Meta-analysis of the prognostic value of soluble programmed death ligand-1 (sPD-L1) in cancers.

BACKGROUND: The soluble programmed death ligand-1 (sPD-L1) and its prognostic role in cancers have been investigated in numerous studies. However, due to the inconsistency on some findings, this meta-analysis was performed to assess the prognostic value of sPD-L1 in patients with cancer. METHODS: We searched the PubMed, Web of Science, MEDLINE, Wiley Online Library and ScienceDirect, and screened the studies for eligibility. Recurrence-free survival (RFS), progression-free survival (PFS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were for short term survival. The overall survival (OS) was for long term survival. RESULTS: Forty studies with 4441 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Elevated sPD-L1 was associated with short OS [HR = 2.44 (2.03-2.94), p = 0.000]. Moreover, a high sPD-L1 was predictive of worse DFS/RFS/PFS [HR = 2.52 (1.83-3.44), p = 0.000]. In addition, high sPD-L1 was consistently correlated with poor OS in irrespective of study type, univariate and multivariate analysis, ethnicity, cut-off value of sPD-L1, sample and treatment. In the subgroup analysis, high sPD-L1 was correlated with poor OS in gastrointestinal cancer, lung cancer, hepatic cancer, oesophageal cancer and clear cell renal cell carcinoma. CONCLUSIONS: The present meta-analysis showed that a high level of sPD-L1 was associated with worse prognosis in some types of cancer.

Polyclonal Rabbit Anti-Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Globulins Induce Cancer Cells Apoptosis and Inhibit Tumor Growth.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) constitute a major component of the tumor microenvironment. CAFs regulated the growth and development, invasion and metastasis of primary tumors, as well as response to treatment. Recent studies indicated that monoclonal antibody therapies had limited success, thus more effective polyclonal antibodies (Poly Abs) is urgently needed. Poly Abs is a possible alternative because they target multiple antigens simultaneously. In this report, we prepared Poly Abs by immunizing rabbits with the bFGF-activated fibroblasts. The Poly Abs inhibited the cancer cells proliferation as revealed by MTT analysis. The Poly Abs induced apoptosis as indicated by flow cytometric analysis, and microscopic observation of apoptotic changes in morphology. Compared with the control IgG, Poly Abs significantly inhibited tumor cells migration as indicated by wound healing and transwell analysis in vitro, and lung metastasis analysis in vivo. Serial intravenous injections of Poly Abs inhibited tumor growth in mice bearing murine CT26 colon carcinoma. Ki67 analysis indicated that Poly Abs significantly inhibited tumor cells proliferation, as compared to control Ig G treatments. Our findings suggested that Poly Abs was an effective agent for apoptosis induction, migration and metastasis inhibition. The Poly Abs may be useful as a safe anticancer agent for cancer immunotherapy in the future.

Expression of caveolin-1 in breast cancer stroma as a potential prognostic biomarker of survival and progression: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: It has been shown that caveolin-1 plays a potential role as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in various cancer types. The aim of the present study was to clarify whether caveolin-1 expressed in the breast cancer stroma could be a prognostic factor for breast cancer patients. METHODS: We searched the PubMed, ScienceDirect and Web of Science databases for published literature investigating associations between stromal caveolin-1 expression and survival outcome in breast cancer patients. With respect to survival outcomes, the pooled hazard ratios (HRs) of caveolin-1 and the 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. RESULTS: Our meta-analysis identified a total of 10 studies involving 2072 cases. Further investigation demonstrated that a lack of caveolin-1 expression in the breast cancer stroma is a hazard for overall survival (OS) (HR = 2.33, 95% CI: 1.57-3.46) and disease-free/progression-free survival (DFS/PFS) (HR = 3.05, 95% CI: 2.26-4.12) in breast cancer patients. Moreover, lack of caveolin-1 expression in the cancer-associated fibroblasts was a significant predictor of DFS/PFS (HR = 2.79, 95% CI: 1.75-4.46). CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that lack of expression of caveolin-1 in the breast cancer stroma is associated with a poor prognosis.