Increased frequency of circulating Th17 cells after TACE predicted improved survival.

<p>(A) Individuals in the high Th17 frequency group had significantly improved survival compared with those in the low Th17 frequency group 30 days after TACE. The samples were divided into two groups by the median Th17 frequency. Overall survival (OS) and time to progression (TTP) were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the long-rank test. (B) The association between the percentual change of Th17 levels (Th17_D30/Th17_D0) and TTP. Th17<i>_D0</i>, the percentage of Th17 cells in CD4⁺ T cells before TACE; Th17<i>_D30</i>, the percentage of Th17 cells in CD4⁺ T cells 30 days after TACE. The vertical axis is displayed on a logarithmic scale (base 10). (C) Patients with extreme good prognosis (TTP>6 months, circles) had higher Th<i>_D30</i> than the other patients (TTP ≤ 6 months, triangles). M, months.