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Yu D, Yang J, Wang B, Li Z, Wang K, Li J, Zhu C. New genetic insights into immunotherapy outcomes in gastric cancer via single-cell RNA sequencing and random forest model. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2024; 73:112. [PMID: 38693422 PMCID: PMC11063021 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-024-03684-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2024] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The high mortality rate of gastric cancer, traditionally managed through surgery, underscores the urgent need for advanced therapeutic strategies. Despite advancements in treatment modalities, outcomes remain suboptimal, necessitating the identification of novel biomarkers to predict sensitivity to immunotherapy. This study focuses on utilizing single-cell sequencing for gene identification and developing a random forest model to predict immunotherapy sensitivity in gastric cancer patients. METHODS Differentially expressed genes were identified using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and gene set enrichment analysis (GESA). A random forest model was constructed based on these genes, and its effectiveness was validated through prognostic analysis. Further, analyses of immune cell infiltration, immune checkpoints, and the random forest model provided deeper insights. RESULTS High METTL1 expression was found to correlate with improved survival rates in gastric cancer patients (P = 0.042), and the random forest model, based on METTL1 and associated prognostic genes, achieved a significant predictive performance (AUC = 0.863). It showed associations with various immune cell types and negative correlations with CTLA4 and PDCD1 immune checkpoints. Experiments in vitro and in vivo demonstrated that METTL1 enhances gastric cancer cell activity by suppressing T cell proliferation and upregulating CTLA4 and PDCD1. CONCLUSION The random forest model, based on scRNA-seq, shows high predictive value for survival and immunotherapy sensitivity in gastric cancer patients. This study underscores the potential of METTL1 as a biomarker in enhancing the efficacy of gastric cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dajun Yu
- Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Second Clinical Medical College (Shenzhen People's Hospital) of Jinan University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
- Department of Surgical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, 233000, People's Republic of China.
| | - Jie Yang
- Department of Surgical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, 233000, People's Republic of China
| | - BinBin Wang
- Department of Surgical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, 233000, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhixiang Li
- Department of Surgical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, 233000, People's Republic of China
| | - Kai Wang
- Department of Surgical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, 233000, People's Republic of China
| | - Jing Li
- Department of Surgical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, 233000, People's Republic of China
| | - Chao Zhu
- Department of Surgical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, 233000, People's Republic of China
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Suzuki S, Taguchi Y, Kitabayashi T, Sato N, Kaya H, Abe T, Endo T, Suzuki H, Kawasaki Y, Yamada T. Serum Albumin as an Independent Predictor of Long-Term Survival in Patients with Recurrent and Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Treated with Nivolumab. J Clin Med 2024; 13:2456. [PMID: 38730986 PMCID: PMC11084251 DOI: 10.3390/jcm13092456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2024] [Revised: 04/18/2024] [Accepted: 04/20/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Background: Nivolumab has been shown to improve the overall survival (OS) of patients with recurrent and metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC). However, there is a need to identify factors associated with long-term survival (beyond 2 years) in these patients. This study investigated the relationship between pretreatment factors and long-term survival in patients with R/M HNSCC treated with nivolumab. Methods: Forty-nine patients with R/M HNSCC who were treated with nivolumab were retrospectively reviewed. Baseline characteristics, clinical data, and survival outcomes were evaluated. