Background/Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the assessment of the percentage of NK and NKT-like cells expressing Toll-like receptors (TLR-2, TLR-3, TLR-4, and TLR-9) in patients with gastric cancer (GC) compared with healthy volunteers (HV) and to investigate differences according to cancer subtype. We also assessed TLR gene expression by RT-qPCR to assess whether TLRs could be diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers.Methods: The study included 86 patients with histologically confirmed gastric cancer and 30 healthy volunteers. Peripheral blood samples were collected from the participants, and TLR expression on NK and NKT-like cells was assessed by flow cytometry and RT-qPCR. The expression of TLR2, TLR3, TLR4, and TLR9 genes was assessed using genetic material derived from NK and NKT-like cells sourced from PBMC. The obtained results were statistically analyzed using Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests, and the predictive ability of variables was assessed using ROC curve analysis.Results: A significantly higher expression of TLR receptors (TLR-2, TLR-3, TLR-4, and TLR-9) was found in patients with gastric cancer compared to healthy volunteers (p< 0.05). TLR expression also differed depending on the cancer subtype, and higher expression was observed in more advanced GC subtypes. RT-qPCR analysis showed significantly increased expression of TLR genes in the group of GC patients. ROC curves indicate a high ability of TLRs to differentiate between GC patients and healthy individuals.Conclusions: The expression of TLRs on NK and NKT-like cells is clearly increased in patients with gastric cancer, especially in more advanced subtypes of the tumor. The results suggest that TLRs could potentially be used as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and represent potential targets for immune therapies in GC. However, further studies are needed to determine the functional role of TLRs in disease progression and the possibility of their use in personalized treatment.
背景/目的：本研究旨在评估胃癌（GC）患者与健康志愿者（HV）相比，表达Toll样受体（TLR-2、TLR-3、TLR-4和TLR-9）的NK和NKT样细胞的百分比，并探究其在不同癌症亚型间的差异。同时，我们通过RT-qPCR评估TLR基因表达，以探讨TLR是否可作为诊断和预后的生物标志物。 方法：研究纳入86例经组织学确诊的胃癌患者和30名健康志愿者。采集参与者外周血样本，通过流式细胞术和RT-qPCR评估NK和NKT样细胞上的TLR表达。TLR2、TLR3、TLR4和TLR9基因的表达评估采用源自外周血单个核细胞（PBMC）中NK和NKT样细胞的遗传物质。所得数据采用Mann-Whitney U检验和Kruskal-Wallis检验进行统计分析，并通过ROC曲线分析评估变量的预测能力。 结果：与健康志愿者相比，胃癌患者TLR受体（TLR-2、TLR-3、TLR-4和TLR-9）表达显著升高（p<0.05）。TLR表达还因癌症亚型而异，在更晚期的GC亚型中观察到更高的表达。RT-qPCR分析显示GC患者组TLR基因表达显著增加。ROC曲线表明TLR在区分GC患者与健康个体方面具有较高的能力。 结论：胃癌患者NK和NKT样细胞上的TLR表达明显增加，尤其在肿瘤更晚期的亚型中。结果表明TLR可能作为诊断和预后的生物标志物，并有望成为GC免疫治疗的潜在靶点。然而，仍需进一步研究以确定TLR在疾病进展中的功能作用及其在个体化治疗中应用的可能性。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家