| 1. |
- Krantz, David, et al.
(författare)
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IL-16 processing in sentinel node regulatory T cells is a factor in bladder cancer immunity
- 2020
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Immunology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0300-9475 .- 1365-3083. ; 92:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the effort of developing new immunotherapies, the sentinel node (SN) has proven a promising source from which to harness an effective antitumour T cell response. However, tumour immune escape, a process in which regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a central role, remains a major limiting factor. Therefore, there is a clear need to increase the knowledge of Treg function and signalling in sentinel nodes. Here, we set out to explore whether the proteome in SN-resident T cells is altered by the tumour and to identify key proteins in SN T cell signalling, focusing on Tregs. Five patients with muscle-invasive urothelial bladder cancer were prospectively included. Mass spectrometry was performed on two patients, with validation and functional studies being performed on three additional patients and four healthy donors. At cystectomy, SN, non-SN lymph nodes and peripheral blood samples were collected from the patients and T cell subsets isolated through flow cytometry before downstream experiments. Proteomic analysis indicated that growth and immune signalling pathways are upregulated in SN-resident Tregs. Furthermore, centrality analysis identified the cytokine IL-16 to be central in the SN-Treg signalling network. We show that tumour-released factors, through activating caspase-3, increase Treg IL-16 processing into bioactive forms, reinforcing Treg suppressive capacity. In conclusion, we provide evidence that Tregs exposed to secreted factors from bladder tumours show increased immune and growth signalling and altered IL-16 processing which translates to enhanced Treg suppressive function, indicating altered IL-16 signalling as a novel tumour immune escape mechanism.
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| 2. |
- Ahlén Bergman, Emma, et al.
(författare)
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Increased CD4+ T cell lineage commitment determined by CpG methylation correlates with better prognosis in urinary bladder cancer patients
- 2018
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Ingår i: Clinical Epigenetics. - : BMC. - 1868-7083 .- 1868-7075. ; 10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Urinary bladder cancer is a common malignancy worldwide. Environmental factors and chronic inflammation are correlated with the disease risk. Diagnosis is performed by transurethral resection of the bladder, and patients with muscle invasive disease preferably proceed to radical cystectomy, with or without neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The anti-tumour immune responses, known to be initiated in the tumour and draining lymph nodes, may play a major role in future treatment strategies. Thus, increasing the knowledge of tumour-associated immunological processes is important. Activated CD4+ T cells differentiate into four main separate lineages: Th1, Th2, Th17 and Treg, and they are recognized by their effector molecules IFN-γ, IL-13, IL-17A, and the transcription factor Foxp3, respectively. We have previously demonstrated signature CpG sites predictive for lineage commitment of these four major CD4+ T cell lineages. Here, we investigate the lineage commitment specifically in tumour, lymph nodes and blood and relate them to the disease stage and response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.RESULTS: Blood, tumour and regional lymph nodes were obtained from patients at time of transurethral resection of the bladder and at radical cystectomy. Tumour-infiltrating CD4+ lymphocytes were significantly hypomethylated in all four investigated lineage loci compared to CD4+ lymphocytes in lymph nodes and blood (lymph nodes vs tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes: IFNG -4229 bp p < 0.0001, IL13 -11 bp p < 0.05, IL17A -122 bp p < 0.01 and FOXP3 -77 bp p > 0.05). Examination of individual lymph nodes displayed different methylation signatures, suggesting possible correlation with future survival. More advanced post-cystectomy tumour stages correlated significantly with increased methylation at the IFNG -4229 bp locus. Patients with complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy displayed significant hypomethylation in CD4+ T cells for all four investigated loci, most prominently in IFNG p < 0.0001. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy seemed to result in a relocation of Th1-committed CD4+ T cells from blood, presumably to the tumour, indicated by shifts in the methylation patterns, whereas no such shifts were seen for lineages corresponding to IL13, IL17A and FOXP3.CONCLUSION: Increased lineage commitment in CD4+ T cells, as determined by demethylation in predictive CpG sites, is associated with lower post-cystectomy tumour stage, complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and overall better outcome, suggesting epigenetic profiling of CD4+ T cell lineages as a useful readout for clinical staging.
