The prognostic value of immune checkpoints in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Background Despite the importance of immune checkpoints in immunotherapy, the prognostic value of these molecules remains controversial in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). We performed a systematic review to investigate the prognostic significance of the immune checkpoints in OSCC. Materials A systematic search was conducted in Ovid Medline, Scopus and Cochrane libraries, and all studies that evaluated the prognostic significance of immune checkpoints in OSCC were systematically retrieved. Results Twelve immune checkpoints/modulators were studied for their prognostic values in OSCC patients between 1985 and 2017. Seven immune checkpoints (FKBP51, B7‐H4, B7‐H6, ALHD1, PD‐L1, B7‐H3 and IDO1) were reported to be associated with poor patients’ survival in at least one study, and five (CTLA‐4, TLT‐2, VISTA, PD‐L2 and PD‐1) did not have a significant prognostic value. PD‐L1 results were controversial as it was reported to be associated with both better and worse patients’ survival. Conclusions Even though immune checkpoint markers had high expectation for OSCC prognostication, our systematic review revealed that the majority of them had been studied only once. The other molecules, which had been studied more than once, had controversial findings, except B7‐H3.

The promise of immunotherapy in the treatment of young adults with oral tongue cancer

“…Overexpression of IDO1 is considered one mechanism of cancer cell immune evasion and thus its inhibition may enhance the host antitumor immune response. Melanoma patients overexpressing IDO1 have been noted to respond favorably to PD‐L1 inhibitors . Overexpression of PD‐L1, IDO1, higher rates of tumor infiltrating CD8 T lymphocytes, and enrichment of interferon gamma gene signatures have all been shown to be correlated with better response to PD1/PD‐L1 pathway inhibition …”

High B7‐H3 expression is linked to increased risk of prostate cancer progression

“…13 In addition, several authors found B7-H3 overexpression associated with advanced tumor stage, increased proliferation and poor patient outcome in breast, endometrial, pancreatic, cervical, ovarian, oral squamous cell, cholangiocellular carcinoma and lung cancer. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] Also nonepithelial tumors such as melanoma, 22 osteosarcoma 23 or gliomas 24 show B7-H3 overexpression. Others described associations between high B7-H3 expression and favorable tumor course in pancreatic 25 and gastric cancer.…”

<p>DUB3 Facilitates Growth and Inhibits Apoptosis Through Enhancing Expression of EZH2 in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma</p>

“…3 Despite the advance in therapeutic strategies, such as chemotherapy and surgery, the prognosis of OSCC is still poor, and it has no significant improvement in the overall survival rate of OSCC patients. 4,5 Hence, it is important to verify novel candidate molecules and more efficacious therapeutic approaches for OSCC. Ubiquitin-proteasome system is an essential pathway for protein degradation, consists by abnormal and short-lived protein, and located in the nucleus and cytoplasm.…”