CELL INTELLIGENCE · 肿瘤细胞治疗研究

Peritoneal mesothelioma (PeM) is an aggressive malignancy with a dismal prognosis and limited therapeutic options. Tumor-infiltrating natural killer (NK) cells play a pivotal role in anti-tumor immunity, yet their clinical significance in PeM remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between NK cell infiltration levels and the main clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis in PeM.

The study collected 109 postoperative specimens from PeM patients after cytoreductive surgery. Immunohistochemical staining was performed, and NK cell infiltration was quantified using QuPath-0.3.2 software. Uni- and multivariate analyses were performed to assess correlations between NK infiltration levels and clinicopathologic parameters.

The 109 PeM patients in the study included 52 males (47.7%) and 57 females (52.3%) with a median age of 54 years (range, 25-72 years). Levels of NK infiltration were found to be low in 54 (49.5%) cases and high in 55 (50.5%) cases. Univariate analysis showed that a high NK infiltration level was negatively associated with the following five clinicopathologic factors: preoperative carbohydrate antigen (CA) 125 level, completeness of cytoreduction (CC), bleeding, red blood cell (RBC) transfusion, and ascites (all P < 0.05). Additionally. survival analysis demonstrated that a high NK infiltration level was associated with a better prognosis.

Tumor-infiltrating NK cells may serve as prognostic biomarkers and guide personalized treatment strategies for PeM patients.