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Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the role of sPD-L1 and sPD-1 as potential biomarkers in prostate cancer (PCa). The association of the values of these soluble proteins were correlated to the clinical data: stage of disease, Gleason score, biochemical recurrence etc. For a comprehensive study, the relationship between sPD-L1 and sPD-1 and circulating immune cells was further investigated., Methods: A total of 88 patients with pT2 and pT3 PCa diagnosis and 41 heathy men were enrolled. Soluble sPD-L1 and sPD-1 levels were measured in plasma by ELISA method. Immunophenotyping was performed by flow cytometry analysis., Results: Our study's findings demonstrate that PCa patients had higher levels of circulating sPD-L1 and sPD-1 comparing to healthy controls (p < 0.001). We found a statistically significant (p < 0.05) relationship between improved progression free survival and lower initial sPD-L1 values. Furthermore, patients with a lower sPD-1/sPD-L1 ratio were associated with a higher probability of disease progression (p < 0.05). Additionally, a significant (p < 0.05) association was discovered between higher Gleason scores and elevated preoperative sPD-L1 levels and between sPD-1 and advanced stage of disease (p < 0.05). A strong correlation (p < 0.05), between immunosuppressive CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells and baseline sPD-L1 was observed in patients with unfavorable postoperative course of the disease, supporting the idea that these elements influence each other in cancer progression. In addition to the postoperative drop in circulating PD-L1, the inverse relationship (p < 0.05), between the percentage of M-MDSC and sPD-L1 in patients with BCR suggests that M-MDSC is not a source of sPD-L1 in PCa patients., Conclusion: Our findings suggest the potential of sPD-L1 as a promising prognostic marker in prostate cancer., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Zvirble, Survila, Bosas, Dobrovolskiene, Mlynska, Zaleskis, Jursenaite, Characiejus and Pasukoniene.)

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is known to exhibit a wide spectrum of aggressiveness and relatively high immunogenicity. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of tumor excision on immunophenotype rearrangements in peripheral blood and to elucidate if it is associated with biochemical recurrence (BCR) in high risk (HR) and low risk (LR) patients., Methods: Radical prostatectomy (RP) was performed on 108 PCa stage pT2-pT3 patients. Preoperative vs. postoperative (one and three months) immunophenotype profile (T- and B-cell subsets, MDSC, NK, and T reg populations) was compared in peripheral blood of LR and HR groups., Results: The BCR-free survival difference was significant between the HR and LR groups. Postoperative PSA decay rate, defined as ePSA, was significantly slower in the HR group and predicted BCR at cut-off level ePSA = -2.0% d -1 (AUC = 0.85 (95% CI, 0.78-0.90). Three months following tumor excision, the LR group exhibited a recovery of natural killer CD3 - CD16+ CD56+ cells, from 232 cells/µL to 317 cells/µL ( p < 0.05), which was not detectable in the HR group. Prostatectomy also resulted in an increased CD8+ population in the LR group, mostly due to CD8+ CD69+ compartment (from 186 cells/µL before surgery to 196 cells/µL three months after, p < 001). The CD8+ CD69+ subset increase without total T cell increase was present in the HR group ( p < 0.001). Tumor excision resulted in a myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) number increase from 12.4 cells/µL to 16.2 cells/µL in the HR group, and no change was detectable in LR patients ( p = 0.12). An immune signature of postoperative recovery was more likely to occur in patients undergoing laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP). Open RP (ORP) was associated with increased MDSC numbers ( p = 0.002), whereas LRP was characterized by an immunity sparing profile, with no change in MDSC subset ( p = 0.16)., Conclusion: Tumor excision in prostate cancer patients results in two distinct patterns of immunophenotype rearrangement. The low-risk group is highly responsive, revealing postoperative restoration of T cells, NK cells, and CD8+ CD69+ numbers and the absence of suppressor MDSC increase. The high-risk group presented a limited response, accompanied by a suppressor MDSC increase and CD8+ CD69+ increase. The laparoscopic approach, unlike ORP, did not result in an MDSC increase in the postoperative period.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare prostate-specific antigen (PSA) kinetics - half-life time (HT), doubling time (DT), and elimination rate PSA (ePSA) in prostate cancer (PCa) monitoring. Implementation of ePSA in clinical practice could help simplify patient monitoring in the remission phase., Materials and Methods: A total of 49 PCa patients were examined by their PSA tests before prostatectomy and after 30 days, 91 days, and 24 months. Conventional PSA rate of change parameters (HT and DT) were compared to a new clinically understandable ePSA parameter., Results: We observed that implementation of inverse value (ePSA) rather than HT or DT has distinct advantages: (1) values are valid when PSA is unchanged (ePSA equals zero), (2) the concept of ePSA can be easily understood, as it is a growth fraction, (3) ePSA fluctuates within a narrow range and is thus easy to interpret, and (4) there are no mathematical flaws (no positive skewing)., Conclusion: Exploring ePSA norm as ≤0% could help spot biochemical recurrence in a timely manner. Primary health care providers tend to use an irrelevant PSA threshold, that is, 4.0 ng/mL, in postoperative follow-up. The delayed referrals of patients in remission might be reduced if ePSA testing is adopted., (© 2021 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the recurrence-preventing effect of intravesical instillations of interleukin-2 (IL-2) in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder carcinoma. In addition, this study aimed to determine the significance of immune parameters for recurrence-free interval., Patients and Methods: Twenty-six patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder carcinoma were treated with intravesical instillations of IL-2 (Proleukin®, Novartis, formerly Chiron) in doses of 9 × 10(6) IU on 5 consecutive days, beginning on the second day after transurethral resection (TUR) of tumours. CD8(high)CD57(+) lymphocytes in peripheral blood were determined before TUR and compared with the recurrence-free interval after treatment., Results: The multivariate analysis showed that CD8(high)CD57(+) lymphocytes had a prognostic significance in combination with number of bladder tumours, prior recurrence rate and age of patients., Conclusion: Peripheral blood CD8(high)CD57(+) lymphocytes have prognostic significance for recurrence-free survival in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder carcinoma after TUR and intravesical IL-2.