Hydrogen Gas Therapy Boosts Immune Cells in Advanced Colon Cancer
- Authors
- Junji Akagi, Hideo Baba
- Journal
- Oncology Reports
- Year
- 2019
- DOI
- 10.3892/or.2018.6841
- Study Type
- Human
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Colorectal Cancer
- Body System
- Immune System
TL;DR
Inhaling hydrogen gas may rejuvenate tired immune cells and improve survival in advanced colorectal cancer patients.
Key Finding
Hydrogen gas inhalation decreased exhausted CD8+ T cells and improved both progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with stage IV colorectal cancer receiving chemotherapy.
Summary
This study examined whether inhaling hydrogen gas could help restore immune cells called CD8+ T cells in 55 patients with advanced colorectal cancer. These immune cells often become exhausted and stop working properly in cancer patients. The researchers found that patients who inhaled hydrogen gas for 3 hours daily alongside chemotherapy showed improvements in their immune cell function and lived longer without cancer progression compared to what would be expected based on their initial immune cell profiles.
Practical Takeaway
While this human study suggests hydrogen gas inhalation may support immune function in advanced cancer patients, it was conducted in a specific population (stage IV colorectal cancer) alongside chemotherapy, and the study design does not allow us to determine how much benefit came from hydrogen gas alone versus chemotherapy. Anyone with cancer should discuss any complementary therapies with their oncologist before use.
Abstract
Exhausted cluster of differentiation (CD)8+ T cells lose immunological activity due to mitochondrial dysfunction caused by peroxisome proliferator‑activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC‑1α) inactivation, resulting in a poor prognosis in patients with cancer. As hydrogen gas was recently reported to activate PGC‑1α, the present study investigated whether it restores exhausted CD8+ T cells to improve prognosis in patients with stage IV colorectal cancer. A total of 55 patients with histologically and clinically diagnosed stage IV colorectal carcinoma were enrolled between July 2014 and July 2017. The patients inhaled hydrogen gas for 3 h/day at their own homes and received chemotherapy at the Tamana Regional Health Medical Center (Tamana, Kumamoto, Japan). The CD8+ T cells were isolated from the peripheral blood and their phenotype was analyzed by flow cytometry. It was found that exhausted terminal programmed cell death 1 (PD‑1)+ CD8+ T cells in the peripheral blood are independently associated with worse progression‑free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Notably, hydrogen gas decreased the abundance of exhausted terminal PD‑1+ CD8+ T cells, increased that of active terminal PD‑1‑ CD8+ T cells, and improved PFS and OS times, suggesting that the balance between terminal PD1+ and PD1‑ CD8+ T cells is critical for cancer prognosis. Therefore, a novel system for patient classification (category 1‑4) was developed in the present study based on these two indices to assist in predicting the prognosis and therapeutic response. Collectively, the present results suggested that hydrogen gas reverses imbalances toward PD‑1+ CD8+ T cells to provide an improved prognosis.