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| 3. |
- Alvaeus, Julia, et al.
(författare)
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Fewer tumour draining sentinel nodes in patients with progressing muscle invasive bladder cancer, after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radical cystectomy
- 2020
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Ingår i: World journal of urology. - : Springer. - 0724-4983 .- 1433-8726. ; 38, s. 2207-2213
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between the number of tumour draining sentinel nodes (SNs) and pathoanatomical outcomes, in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), in patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and radical cystectomy (RC).MATERIALS AND METHODS: In an ongoing prospective multicenter study, we included 230 patients with suspected urothelial MIBC from ten Swedish urological centers. All underwent TURb and clinical staging. From the cohort, 116 patients with urothelial MIBC; cT2-cT4aN0M0, underwent radical cystectomy (RC) and lymphadenectomy with SN-detection (SNd). 83 patients received cisplatin-based NAC and 33 were NAC-naïve. The number and locations of detected SNs and non-SNs were recorded for each patient. The NAC treated patients were categorized by pathoanatomical outcomes post-RC into three groups: complete responders (CR), stable disease (SD) and progressive disease (PD). Selected covariates with possible impact on SN-yield were tested in uni -and multivariate analyses for NAC-treated patients only.RESULTS: In NAC treated patients, the mean number of SNs was significantly higher in CR patients (3.3) and SD patients (3.6) compared with PD patients (1.4) (p = 0.034). In a linear multivariate regression model, the number of harvested nodes was the only independent variable that affected the number of SNs (p = 0.0004).CONCLUSIONS: The number of tumor-draining SNs in NAC-treated patients was significantly lower in patients with progressive disease.
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| 4. |
- Asad, Danna, et al.
(författare)
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A prospective multicenter study of visual response-evaluation by cystoscopy in patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy for muscle invasive urinary bladder cancer
- 2022
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Ingår i: Scandinavian journal of urology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2168-1805 .- 2168-1813. ; 56:1, s. 20-26
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose To evaluate a method of transurethral visual response-staging in patients with urothelial muscle-invasive urinary bladder cancer (MIBC), undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and radical cystectomy (RC). Methods A prospective study at four Swedish cystectomy centers, cystoscopy was performed after final NAC-cycle for MIBC. Fifty-six participants underwent cystoscopy for visual staging of the tumor immediately pre-RC. Visual assessments were correlated to pathoanatomical outcomes post-RC. Results Seventeen tumors were classified as complete response (CR), i.e. pT0. Twenty-five patients had residual MIBC and 14 had non-muscle invasive residual tumors (NMIBC). Of the 39 patients with residual tumor, 25 were correctly identified visually (64%). Eleven patients were pN+. The diagnostic accuracy of cystoscopy to correctly identify complete response or remaining tumor was 70% (CI = 56-81%) with a sensitivity of 64% (CI = 47-79%), specificity 82% (CI = 57-96%), PPV 89% (CI = 74-96%) and NPV 50% (CI =38-61%). Twenty-eight cystoscopy evaluations showed signs of residual tumors and 3/28 (11%) were false positive. In 4/14 patients assessed having residual NMIBC the estimates were correct, 8/14 had histopathological MIBC and 2/14 had CR. In 11/14 patients (79%), the suggested visual assessment of MIBC was correct, 2/14 had NMIBC and 1/14 had CR. Twenty-eight cystoscopies had negative findings, 14 were false negatives (50%), when cystoscopy falsely predicted pT0. Among them there were eight patients with pTa, pT1 or pTis and six MIBC-tumors. In 17 patients with histopathological pT0, 14 were correctly identified with cystoscopy (82%). Conclusion Cystoscopy after the final NAC-cycle cannot robustly differentiate between NAC-responders and non-responders. Visually, negative MIBC-status cannot be determined safely.