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify factors associated with long-term survival (OS ≥ 2 years). Results: The median OS in the overall cohort was 11.0 months, and the 2-year survival rate was 34.7%. Long-term survivors (OS ≥ 2 years) had significantly higher proportions of patients with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) scores of 0 or 1, serum albumin levels ≥ 3.5 g/dL, and neutrophil-to-eosinophil ratio (NER) < 32.0 compared to non-long-term survivors. On multivariate analysis, serum albumin levels ≥ 3.5 g/dL, in addition to ECOG-PS score of 0 or 1, were independent predictors of long-term survival. Conclusions: Pretreatment serum albumin levels may be useful for predicting long-term survival in R/M HNSCC patients treated with nivolumab.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shinsuke Suzuki
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery, Akita University Graduate School of Medicine, Akita 010-8543, Japan
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Aarstad HH, Moe SEE, Lybak S, Bruserud Ø, Tvedt THA, Aarstad HJ. Plasma IL-1 and IL-6 Family Cytokines with Soluble Receptor Levels at Diagnosis in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: High Levels Predict Decreased Five-Year Disease-Specific and Overall Survival. Cancers (Basel) 2024; 16:1484. [PMID: 38672565 PMCID: PMC11048558 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16081484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2024] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Activation of the acute-phase cascade (APC) has been correlated with outcomes in various cancers, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Primary drivers of the APC are the cytokines within the interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-1 families. Plasma levels of IL-6 family cytokines/soluble receptors (IL-6, IL-27, IL-31, OSM, CNTF, soluble (s-)gp130, s-IL-6Rα) and IL-1 family members (IL-1RA, s-IL-33Rα) were determined at diagnosis for 87 human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative (-) HNSCC patients. We then studied the 5-year Disease-Specific Survival (DSS) and Overall Survival (OS). Increased plasma levels of IL-6 (p < 0.001/p < 0.001) (DSS/OS), IL-31 (p = 0.044/p = 0.07), IL-1RA (p = 0.004/p = 0.035), soluble (s)-IL-6Rα p = 0.022/p = 0.035), and s-gp130 (p = 0.007/p = 0.003) at diagnosis were predictors of both OS and DSS from HPV(-) HNSCC patients. The cytokine DSS/OS predictions were associated with TNM stage and smoking history, whereas the soluble receptors IL-6Rα, gp130, and IL33Rα more uniquely predicted DSS/OS. Clinically, IL-6 levels above 2.5 pg/mL yielded 75% specificity and 70% sensitivity for DSS. In conclusion, high plasma levels of IL-6, IL-31, and IL-1RA, as well as the soluble receptors IL-6Rα, gp130, and IL33Rα, predicted clinical outcome. This shows their potential as candidates for both general therapy and immune therapy stratification, as well as being future platforms for the development of new immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helene Hersvik Aarstad
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Haukeland University Hospital, 5009 Bergen, Norway; (H.H.A.); (S.E.E.M.); (S.L.)
- Department of Surgery, Haraldsplass Deaconal Hospital, 5009 Bergen, Norway
| | - Svein Erik Emblem Moe
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Haukeland University Hospital, 5009 Bergen, Norway; (H.H.A.); (S.E.E.M.); (S.L.)
| | - Stein Lybak
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Haukeland University Hospital, 5009 Bergen, Norway; (H.H.A.); (S.E.E.M.); (S.L.)
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen, 5007 Bergen, Norway
| | - Øystein Bruserud
- Section for Haematology, Department of Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, 5009 Bergen, Norway
| | | | - Hans Jørgen Aarstad
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Haukeland University Hospital, 5009 Bergen, Norway; (H.H.A.); (S.E.E.M.); (S.L.)
