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T lymphocytes infiltrating advanced grades of cervical neoplasia. CD8-positive cells are recruited to invasion

1995; Wiley; Volume: 76; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/1097-0142(19951015)76

1097-0142

Robert P. Edwards, Kay Kuykendall, Peggy A. Crowley‐Nowick, Edward E. Partridge, Hugh M. Shingleton, Jiří Městecký,

Immune Cell Function and Interaction

Background. Impaired cellular immunity appears to be a risk factor for progression of cervical neoplasia, but the immunobiology of neoplastic progression is poorly understood. The objective of this study was to characterize the subpopulations of T lymphocytes that infiltrate various grades of cervical neoplasia including metaplasia to invasive cancer in immunocompetent women. Method. In 65 patients with a spectrum of cervical disease ranging from normal cytology to carcinoma, the relative proportions of total T lymphocytes and CD4- or CD8-expressing (helper or cytotoxic) T lymphocyte subsets were determined by immunohistochemistry. Results. When the invasive carcinoma stromal infiltrate was compared with the infiltrate of preinvasive lesions, the numbers of total T cells and the CD8-positive subset increased significantly in the invasive cancers (P < 0.005). Although immunocyte infiltrates were highly concentrated in focal clusters beneath the preinvasive squamous lesions, the CD8-positive immunocytes diffusely infiltrated the invading tumor. Conclusions. The CD8-positive T cell infiltrate far exceeded the CD4-positive cells in the invasive, but not in the preinvasive lesions, a finding that suggests that CD8 cells are recruited preferentially to cervical lesions with progression to invasion.