Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026
13:19
Microarray-based Identification of Individual HERV Loci Expression: Application to Biomarker Discovery in Prostate Cancer
Published on: November 2, 2013
16.8K
Immunophenotype Rearrangement in Response to Tumor Excision May Be Related to the Risk of Biochemical Recurrence in
Paulius Bosas1, Gintaras Zaleskis2, Daiva Dabkevičiene2
1Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Vilnius University, 03101 Vilnius, Lithuania.
Journal of Clinical Medicine
|August 27, 2021
Summary
Prostate cancer surgery impacts immune cells differently based on risk. Low-risk patients show immune recovery, while high-risk patients have increased suppressor cells, indicating distinct responses to tumor removal.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Oncology
- Surgical Oncology
Background:
- Prostate cancer (PCa) exhibits variable aggressiveness and immunogenicity.
- Understanding immune system changes after tumor removal is crucial for predicting outcomes.
- Biochemical recurrence (BCR) risk stratification is essential for PCa management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate immunophenotype alterations in peripheral blood after tumor excision in prostate cancer patients.
- To determine if these immune changes correlate with biochemical recurrence (BCR) in high-risk (HR) and low-risk (LR) groups.
- To compare the impact of different surgical approaches (laparoscopic vs. open) on postoperative immune profiles.
Main Methods:
- 108 prostate cancer patients (pT2-pT3) underwent radical prostatectomy (RP).
- Immunophenotype profiling (T-cell subsets, B-cell subsets, MDSC, NK, T regulatory cells) was performed preoperatively and at one and three months postoperatively.
- Peripheral blood immune cell populations were compared between LR and HR groups, and between laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) and open radical prostatectomy (ORP) cohorts.
Main Results:
- Biochemical recurrence-free survival differed significantly between HR and LR groups.
- Postoperative PSA decay rate (ePSA) was slower in the HR group and predicted BCR.
- LR patients showed recovery of Natural Killer (NK) cells and increased CD8+ T cells post-surgery.
- HR patients exhibited an increase in CD8+ CD69+ T cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs).
- Laparoscopic RP (LRP) was associated with an immunity-sparing profile, unlike Open RP (ORP) which increased MDSCs.
Conclusions:
- Tumor excision elicits distinct immunophenotype rearrangements in prostate cancer patients.
- LR patients demonstrate a robust immune recovery post-surgery, with restored T and NK cells and no MDSC increase.
- HR patients show a limited immune response, characterized by increased suppressor MDSCs and CD8+ CD69+ T cells.
- LRP preserves immune homeostasis better than ORP by avoiding postoperative MDSC elevation.
