Clinical Behavior in Metastatic Brain Disease Is Not Influenced by the Immunological Defense Mediated by CD57+ NK-Cells

Abstract EN

Objectives.

The purpose of the present study is to verify if the degree of immunological response against metastatic tumors, measured by the number of CD57+ NK-cells in the tissue of a brain metastasis, influences the later development of new brain metastases or tumor recurrence.

Patients and Methods.

CD57+ NK-cells were immunohistochemically identified in the resected tumor, in a series of twenty patients operated on by a single brain metastasis secondary to lung adenocarcinoma.

In each case, the degree of CD57+ NK-cells infiltration within the tumor tissue and the period free of new intracranial disease after brain surgery were recorded.

Results.

All the studied tumors showed variable number of CD57+ NK-cells (mean ± standard deviation: 8.4±4.8 per microscopical field, at 200x).

The period free of intracranial disease ranged between 10 and 52 weeks (mean ± standard deviation: 22.7±11.9).

Statistical analysis showed that there was no correlation between the degree of NK-cells infiltration within the resected tumor and the period free of intracranial disease after surgery (P>0.05).

Conclusion.

This finding supports that clinical behavior in metastatic brain disease is not influenced by the immunological response mediated by CD57+ NK-cells.