AI Article Synopsis

  • Immunotherapy shows promise, but reliable biomarkers for effectiveness are still missing, particularly regarding the influence of HPV status and tumor location in head and neck cancers.* -
  • A study analyzed tumor samples from 106 patients, revealing that PD-L1 positivity in immune cells is linked to better survival rates, especially in HPV-negative laryngeal cancers.* -
  • While PD-L1 and PD-1 status correlated well in most patients, no significant immunological differences were noted among various tumor locations, although hypopharyngeal cancers may require additional study.*

Article Abstract

Despite great enthusiasm towards immunotherapy, reliable biomarkers are still lacking. The importance of subsets based on human papillomavirus (HPV) status is supported by a growing body of evidence. However, role of other possible subgroups such as anatomic localization of primary tumor remains controversial. Our objective was to investigate immune cell infiltrate and checkpoint inhibitor proteins in above-mentioned head and neck cancer subsets. Archival tumor samples of 106 laryngeal, oropharyngeal, and hypopharyngeal cancer patients were stained with PD-L1, PD-L2, PD-1, and CTLA-4 antibodies. Proportion of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes was assessed as well. In HPV-negative tumors, PD-L1 immune cell positivity was associated with better disease-specific survival. PD-L1 expression on immune cells correlated with improved disease-specific survival in laryngeal tumors. Furthermore, PD-L1 immune cell positivity correlated with CTLA-4 expression on immune cells and it was accompanied by high tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte rate. PD-L1 expression on tumor cells and PD-1 status showed strong correlation in all patients and in oropharyngeal and laryngeal localization, but not in hypopharynx. HPV-negative oropharyngeal cancers showed negative PD-L1 status on tumor cells. CTLA-4 positivity was observed in 49.5% and 20.6% on immune cells and on tumor cells, respectively. We concluded that PD-L1 expression on immune cells indicates better prognosis in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and in HPV-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. We have not found any essential differences between anatomic subgroups. A possibly distinct role of hypopharyngeal localization regarding immune activity requires further clarification.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/PAI.0000000000000590DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

immune cells
20
pd-l1 immune
12
immune cell
12
pd-l1 expression
12
expression immune
12
tumor cells
12
immune
9
cells
8
better prognosis
8
prognosis laryngeal
8

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!