[Changes on hosts' immunological response in HCC patients treated with transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE)]

In order to investigate the changes of hosts' immunological response against cancer treated with transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE), percent change of surface antigens of peripheral lymphocytes using two color analysis with flow cytometry and NK activity were measured before TAE and 1,2 and 3 weeks after TAE in 41 cases with hepatocellular carcinoma. CD4+2H4+ subset (suppressor inducer cell) significantly increased 1 week after TAE and the increase significantly continued for 3 weeks. CD8+CD11b+ bright subset (suppressor cell), CD8+CD11b- subset (cytotoxic T cell) and CD4+2H4- subset (helper/helper inducer cell) did not change significantly for 3 weeks after TAE. Total of CD16+Leu7-, CD16+Leu7+ and CD16-Leu7+ subsets (NK cell subsets) significantly decreased 1 week after TAE and the decrease significantly continued for 3 weeks. NK activity was significantly suppressed 1 week after TAE, and the suppression of NK activity significantly continued for 3 weeks. It was identified that decrease of NK cell subsets was significantly related to increase of suppressor inducer cell by statistical multivariate analysis. In NK cell subsets composited ratio of CD16-Leu7+ significantly increased 1 week after TAE, of CD16+Leu7+ significantly decreased 1 week after TAE, and of CD16+Leu7- significantly decreased 2 week after TAE. Therefore it is suggested that patients' immunity against cancer is weakened by TAE, and that TAE should not be rashly done in order to preserve the immunological response when it is previously expected that patients might have residual cancer; metastasis or invasion into vessels after TAE.