Expression of PTEN,FOXP3 and STAT3 proteins in the tumor microenvironment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

YU Jing-wen; LI Jun-na; WANG Xiao-shu; MA Wen-mei; PANG Xue-lian; CUI Wen-li

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1007-8096.2025.02.012

Abstract：Objective To investigate PTEN deletion,FOXP3 and STAT3 protein expression in the tumor microenvironment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and to elaborate its clinicopathological significance.Methods Paraffin-embedded tissue blocks from 120 patients with DLBCL were collected retrospectively,and the expression of PTEN,FOXP3 and STAT3 proteins was detected by immunohistochemistry(IHC)and analyzed statistically.Results The positive rate of PTEN protein was 30.8％(37/120).The deletion rate of PTEN was 69.2％(83/120),of which 55％(66/120)was GCB type and 14.2％(17/120)was non-GCB type.The positive rate of FOXP3 was 81.7％(98/120),the positive rate of STAT3 was 50％(60/120),and the proportion of patients with low expression of FOXP3 was 37.5％(45/120).The high expression rate of STAT3 was 44.2％(53/120),and the low expression rate of STAT3 was 9.2％(11/120).The proportion of patients with high expression of STAT3 was 40.8％(49/120).PTEN deletion,high expression of FOXP3 and STAT3 were related to bone marrow involvement,IPI score and PS score(P＜0.05),and high expression of STAT3 was related to tumor size(P＜0.05).The loss of PTEN expression was negatively correlated with the high expression of FOXP3 and STAT3(P＜0.05).Univariate and multivariate survival analyses showed that high-risk group with IPI score,PS score and loss of PTEN expression were independent risk factors affecting the prognosis of patients with DLBCL(P＜0.05).Conclusion Loss of PTEN expression in DLBCL tumor cells is most commonly found,and it is significantly absent in GCB type;PTEN loss and high expression of STAT3 can be used as one of the indicators to evaluate the malignant degree or prognosis of DLBCL,and FOXP3 is the most specific biomarker of regulatory T cells(Treg),and its expression level can provide reference value for the malignant degree of DLBCL.