1. High Blood Concentration of Leukocyte-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Is Predictive of Favorable Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer: Results from a Multicenter Prospective Study
- Author
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Davide Brocco, Domenico De Bellis, Pietro Di Marino, Pasquale Simeone, Antonino Grassadonia, Michele De Tursi, Tommaso Grottola, Fabio Francesco Di Mola, Patrizia Di Gregorio, Barbara Zappacosta, Antonio Angelone, Laura De Lellis, Serena Veschi, Rosalba Florio, Simone De Fabritiis, Fabio Verginelli, Marco Marchisio, Marta Caporale, Dimitri Luisi, Pierluigi Di Sebastiano, Nicola Tinari, Alessandro Cama, and Paola Lanuti
- Subjects
Cancer Research ,pancreatic cancer ,leukocytes ,extracellular vesicles ,Oncology - Abstract
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Identification of novel tumor biomarkers is highly advocated in PC to optimize personalized treatment algorithms. Blood-circulating extracellular vesicles hold promise for liquid biopsy application in cancer. We used an optimized flow cytometry protocol to study leukocyte-derived EVs (CD45+) and PD-L1+ EVs in blood from 56 pancreatic cancer patients and 48 healthy controls (HCs). Our results show that PC patients presented higher blood levels of total EVs (p = 0.0003), leukocyte-derived EVs (LEVs) (p = 0.001) and PD-L1+ EVs (p = 0.01), as compared with HCs. Interestingly, a blood concentration of LEVs at baseline was independently associated with improved overall survival in patients with borderline resectable or primary unresectable PC (HR = 0.17; 95% CI 0.04–0.79; p = 0.02). Additionally, increased blood-based LEVs were independently correlated with prolonged progression-free survival (HR = 0.10; 95% CI 0.01–0.82; p = 0.03) and significantly associated with higher disease control rate (p = 0.02) in patients with advanced PC receiving standard chemotherapy. Notably, a strong correlation between a decrease in blood LEVs concentration during chemotherapy and disease control was observed (p = 0.005). These intriguing findings point to the potential of LEVs as novel blood-based EV biomarkers for improved personalized medicine in patients affected by PC.
- Published
- 2022