CD73 Is Enriched in Cutaneous Carcinomas That Invade the Orbit

Abstract

Purpose: To compare the expression of CD73 in indolent nodular basal cell carcinomas and cutaneous lesions that invade the orbit. Methods: Immunohistochemical staining for CD73 was performed on nodular basal cell carcinomas and invasive basal cell carcinomas. The numbers of positively staining cells were counted across 5 consecutive ×40 microscopic fields, and a statistical comparison was performed via a dedicated computerized software package. Results: Ten control specimens and 11 invasive tumors were analyzed. In nodular basal cell carcinomas, the mean number of positively staining cells was 0.72/×40 field (standard deviation = 0.80 cells/×40 field), whereas invasive tumors demonstrated a mean of 6.53 positive staining cells/×40 field (standard deviation = 3.33 cells/×40 field). This difference was statistically significant (p = 0.0002). Conclusions: CD73 is enriched in orbital invasion of cutaneous carcinomas. This checkpoint may represent an important target for therapeutic management of these lesions. Immunotherapeutic agents that have been designed to treat other neoplasms may decrease the requirement for orbital exenteration in this clinical scenario.

Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte-Associated Protein-4 and Lymphocyte Activation Gene-3 Expression in Orbitally-Invasive Versus Nodular Basal Cell Carcinoma

“…5 Previous investigations have identified enrichments of the immune checkpoints programmed death-1 ligand (PD-L1) and CD73 when BCCs invade the orbit. 6,7 Two additional proteins of interest, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein-4 (CTLA-4) and lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) are expressed on T cells and work in parallel with PD-1 to negatively regulate T cell function after activation. Targeted inhibitors of CTLA-4 have been approved for the treatment of melanoma and have demonstrated favorable efficacy in treating multiple cancer types.…”