The increase in circulating myeloid-derived suppressor cells correlated with clinical stage of cervical carcinoma

The myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are important tumor-induced immune suppression cells which have gained great attention in recent years. In this study, the levels of MDSCs in peripheral blood of cervical carcinoma (CC) patients, cervical intraepithelial neoplastic (CIN) patients, and healthy donors were analyzed by flow cytometry. It was shown that the proportion of circulating MDSCs was elevated in CC and CIN patients compared to that in healthy donor (HD). Further analyses revealed that the percentage of MDSCs is increased along with the stage of CC, but has no difference among other clinicopathological factors, including age, tumor grade, lymph node invasion, and histopathology. Taken together, our results suggested that MDSC levels are indicative of suppressive functions within the tumor environment of CC. Therefore, large validation studies could help to develop new immunotherapeutic strategies for CC patients by inhibiting or eliminating MDSC functions.