Circulating hematopoietic stem cells, endothelial progenitor cells and cancer stem cells in hepatocellular carcinoma patients: contribution to diagnosis and prognosis

Authors

  • Asmaa M. Zahran Department of Clinical Pathology, South Egypt Cancer Institute, Assiut, Egypt
  • Mona H. Abdel-Rahim Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt
  • Ahmed Refaat Medical Oncology, South Egypt Cancer Institute, Assiut, Egypt
  • Mona H. Sayed Radiotherapy Department, South Egypt Cancer Institute, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt
  • Mostafa M. Othman Radiodiagnosis Department, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt
  • Lamiaa M. R. Khalak Radiodiagnosis Department, South Egypt Cancer Institute, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt
  • Helal F. Hetta Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt; ;Department of Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1080/0284186X.2019.1657940

Abstract

Background and aim: Circulating hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and cancer stem cells (CSCs) contribute to tumor development and progression and can predict patient outcome. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of circulating HSCs, EPCs and CSCs in the peripheral blood of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to explore their potential prognostic significance for HCC patients.

Methods: The study included 30 HCC patients and 20 healthy controls. The HSCs and EPCs were enumerated with CD45, CD34, CD133, CD144 markers, while CSCs were enumerated with CD45, CD44, CD133 markers using flow cytometry.

Results: The mean percentages of circulating HSCs were significantly lower in HCC patients than the controls (p = .001), whereas the mean percentages of EPCs within the HSCs subpopulation were significantly higher in the HCC patients than the controls (p = .002). The absolute count of CSCs within 100,000 peripheral blood mononuclear cells was 23.5 ± 3.4 in the HCC patients. Also, the mean percentages of circulating HSCs, EPCs and the number of CSCs were significantly increased in patients with multiple hepatic focal lesions than in patients with a single hepatic focal lesion. Both circulating HSCs and EPCs showed significant positive correlation with the level of AFP and with the numbers of CSCs. In the meantime, the numbers of CSCs revealed significant direct correlation with ALT, AST and AFP levels. The one-year overall survival (OS) of the patients was 77.5%. High levels of CSCs, HSCs and EPCs at diagnosis were all associated with worse outcome for the HCC patients.

Conclusions: Significant changes in the levels of the circulating HSCs, EPCs and CSCs occur in HCC. These changes help the diagnosis and the prediction of HCC outcome, as higher levels of these cells are associated with worse OS.

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Published

2020-01-02

How to Cite

Zahran, A. M. ., Abdel-Rahim, M. H. ., Refaat, A. ., Sayed, M. H., Othman, M. M. ., Khalak, L. M. R. ., & Hetta, H. F. . (2020). Circulating hematopoietic stem cells, endothelial progenitor cells and cancer stem cells in hepatocellular carcinoma patients: contribution to diagnosis and prognosis. Acta Oncologica, 59(1), 33–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/0284186X.2019.1657940

Issue

Vol. 59 No. 1 (2020): Acta Oncologica

Section

Articles