Soluble immune checkpoints in endometrial cancer - a discovery study

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• Soluble immune checkpoints (sICs) are circulating forms of immune molecules targeted by cancer therapies.
• Altered sIC levels are implicated in various cancers, but data in endometrial cancer (EC) is limited.
• sICs are potential biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and predicting treatment response.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess plasma concentrations of 16 sICs in EC patients.
• To evaluate the diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive value of sICs in EC.
• To explore correlations between sIC levels and EC clinicopathological features.

Main Methods:

• Prospective case-control study involving 50 EC patients and 26 controls.
• Plasma sIC levels measured using a fluorescence-based multiplex immunoassay.
• Statistical analysis included non-parametric tests and robust logistic regression.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in sIC levels between EC patients and controls.
• Elevated sICs (sPD-1, sPD-L1, sLAG-3, sICOS, sGITR, sCD86) observed in MMR-deficient EC tumors.
• Increased sTIM-3, sCD27, sHVEM, and sCD40 associated with lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) and advanced disease stages.

Conclusions:

• sIC levels did not differentiate EC from controls but correlated with prognostic factors.
• Circulating sICs may serve as non-invasive biomarkers for EC risk stratification.
• Further validation in larger cohorts is necessary to confirm the utility of sICs in EC management.