Thymosin alpha 1 treatment significantly reduced T and B cell decline post-gastrectomy in cancer patients

Patients undergoing surgery for locally advanced gastric cancer, particularly laparoscopic D2 gastrectomy, frequently experience postoperative immune suppression, leading to increased complications and suboptimal short-term outcomes. A critical gap exists in understanding the precise dynamics of peripheral lymphocyte subsets following this extensive procedure and identifying interventions to bolster immune recovery. Current standard-of-care often lacks targeted strategies to counteract the profound immune cell depletion observed, which can compromise the patient's ability to fight infection and cancer recurrence. This study explores how Thymosin alpha 1 (Tα1), an immunomodulatory peptide, might address this challenge by influencing lymphocyte recovery.

Researchers retrospectively analyzed clinicopathological data from 169 gastric cancer patients who underwent laparoscopic D2 gastrectomy. The study focused on perioperative variations in peripheral lymphocyte subsets, including T cells, B cells, NK cells, memory T cells, naive T cells, and regulatory T cells. Univariate and multivariate analyses were employed to identify factors significantly influencing postoperative lymphocyte reductions. The presence or absence of Thymosin alpha 1 (Tα1) therapy was assessed as a potential protective factor against immune cell depletion.

By postoperative day 7, significant median decreases were observed across several lymphocyte subsets: T cells declined by -26.1%, B cells by -30.8%, NK cells by -44.8%, and memory T cells by -2.3%. Conversely, naive T cells increased by 6.0% and regulatory T cells by 15.0%. Notably, Thymosin alpha 1 (Tα1) treatment emerged as a protective factor, significantly reducing the decline in both T and B cell counts (p=0.05).