Immunosuppressive lymphocytes, such as regulatory T cells (Tregs) and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), play crucial roles in tumor escape. To investigate the roles of Tregs and pDCs in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) plus multinodular non-toxic goiter (MNG), thyroid tissue and blood samples from 30 patients with PTC plus MNG and 30 MNG alone were analyzed for CD4(+) T cell, CD8(+) T cell, FoxP3(+) Treg, ICOS(+)FoxP3(+) Treg, and pDC numbers by immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence, and flow cytometry. Plasma concentration of the cytokines interleukin 10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay as well. Both in thyroid tissue and peripheral blood, the numbers of Foxp3(+) Treg were significantly higher in patients with PTC plus MNG compared to patients with MNG alone; and as a prognostic marker, ICOS(+)Foxp3(+) Tregs represent a stronger predictor of disease progression than the total numbers of Foxp3(+) Tregs. Furthermore, a positive correlation between pDC and ICOS(+)Foxp3(+) Treg numbers in tissue of patients with PTC plus MNG was observed, suggesting that PTC-derived pDCs may induce the differentiation of naive CD4(+) T cells into ICOS(+)Foxp3(+)Tregs. This may be one of the mechanisms underlying tumor escape in PTC plus MNG patients. Our results suggest that Tregs and pDCs together contribute to the tumor escape in patients with PTC plus MNG.

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) play important roles in the immune escape of cancer. In this study, we investigated pDCs and pDC-induced inducible costimulator (ICOS)+ Treg populations in peripheral blood from gastric cancer (GC) patients and healthy donors by flow cytometry. The distribution of these cells in carcinoma tissue, peritumor tissue, and normal gastric mucosa was detected by immunohistochemistry. Plasma and tissue concentration of the cytokines such as interleukin-10 and transforming growth factor-β1 were also measured. We found that the numbers of pDCs, Tregs, and ICOS+ Tregs in peripheral blood were increased in GC patients compared with healthy donors. In tissue, Tregs and ICOS+ Tregs were found distributing mainly in carcinoma tissue, whereas pDCs were mainly found in peritumor tissue. Moreover, the Foxp3+ICOS+/Foxp3+ cell ratio in carcinoma and peritumor tissue were higher than that in normal tissue. There were more ICOS+ Tregs in tumor and peritumor tissue of late-stage GC patients. There was a positive correlation between pDCs and ICOS+ Tregs in peripheral blood and peritumor tissue from GC patients. In conclusion, pDCs may play a potential role in recruiting ICOS+ Tregs, and both participate in the immunosuppression microenvironment of GC.

Objective To perform a diagnostic test accuracy (DTA) systematic review and meta‐analysis comparing multiparametric (diffusion‐weighted imaging [DWI], T2‐weighted imaging [T2WI], and dynamic contrast‐enhanced [DCE] imaging) magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) and biparametric (DWI and T2WI) MRI (bpMRI) in detecting prostate cancer in treatment‐naïve patients. Methods The Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE) and Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE) were searched to identify relevant studies published after 1 January 2012. Articles underwent title, abstract, and full‐text screening. Inclusion criteria consisted of patients with suspected prostate cancer, bpMRI and/or mpMRI as the index test(s), histopathology as the reference standard, and a DTA outcome measure. Methodological and DTA data were extracted. Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS)‐2 tool. DTA metrics were pooled using bivariate random‐effects meta‐analysis. Subgroup analysis was conducted to assess for heterogeneity. Results From an initial 3502 studies, 31 studies reporting on 9480 patients (4296 with prostate cancer) met the inclusion criteria for the meta‐analysis; 25 studies reported on mpMRI (7000 patients, 2954 with prostate cancer) and 12 studies reported on bpMRI DTA (2716 patients, 1477 with prostate cancer). Pooled summary statistics demonstrated no significant difference for sensitivity (mpMRI: 86%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 81–90; bpMRI: 90%, 95% CI 83–94) or specificity (mpMRI: 73%, 95% CI 64–81; bpMRI: 70%, 95% CI 42–83). The summary receiver operating characteristic curves were comparable for mpMRI (0.87) and bpMRI (0.90). Conclusions No significant difference in DTA was found between mpMRI and bpMRI in diagnosing prostate cancer in treatment‐naïve patients. Study heterogeneity warrants cautious interpretation of the results. With replication of our findings in dedicated validation studies, bpMRI may serve as a faster, cheaper, gadolinium‐free alternative to mpMRI.

The expression of p53 and nm23 seems to be related with poor prognosis of gastric cancer patients who have undergone gastrectomy. However, the prognostic significance was not revealed by a multivariate analysis.

BackgroundAccurate predictors of survival for patients with advanced gastric cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy are currently lacking. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in patients with stage III-IV gastric cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy.MethodsWe enrolled 46 patients in this study. The NLR was divided into two groups: high (>2.5) and low (≤2.5). Univariate analysis on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival(OS) was performed using the Kaplan-Meier and log-rank tests, and multivariate analysis was conducted using the Cox proportional hazards regression model. We analyzed whether chemotherapy normalized high NLR or not, and evaluated the prognostic significance of normalization on survival.ResultsThe univariate analysis showed that PFS and OS were both worse for patients with high NLR than for those with low NLR before chemotherapy (median PFS 16 and 49 months, respectively, P = 0.012; median OS 21 and 52 months, P = 0.113). PFS and OS were also worse for patients with high NLR than for those with low NLR before surgery (median PFS 12 and 35 months, P = 0.019; median OS 21 and 52 months, P = 0.082). Multivariate analysis showed that both NLR before chemotherapy and surgery were independent prognostic factors of PFS. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy normalized high NLR in 11 of 24 patients, and these 11 patients had better median PFS and OS than the 13 patients who had high NLR both before chemotherapy and before surgery (PFS: 35.0 and 10.0 months, P = 0.003; OS: 60 and 16 months, P = 0.042).ConclusionsNLR may serve as a potential biomarker for survival prognosis in patients with stage III-IV gastric cancer receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy.