Differential Immune Landscape of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Suggests Potential role of Macrophages in Hepatocarcinogenesis

• Published in: Pakistan journal of medical sciences 2021-06, Vol.37 (3), p.858-862
• Main Authors: Shafique, Yusra, Qureshi, Muhammad Asif, Khan, Saeed, Mirza, Talat
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Angiogenesis; B cells; Biopsy; Cancer; Care and treatment; Chemokines; Development and progression; Hepatoma; Immunotherapy; Investigations; Liver; Liver cancer; Lymphocytes; Macrophages; Neutrophils; Original; Pathogenesis; Transplantation of organs, tissues, etc; Transplants & implants
• ISSN: 1682-024X; 1681-715X
• DOI: 10.12669/pjms.37.3.2973

To investigate immune cell densities in tumor microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma. This cross-sectional study was conducted during 2017-2019 at the Dow University of Health Sciences Karachi. A total of 42 subsequent patients undergoing liver biopsy/resection and diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma were included in the study. Moreover, a total of 10 control tissues were also included. In order to investigate immune cells densities in hepatocellular carcinoma, immunohistochemistry was performed using antibodies including α-MPO(neutrophils), α-CD-68(macrophages), α-CD-3(T-cells), α-CD-20(B-cells), α-CD-4(CD4+ T-cells) and α-CD-8(CD8+ T-cells). Quantification of immune cells/mm was performed as per the College of American Pathologists' guidelines. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21. A p-value of 0.05 was considered significant at all times. We report significantly increased infiltration of macrophages (mean macrophages= 306.57/mm , p-value