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Methylation-Based Immune Deconvolution in Prostate Cancer Patients Before and After Radical Prostatectomy

To explore whether surgical treatment for prostate cancer leads to long-term immune changes, we conducted a pilot study of n=11 prostate cancer patients treated with radical prostatectomy. We also included n=8 patients managed with active surveillance as a comparison group. We examined intra-individual changes in circulating immune cell subsets using serial blood samples collected pre- and approximately 6-months post-prostatectomy, and from matched time points for the patients managed on active surveillance. Immune cell subsets were deconvoluted using genome-wide methylation data. We observed no meaningful changes in circulating immune cell subsets in either patient group, suggesting that any surgery-induced immune changes to the circulating immune profile may not be long-lasting. The genome-wide methylation data from the two time points will be made available through dbGaP.