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| 5. |
- Eldh, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Proteomic Profiling of Tissue Exosomes Indicates Continuous Release of Malignant Exosomes in Urinary Bladder Cancer Patients, Even with Pathologically Undetectable Tumour
- 2021
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Ingår i: Cancers. - : MDPI. - 2072-6694. ; 13:13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Simple Summary Urinary bladder cancer (UBC) has a high recurrence rate, and biomarkers for different treatment strategies are highly needed. This study investigated the release of nanovesicles called exosomes from urinary bladder tissue from tumour-proximal sites as well as tumour-distant sites in transurethrally resected (TUR-B) patients with or without preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to ensuing radical cystectomy-all without remaining visible tumour after TUR-B. We show that cancer-promoting exosomes were detected from both sites, suggesting that the previous tumour has altered the whole bladder tissue into a cancer-supporting milieu. The exosomes may originate from remaining pathologically undetectable cancer cells or transformed epithelial cells, and the study supports the notion of exosomes as mediators of metastatic spread and as potential biomarkers. It also supports early and radical removal of the bladder in urinary bladder cancer patients. Invasive urothelial bladder cancer (UBC) has high recurrence rates even after radical cystectomy (RC). Exosomes are membrane-bound nanovesicles, which have been shown to contribute to carcinogenesis and metastasis. We previously showed that urinary exosomes display a malignant profile in UBC patients despite the absence of detectable tumour. Here, we investigated exosomes from sampling sites close to or distant from the former tumour, aiming to understand the effect of the tumour on the local milieu. Ten patients scheduled for cystectomy after transurethral bladder resection (TUR-B), without remaining detectable tumour, were included. Exosomes were isolated from tissue explants of both the previous tumour site and distant bladder tissue. Proteins were quantified by mass spectrometry in seven patients. Exosomes from the previous tumour site were enriched in inflammatory but not cancer-related pathways compared to distant tissue. However, the 69 most abundant proteins in tissue-derived exosomes regardless of site, 20 of which were also found in urinary exosomes from our previous study, were enriched for cancer-related metabolic pathways and associated with poor prognosis in an external mRNA dataset. The enrichment of cancer-related pathways in the most abundant proteins, regardless of sampling site, confirms our hypothesis that despite the absence of detectable tumour, the entire bladder releases exosomes that contribute to metastasis and highlights the need for early RC.
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| 6. |
- Eriksson, Victoria, et al.
(författare)
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A retrospective analysis of the de ritis ratio in muscle invasive bladder cancer, with focus on tumor response and long-term survival in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy and in chemo naïve cystectomy patients : a study of a clinical multicentre database
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Personalized Medicine. - : MDPI. - 2075-4426. ; 12:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: A high pre-treatment De Ritis ratio, the aspartate transaminase/alanine aminotransferase ratio, has been suggested to be of prognostic value for mortality in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Our purpose was to evaluate if a high ratio was associated with mortality and downstaging. Methods: A total of 347 Swedish patients with clinically staged T2-T4aN0M0, with administered neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) or eligible for NAC and undergoing radical cystectomy (RC) 2009–2021, were retrospectively evaluated with a low ratio < 1.3 vs. high ratio > 1.3, by Log Rank test, Cox regression and Mann–Whitney U-test (MWU), SPSS 27. Results: Patients with a high ratio had a decrease of up to 3 years in disease-free survival (DFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) (p = 0.009, p = 0.004 and p = 0.009) and 5 years in CSS and OS (p = 0.019 and p = 0.046). A high ratio was associated with increased risk of mortality, highest in DFS (HR, 1.909; 95% CI, 1.265–2.880; p = 0.002). No significant relationship between downstaging and a high ratio existed (p = 0.564 MWU). Conclusion: A high pre-treatment De Ritis ratio is on a population level, associated with increased mortality post-RC in endpoints DFS, CSS and OS. Associations decrease over time and require further investigations to determine how strong the associations are as meaningful prognostic markers for long-term mortality in MIBC. The ratio is not suitable for downstaging-prediction.
