Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Nov 16, 2022; 10(32): 11804-11811
Published online Nov 16, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i32.11804
T-cell immunoglobulin mucin molecule-3, transformation growth factor β, and chemokine-12 and the prognostic status of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
Hao Wu, Hui-Cong Sun, Gui-Fang Ouyang
Hao Wu, Gui-Fang Ouyang, Department of Hematology, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo Clinical Research Center for Hematologic Malignancies, Ningbo 315010, Zhejiang Province, China
Hui-Cong Sun, Department of Adult Internal Medicine, Ningbo Women and Children's Hospital, Ningbo 315012, Zhejiang Province, China`
Author contributions: Wu H and Ouyang GF for their help in research ideas and design; Ouyang GF for supervision and writing the review; Wu H and Sun HC for their role in research implementation, data collection, and manuscript submission; Wu H for statistical analysis, manuscript editing, and writing.
Supported by Ningbo Science and Technology Program, No. 2019A6-10312.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by Ningbo First Hospital.
Informed consent statement: All study participants or their legal guardians provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest related to this study.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE statement checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE statement checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Gui-Fang Ouyang, MD, Chief Physician, Department of Hematology, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo Clinical Research Center for Hematologic Malignancies, No. 59 Liuting Street, Ningbo 315010, Zhejiang Province, China. oyguifangoy@163.com
Received: August 1, 2022
Peer-review started: August 1, 2022
First decision: August 21, 2022
Revised: September 8, 2022
Accepted: October 19, 2022
Article in press: October 19, 2022
Published online: November 16, 2022
Abstract
BACKGROUND

The effects of T-cell immunoglobulin mucin molecule-3 (Tim-3), transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), and chemokine-12 (CXCL12) expression on the prognosis of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) have not been elucidated.

AIM

To examine the correlation between Tim-3, TGF-β and CXCL12 expression and DLBCL prognosis.

METHODS

Lymph node tissues of 97 patients with DLBCL and 93 normal-response hyperplastic lymph node tissues treated from January 2017 to May 2019 were selected as the DLBCL and control groups, respectively. The expression of Tim-3, TGF-β, and CXCL12 was detected immunohistochemically. Patients were followed up for 3 years, and progression-free survival was recorded. Cox multifactorial analysis was performed to analyze the risk factors for poor prognosis.

RESULTS

The positive expression rates of Tim-3, TGF-β, and CXCL12 were higher in DLBCL tissues than in non-cancerous (control) tissues (P < 0.05). One-year post-surgery, the positive expression rates of Tim-3, TGF-β, and CXCL12 were higher in patients with effective treatment than in those with ineffective treatment (P < 0.05). The 3-year progression-free survival of 97 patients with DLBCL was 67.01% (65/97). Univariate analysis revealed that clinical stage, bone marrow infiltration, International Prognostic Index (IPI) score, Tim-3 positivity, TGF-β positivity, and CXCL12 positivity were associated with poor prognosis (P < 0.05). Multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that clinical stage III–IV, bone marrow infiltration, mediate-to-high-risk IPI scores, Tim-3 positivity, TGF-β positivity, and CXCL12 positivity were independent risk factors affecting prognosis (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

DLBCL tissues exhibit high positive expression of Tim-3, TGF-β, and CXCL12, and a high expression of all three indicates a poor prognosis.

Keywords: T-cell immunoglobulin mucin molecule-3, Transforming growth factor β, Chemokine-12, Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Core Tip: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a malignant tumor with a poor prognosis. T-cell immunoglobulin mucin molecule-3 (Tim-3), transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), and chemokine 12 (CXCL12) can affect the prognosis of solid tumors by participating in the tumor immune escape. Therefore, we analyzed the effects of Tim-3, TGF-β, and CXCL12 expression on DLBCL prognosis. The results suggest that Tim-3 positive, TGF-β positive, and CXCL12 positive are independent risk factors; therefore, they can be used to evaluate the efficacy and prognosis of DLBCL patients.