1. The Dysfunctional Immune System in Common Variable Immunodeficiency Increases the Susceptibility to Gastric Cancer.
- Author
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Gullo, Irene, Costa, Catarina, Silva, Susana L., Ferreira, Cristina, Motta, Adriana, Silva, Sara P., Ferreira, Rúben Duarte, Rosmaninho, Pedro, Faria, Emília, Costa, José Torres da, Câmara, Rita, Gonçalves, Gilza, Santos-Antunes, João, Oliveira, Carla, Machado, José C., Carneiro, Fátima, and Sousa, Ana E.
- Subjects
COMMON variable immunodeficiency ,STOMACH cancer ,CANCER susceptibility ,IMMUNE system ,CYTOMEGALOVIRUS diseases ,PLASMACYTOMA ,HELICOBACTER pylori infections ,ORAL mucosa - Abstract
Gastric carcinoma (GC) represents the most common cause of death in patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID). However, a limited number of cases have been characterised so far. In this study, we analysed the clinical features, bacterial/viral infections, detailed morphology and immune microenvironment of nine CVID patients with GC. The study of the immune microenvironment included automated digital counts of CD20+, CD4+, CD8+, FOXP3+, GATA3+ and CD138+ immune cells, as well as the evaluation of PD-L1 expression. Twenty-one GCs from non-CVID patients were used as a control group. GC in CVID patients was diagnosed mostly at early-stage (n = 6/9; 66.7%) and at younger age (median-age: 43y), when compared to non-CVID patients (p < 0.001). GC pathogenesis was closely related to Helicobacter pylori infection (n = 8/9; 88.9%), but not to Epstein-Barr virus (0.0%) or cytomegalovirus infection (0.0%). Non-neoplastic mucosa (non-NM) in CVID-patients displayed prominent lymphocytic gastritis (100%) and a dysfunctional immune microenvironment, characterised by higher rates of CD4+/CD8+/Foxp3+/GATA3+/PD-L1+ immune cells and the expected paucity of CD20+ B-lymphocytes and CD138+ plasma cells, when compared to non-CVID patients (p < 0.05). Changes in the immune microenvironment between non-NM and GC were not equivalent in CVID and non-CVID patients, reflecting the relevance of immune dysfunction for gastric carcinogenesis and GC progression in the CVID population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
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