Journal of Inflammation Research (Apr 2021)
Identification of Circulating Biomarkers and Construction of a Prognostic Signature for Survival Prediction in Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer After Irreversible Electroporation
Abstract
Chaobin He,1,* Shuxin Sun,1,* Yu Zhang,2,* Shengping Li1 1Department of Pancreatobiliary Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, People’s Republic of China; 2State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Shengping LiDepartment of Pancreatobiliary Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail [email protected]: Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a novel treatment for locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC), but the predictive factors, based on cytokines and immunocytes of survival, are still lacking. This study aimed to establish a risk model based on cytokines and immunocytes for LAPC patients undergoing IRE treatment.Patients and Methods: Peripheral blood samples were obtained from 31 LAPC patients and 8 healthy control subjects before IRE. The phenotypes of lymphocytes were analyzed by flow cytometry, and the cytokines were evaluated with Luminex microarray assay. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and Cox regression were applied to assess the prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and a concordance index (C-index) were used to compare the abilities to predict survival rates.Results: The relationship between multiple cytokines and clinical factors was evaluated and their prognostic value was compared. The five best predictors for OS and PFS, including CA19-9, CD3+CD4+ T cells, CD3+CD8+ T cells, IL-17A, and TNF-α were selected and incorporated into a new immune panel. A risk model based on this immune panel was established and exhibited significantly higher values of C-indexes and AUC for OS and PFS prediction as compared with tumor marker score and TNM stage system.Conclusion: We presented a risk model based on a microarray assay of cytokines and lymphocytes for LAPC patients after receiving IRE treatment for the first time. The established risk model showed relatively good performance in survival prediction and was able to facilitate tailed patient management in clinical practice.Keywords: irreversible electroporation, locally advanced pancreatic cancer, cytokine, lymphocyte, prognosis
