Methylation-based immune deconvolution in prostate cancer patients before and after radical prostatectomy

Surgery, an established short-term immunosuppressive event, may spur dissemination of circulating tumor cells and promote the growth of micrometastases. Whether surgical treatment for prostate cancer (i.e., radical prostatectomy) leads to long-term immune changes is unknown.

We characterized intra-individual changes in circulating immune cell subsets across a six-month period using serial blood samples from prostate cancer patients pre- and post-radical prostatectomy (n = 11), and from a comparison group managed with active surveillance (n = 8). Immune cell subsets for each patient at each time point were deconvoluted using genome-wide methylation data.

There were no statistically significant intra-individual changes in immune cell proportions from pre- to six months post-radical prostatectomy. There were also no intra-individual changes in immune cell proportions in the active surveillance group, and no differences between treatment groups in immune cell changes over time.

We observed no meaningful changes in circulating immune cell subsets six months after radical prostatectomy, suggesting that surgery-induced immune changes may not be long-lasting.