Evasion of immune editing by circulating tumour cells is an exercise-modifiable mechanism underlying aggressive behaviour in obese men with prostate cancer
- Topic: Prostate cancer
- Institution: University of Dublin
- Country: Ireland
- Status: Completed
Evasion of immune editing by circulating tumour cells is an exercise-modifiable mechanism underlying aggressive behaviour in obese men with prostate cancer
Cells can detach from a tumour, enter the bloodstream and travel around the body, where they can stop at different locations.
Could exercise affect the number of CTCs in the blood and the number of CTCs that can cover themselves in this platelet cloak.
It also looked at other markers in the blood that might help CTCs to survive and the impact of exercise on those markers. It also explored how exercise improve people’s quality of life such as sleep or depression.
Participants with advanced prostate cancer were placed into one group that took part in an exercise program for six months and the other group maintained normal activity. The patients consented to have their blood drawn for analysis of CTCs and cloaking as well as for the determination of levels of other markers in their blood. These blood samples were taken at baseline, after 3 months and after 6 months and participants also filled out questionnaires about their quality of life.
CTCs were identified in all participants and about a third showed evidence of platelet cloaking. The information from the study showed that numbers of CTCs are higher in people with higher levels of white blood cells. CTC number and cloaking was also associated with the level of mediators linked to obesity (adipokines). However, the exercise intervention did not help with symptoms of sleep or stress. Some of the inflammatory mediators in the blood were also linked to a participant’s quality of life.
This study helped to understand how CTCs are protected in the blood, however it is very complex and we still have much to learn about all of the pathways. We need to do more research to find out how CTCs spread in the body through blood and how/if exercise can help our body destroy them before they make a new tumour.
Through this research, a number of summer students were able to conduct the laboratory work and the research team has formed partnerships with Queen’s University Belfast to assess the metabolic samples collected as part of the trial as well a with SFI NUIG genomics centre Galway.