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| 7. |
- Eriksson, Victoria, et al.
(författare)
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Adverse events during neoadjuvant chemotherapy for muscle invasive bladder cancer - a Swedish retrospective multicentre study of a clinical database
- 2022
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Ingår i: Translational Andrology and Urology. - : AME Publishing Company. - 2223-4683 .- 2223-4691. ; 11:8, s. 1105-1115
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Adverse events (AEs) during neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) are known but insufficiently reported. Clinical implications include affected cardiac, pulmonary, urinary, vascular and haematological organ systems. The main purpose was to evaluate the incidence and severity of AEs for ascertaining possible clinical significance. Further investigating possible effects of AEs on downstaging outcomes-downstaging is considered a surrogate marker for overall survival (OS).Methods: A retrospective evaluation of AEs during ongoing NAC for MIBC patients analysing individual patient data in a clinical database. We identified 687 cystectomies between 2009-2020 at four Swedish urological centres. Inclusion criteria were cT2-4aN0M0 in 261 NAC patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC). Medical files were reviewed and AEs were assessed and graded, including detailed measurements by the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v.5. Data were retrospectively analysed in SPSS statistics 27.0 with Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient and Mann-Whitney U-test (MWU).Results: A total of 251/261 patients [95% confidence interval (CI), 93-98%] experienced AEs during NAC pre-RC (mean two AEs/patient). In total, 208 (80%) patients received methotrexate, vinblastine, adriamycin (doxorubicin) and cisplatin (MVAC). In the total cohort, 200 (76.6%) received all pre-planned NAC-cycles. Most common AEs were anaemia (88.9%), thrombocytopenia (44.8%) and acute kidney injury (40.6%). Patients with prematurely terminated cycles had higher AE-grades (P=0.042 MWU). A correlation between higher AE-grades and decrease in downstaging existed, in the entire cohort (-0.133; P=0.033) and in patients undergoing all pre-planned NAC-cycles (-0.148; P=0.038). Anaemia and acute kidney injury were individually associated with decreased downstaging (-0.360, P=0.025 and -0.183, P=0.010, respectively).Conclusion: NAC in MIBC poses a significant risk for AEs before RC with clinical implications. For instance, patients terminating chemotherapy prematurely, have higher AE-grades and decreased downstaging. Further, acute kidney injury and anaemia are individually associated with decreased downstaging. We propose that early detection and prevention of AEs may increase downstaging of the primary tumour.
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| 8. |
- Hartana, Ciputra Adijaya, et al.
(författare)
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Urothelial bladder cancer may suppress perforin expression in CD8+ T cells by an ICAM-1/TGFβ2 mediated pathway
- 2018
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library Science. - 1932-6203. ; 13:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The immune system plays a significant role in urothelial bladder cancer (UBC) progression, with CD8+ T cells being capable to directly kill tumor cells using perforin and granzymes. However, tumors avoid immune recognition by escape mechanisms. In this study, we aim to demonstrate tumor immune escape mechanisms that suppress CD8+ T cells cytotoxicity. 42 patients diagnosed with UBC were recruited. CD8+ T cells from peripheral blood (PB), sentinel nodes (SN), and tumor were analyzed in steady state and in vitro-stimulated conditions by flow cytometry, RT-qPCR, and ELISA. Mass spectrometry (MS) was used for identification of proteins from UBC cell line culture supernatants. Perforin was surprisingly found to be low in CD8+ T cells from SN, marked by 1.8-fold decrease of PRF1 expression, with maintained expression of granzyme B. The majority of perforin-deficient CD8+ T cells are effector memory T (TEM) cells with exhausted Tc2 cell phenotype, judged by the presence of PD-1 and GATA-3. Consequently, perforin-deficient CD8+ T cells from SN are low in T-bet expression. Supernatant from muscle invasive UBC induces perforin deficiency, a mechanism identified by MS where ICAM-1 and TGFβ2 signaling were causatively validated to decrease perforin expression in vitro. Thus, we demonstrate a novel tumor escape suppressing perforin expression in CD8+ T cells mediated by ICAM-1 and TGFβ2, which can be targeted in combination for cancer immunotherapy.
