IDO and intra‐tumoral neutrophils were independent prognostic factors for overall survival for hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Both Indole‐amine‐2,3‐dioxygenase (IDO) and neutrophils were proved to have pro‐tumor effect in some kinds of solid tumors by immune suppression. However, little is known about their effect on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the relationship between these two immune‐suppressive factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of IDO and intra‐tumoral neutrophils and their correlations in HCC. METHODS: Specimens’ tissue microarray (TMA) for 153 HCC patients was used in this study. We examined intra‐tumoral expression of IDO and CD66b in TMA. The Kaplan‐Meier method and Cox regression models were used to evaluate the prognostic value of IDO expression and CD66b. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis showed both IDO expression and intra‐tumoral neutrophils infiltration were independent prognostic factors for overall survival (OS). In high IDO expression group, the percentage of intra‐tumoral neutrophils infiltration was higher than that in low IDO expression group. CONCLUSION: Both IDO and intra‐tumoral neutrophils were independent prognostic factors for overall survival for HCC.