Figure 6.

Cells of the monocytic lineage predict the therapeutic outcome. Absolute immune cell numbers were determined by flow cytometry before and after every serial irradiation, as well as for the follow-up appointment. At the same time points, the patients scored their subjective pain level in different situations on a VAS. A Spearman correlation was performed to assess the relationship between the immunological variables and the pain related variables. A simple linear regression was performed afterwards. For the graphical illustration, the mean values of the immune cell numbers were calculated and plotted. In (A), the mean numbers of myeloid DCs (mDCs) are correlated to the general pain level and in (B) those numbers are correlated to the morning stiffness. In (C) the mean number of type 1 monocytes and in (D) the mean number of type 3 monocytes are correlated to the morning stiffness (n = 100; **p < 0.001; ***p < 0.001).