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| 9. |
- Hiltbrunner, Stefanie, et al.
(författare)
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Urinary Exosomes from Bladder Cancer Patients Show a Residual Cancer Phenotype despite Complete Pathological Downstaging
- 2020
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2045-2322. ; 10:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Invasive urinary bladder cancer shows high recurrence rates after cystectomy even with apparent complete downstaging at cystectomy. Exosomes are nano-sized vesicles important in cell-cell communication, which have been hypothesized to contribute to cancer dissemination and recurrence. The aim of this study was to investigate if pro-carcinogenic exosomes could be detected in urine from histologically downstaged bladder cancer patients. 13 Patients were included in this study. Paired ureter and urine samples from nine patients underwent mass spectrometry, while samples from the remaining patients were used for exosome characterization. At cystectomy, exosomes were isolated from bladder and ureter urine, whereafter quantitative proteome profiling was performed. Urinary exosomes clustered based on whether they came from the bladder, with tumour contact, or the ureters, without tumour contact, even though all came from completely downstaged patients. Proteins overexpressed in exosomes derived from bladder urine contained several oncogenes and were mainly associated with tumour metabolism pathways. Although patients were histologically tumour-free at cystectomy, the bladder urine contained exosomes with a carcinogenic metabolic profile. This suggests a continuous release of exosomes from the bladder, which may promote recurrence at distant sites through metabolic rewiring, even after apparent complete downstaging. These exosomes, coming from either undetected cancer cells or partly transformed cells, are likely to increase the risk of metastasis and encourages cystectomy even in completely downstaged patients.
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| 10. |
- Krantz, David, et al.
(författare)
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Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Reinforces Antitumour T cell Response in Urothelial Urinary Bladder Cancer
- 2018
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Ingår i: European Urology. - : Elsevier. - 0302-2838 .- 1873-7560. ; 74:6, s. 688-692
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Evidence indicates that neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) may promote antitumour immune responses by activating T cells. The tumour-draining sentinel node (SN) is a key site to study tumour-specific T cell activation, being the primary immunological barrier against the tumour. In this prospective study, we set out to elucidate the effects of NAC on T cell subsets in the SNs of patients with muscle-invasive urothelial bladder cancer. We found that CD8+ effector T (Teff) cell exhaustion was reduced after NAC treatment, while cytotoxicity was increased. Additionally, in complete responders (CR patients), these cells were functionally committed effectors, as displayed by epigenetic analysis. In CD4+ Teffs, NAC treatment was associated with increased clonal expansion of tumour-specific SN-derived cells, as demonstrated by a specific cell reactivity assay. In contrast, we observed an attenuating effect of NAC on regulatory T cells (Tregs) with a dose-dependent decrease in Treg frequency and reduced effector molecule expression in the remaining Tregs. In addition, multicolour flow cytometry analysis revealed that CR patients had higher Teff to activated Treg ratio, promoting antitumoural T cell activation. These results suggest that NAC reinforces the antitumour immune response by activating the effector arm of the T cell compartment and diminishing the influence of suppressive Tregs.PATIENT SUMMARY: In this report, we analysed the effect of chemotherapy on immune cell subsets of 40 patients with advanced bladder cancer. We found that chemotherapy has a positive effect on immune effector T cells, whereas an opposite, diminishing effect was observed for immune-suppressive regulatory T cells. We conclude that chemotherapy reinforces the antitumour immune response in bladder cancer patients.
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