In this exploratory study, the impact of local irradiation on systemic changes in stress and immune parameters was investigated in eight patients treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) or stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) for prostate adenocarcinoma to gain deeper insights into how radiotherapy (RT) modulates the immune system.
RT-qPCR, flow cytometry, metabolomics, and antibody arrays were used to monitor a panel of stress- and immune-related parameters before RT, after the first fraction (SABR) or the first week of treatment (IMRT), after the last fraction, and 3 weeks later in the blood of IMRT (N = 4) or SABR (N = 4) patients. Effect size analysis was used for comparison of results at different timepoints.
Several parameters were found to be differentially modulated in IMRT and SABR patients: the expression of TGFB1, IL1B, and CCL3 genes; the expression of HLA-DR on circulating monocytes; the abundance and ratio of phosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidylcholine metabolites in plasma. More immune modulators in plasma were modulated during IMRT than SABR, with only two common proteins, namely GDF-15 and Tim‑3.
Locally delivered RT induces systemic modulation of the immune system in prostate adenocarcinoma patients. IMRT and SABR appear to specifically affect distinct immune components.
Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al]. 2020 Jun 09 [Epub ahead of print]
B Frey, J Mika, K Jelonek, L Cruz-Garcia, C Roelants, I Testard, N Cherradi, K Lumniczky, S Polozov, A Napieralska, P Widlak, U S Gaipl, C Badie, J Polanska, S M Candéias
Department of Radiation Oncology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Bavaria, Germany., Department of Data Science and Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100, Gliwice, Poland., Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Gliwice Branch, 44-102, Gliwice, Poland., Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Cancers Mechanisms and Biomarkers group, Public Health England, Chilton, OX11 ORQ, Didcot, Oxfordshire, UK., Inovarion, 75005, Paris, France., Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, IRIG-LCBM-UMR5249, 38054, Grenoble, France., Univ. Grenoble Alpes, INSERM, CEA, IRIG-BCI-UMR_S1036, 38054, Grenoble, France., National Public Health Center, 1097, Budapest, Hungary., Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, IRIG-LCBM-UMR5249, 38054, Grenoble, France. .