CD70 Expression and Its Correlation with Clinicopathological Variables in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck

Abstract

Objective: Over the last decade, efforts have been made to get a better understanding of the tumor microenvironment and the role of the immune system in it. New insights into the CD27/CD70 signaling pathway point towards a role in tumor immunology, making CD70 an attractive target for immunotherapy. Here, we evaluate CD70 expression in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). Methods: CD70 immunohistochemistry was retrospectively performed on 95 tumor samples. Tumoral CD70 expression was scored and correlated with clinicopathological variables and overall survival (OS). Results: CD70 expression in tumor cells was observed in 66 samples (69%) and was strongly associated with tumor differentiation grade (p < 0.001). CD70 expression was also observed in tumor-associated fibroblasts and endothelial cells. Additionally, the density of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes correlated with OS (p = 0.042). Conclusion: This study describes the tumoral expression of CD70 in SCCHN. Results highlight the role of CD70 in tumor biology and identify CD70 as a novel therapeutic target. Further research is warranted.

CD70 and PD‐L1 in anaplastic thyroid cancer – promising targets for immunotherapy

“…We found up‐regulated CD70 expression in 49% of the samples. Frequent CD70 expression has been reported in other solid tumour types such as renal cell carcinoma (70–87%), astrocytoma (75%), EBV‐associated nasopharyngeal cancer (89%) and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (69%) …”

“…Transient CD70 expression is present on activated T and B cells and mature dendritic cells. Constitutive CD70 expression has been documented during chronic viral disease in several solid cancer types, such as renal cell carcinoma and head and neck cancer and multiple haematological malignancies. Currently, several early phase studies are being conducted with CD27 and CD70 antibodies …”

The prognostic role of NK cells and their ligands in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Of the 46 articles that were eligible for inclusion, 13 assessed classical NK cell markers. [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] The activating markers group existed of three articles, [39][40][41] the inhibiting markers group of 5 [42][43][44][45][46] and the death receptor group of 25. Figure 1 provides an overview of study selection.…”

“…The four articles that mentioned hazard ratios [26][27][28][29] were selected for meta-analysis after critical appraisal; the forest plot is shown in figure 2. [26][27][28][29][30] The pooled meta-analysis showed an advantage for high CD56+/CD57+ NK cells regarding OS (pooled HR 0.19 CI 0.11-0.35) ( Figure 2). Some studies mentioned no correlation between CD56+ NK cell number and OS or recurrence-free survival (RFS) or between CD57+ NK cells and OS (de Carvalho Fraga et al: OR 1.04,CI 0.44-2.46, p 0.93) or DFS.…”

Screening a Broad Range of Solid and Haematological Tumour Types for CD70 Expression Using a Uniform IHC Methodology as Potential Patient Stratification Method

“…The overexpression of CD70 on tumour cells has been described in multiple haematological malignancies and carcinomas [7,8,9]. This overexpression facilitates immune suppression through CD27 signalling in the tumour microenvironment by enhanced survival of regulatory T cells, induction of T cell apoptosis, and skewing T cells towards a T cell exhausted phenotype [10,11,12,13].…”