39P - Analysis of the immune response patterns in localized prostate cancer

Background

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the leading malignant diseases in men worldwide. The presence of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSCs) is a critical contributor to a pro-tumorigenic microenvironment in advanced disease, where the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is prognostic. However, their involvement in the early stages of PCa is still unclear.

Methods

Patients affected by localized prostate cancer and undergoing radical prostatectomy at the Urology Department of the University Hospital of Padua were enrolled in the study after signing informed consent. Blood and tumor samples from 79 patients were collected and immunostained for flow cytometry analysis. Disease risk groups were assigned according to EAU guidelines. Correlation between experimental data and clinical and anatomopathological features was done by logistic regression and Sperman’s correlation.

Results

No association between neutrophil counts and NLR with oncological outcome was found in a population of 79 patients with localized prostate cancer. However, a subset of circulating immature myeloid cells was found to be associated with higher disease risk groups (OR = 1.19 CI.95 (1.02, 1.38), p-value = 0.027). Of note, primary tumor lesions did not reveal a significant enrichment of the immune infiltrate and any association with clinical scores. Further analyses on defining a new potential circulating biomarker showed encouraging results. Gene expression analyses are ongoing.

Conclusions

Localized PCa is not associated with a higher circulating number of neutrophils and higher NLR compared with healthy subjects. However, further analyses of specific myeloid cell subsets are needed.

Legal entity responsible for the study

The authors.

Funding

Has not received any funding.

Disclosure

All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.