Immune Cell Density Evaluation Improves the Prognostic Values of Staging and p16 in Oropharyngeal Cancer

Abstract

The incidence of oropharyngeal cancers (OPSCCs) has continued to rise over the years, mainly due to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Although they were newly reclassified in the last TNM staging system, some groups still relapse and have poor prognoses. Based on their implication in oncogenesis, we investigated the density of cytotoxic and regulatory T cells, macrophages, and Langerhans cells in relation to p16 status, staging and survival of patients. Biopsies from 194 OPSCCs were analyzed for HPV by RT‒qPCR and for p16 by immunohistochemistry, while CD8, FoxP3, CD68 and CD1a immunolabeling was performed in stromal (ST) and intratumoral (IT) compartments to establish optimal cutoff values for overall survival (OS). High levels of FoxP3 IT and CD1a ST positively correlated with OS and were observed in p16-positive and low-stage patients, respectively. Then, their associations with p16 and TNM were more efficient than the clinical parameters alone in describing patient survival. Using multivariate analyses, we demonstrated that the respective combination of FoxP3 or CD1a with p16 status or staging was an independent prognostic marker improving the outcome of OPSCC patients. These two combinations are significant prognostic signatures that may eventually be included in the staging stratification system to develop personalized treatment approaches.

Macrophage Profiling in Head and Neck Cancer to Improve Patient Prognosis and Assessment of Cancer Cell–Macrophage Interactions Using Three-Dimensional Coculture Models

“…The protocol was fully described in a previous publication [ 52 ]. To determine the transcriptional status of HPV, all specimens were further immunohistochemically evaluated for p16 expression using a mouse monoclonal antibody (CINtec p16, Ventana, Tucson, AZ, USA) and an automated immunostainer at the Jules Bordet Institute (Bond-Max, Leica Microsystems, Wetzlar, Germany), as described previously [ 53 ].…”

Chemoradiotherapy and Lymph Node Metastasis Affect Dendritic Cell Infiltration and Maturation in Regional Lymph Nodes of Laryngeal Cancer

“…In a previous study conducted in our laboratory, CD1a-DCs were found to be associated with unfavorable clinical outcomes in patients with advanced laryngeal cancer who had undergone total laryngectomy as the initial treatment [23]. However, only a small number of studies have focused on DC infiltration into laryngeal cancer tissue, but the results differed [24][25][26][27][28][29]; thus, the role of DC infiltration in laryngeal cancer remains unclear.…”