6) Infiltration of T cells, the subgroup and IL-2-receptor-positive cells was greater in group A than in group B. 7) Although there was no difference between groups A and B in the clinical stage, histological type, degree of cancer invasion, or the presence or absence of lynph node metastasis, the incidence of no recurrence tended to be higher and the prognosis better in group A. It was therefore felt that the appearance of HLA Class II antigen of cervical cancer cells and the degree of lymphocyte infiltration of the host for the antigen could become important indices in determining the prognosis.