CD33+ Immature Myeloid Cells Critically Predict Recurrence in Advanced Gastric Cancer.

Background: It is elusive which subtypes of immune cells are pivotal in cancer progression and prognosis in gastric cancer (GC). The aim of this study is to clarify clinical impact of immature myeloid-derived immune cells in patients with GC who underwent curative gastrectomy with curative lymphadenectomy and treated with S-1 (tegafur/gimeracil/oteracil) postoperatively.
Methods: The prognostic impact of recruited CD33+ immature myeloid-derived cells were clinicopathologically analyzed in curatively resected stage II and III GC. Correlation of preoperative peripheral leukocyte fractions with recruited CD33+ immature cells was also assessed.
Results: Patients with high CD33+ cell counts in primary tumor showed dramatically worse prognosis (5-y recurrence-free survival 29.0%) than that of the counterparts (79.4%). High CD33+ cell counts independently predicted poor prognosis in stage II/III (hazard ratio, 4.34; P < 0.001). In analyses of each stage, high CD33+ cell count was pivotally associated with poor prognosis in both stages. There was no significant correlation of each peripheral leukocyte fraction with CD33+ cell recruitment. Of note, high CD33+ cell count was significantly correlated with hematogenous recurrence.
Conclusions: Recruitment of CD33+ immature myeloid cells critically predict hematogenous recurrences in curatively resected advanced GC. These results give rational to focusing on CD33+ myeloid-derived cells as a novel approach to tackle advanced GC.
(Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)