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen, 5007 Bergen, Norway
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Deng S, Yang X, He L, Zhang Q, Zhao C, Meng H. Radiotherapy combined with anti-PD-1 and TKI for primary cardiac angiosarcoma considering the joint assessment of TLSs and PD-L1: a case report. J Cardiothorac Surg 2024; 19:194. [PMID: 38594687 PMCID: PMC11003096 DOI: 10.1186/s13019-024-02752-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Primary cardiac angiosarcoma(PCA) has a low incidence rate and poor prognosis. Currently, no unified clinical treatment standards are available. CASE PRESENTATION We report the case of a 48-year-old man presenting chest tightness, breathlessness, and dyspnea. Imaging and postoperative histopathologic studies confirmed PCA and that the tumor had invaded the entire right atrium. The patient developed progressive disease (PD) during postoperative radiotherapy. We used immunotherapy combined with targeted therapy based on the results of molecular profile and evaluation of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) and programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1). After treatment, the metastatic lymph nodes of the patient were reduced to a certain extent, indicating that combination therapy was effective. CONCLUSION To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of radiotherapy combined with anti-PD-1 and tyrosine kinase inhibitors(TKI) for PCA. In addition, this is the first report on immunotherapy for PCA based on new evaluation methods, including TLSs, PD-L1, and genomic profile.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuzhe Deng
- Department of Pathology, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, 150 Haping Road, Harbin, 150086, China
| | - Xinxin Yang
- Precision Medical Center, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, China
| | - Lin He
- Department of stomatology, Heilongjiang provincial hospital, Harbin, China
| | - Qian Zhang
- Department of Abdominal Radiotherapy, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, China
| | - Chunbo Zhao
- Department of Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, China
| | - Hongxue Meng
- Department of Pathology, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, 150 Haping Road, Harbin, 150086, China.
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Wang T, Xue L, Li Z, Hong Z, Hu N, Li Y, Yan B. A novel nomogram model based on Ki-67 characteristic expression to predict prognosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Front Oncol 2024; 14:1376498. [PMID: 38651151 PMCID: PMC11033387 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1376498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Objectives This study aimed to examine Ki-67's correlation with clinicopathological characteristics of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), evaluate its prognostic significance, and develop a Ki-67 integrated prognostic model. Methods The retrospective study included 764 HNSCC patients hospitalized from 2012 to 2022. Data were sourced from medical records and immunohistochemical analysis of surgical specimens. Results Ki-67 expression was significantly associated with sex, pathological grade, clinical stage, and metastasis, but not with age or recurrence. Higher Ki-67 levels were linked to poorer prognosis, as indicated by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Utilizing a Cox proportional hazards model, four prognostic factors were identified: age, recurrence, metastasis, and Ki-67 expression. These factors were used to construct a prognostic model and a nomogram. The model's predictive accuracy was confirmed by a high concordance index and a reliable calibration curve. Conclusion Ki-67 expression in HNSCC patients correlates with several clinicopathological features and serves as a negative prognostic marker. A prognostic model incorporating Ki-67 was successfully developed, offering a new tool for patient prognosis assessment in HNSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianyi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & Department of Head and Neck Oncology Surgery, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Lili Xue
- Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China
| | - Zhixin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & Department of Head and Neck Oncology Surgery, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Zhicong Hong
- Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China
| | - Niting Hu
- Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China
| | - Yi Li
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & Department of Head and Neck Oncology Surgery, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Bing Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & Department of Head and Neck Oncology Surgery, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
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Lin W, Chen X, Huang Z, Ding Q, Yang H, Li Y, Lin D, Lin J, Zhang H, Yang X, Li C, Chen C, Qiu S. Identification of novel molecular subtypes to improve the classification framework of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Br J Cancer 2024; 130:1176-1186. [PMID: 38280969 PMCID: PMC10991292 DOI: 10.1038/s41416-024-02579-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 01/29/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treatment is largely based on a 'one-drug-fits-all' strategy in patients with similar pathological characteristics. However, given its biological heterogeneity, patients at the same clinical stage or similar therapies exhibit significant clinical differences. Thus, novel molecular subgroups based on these characteristics may better therapeutic outcomes. METHODS Herein, 192 treatment-naïve NPC samples with corresponding clinicopathological information were obtained from Fujian Cancer Hospital between January 2015 and January 2018. The gene expression profiles of the samples were obtained by RNA sequencing. Molecular subtypes were identified by consensus clustering. External NPC cohorts were used as the validation sets. RESULTS Patients with NPC were classified into immune, metabolic, and proliferative molecular subtypes with distinct clinical features. Additionally, this classification was repeatable and predictable as validated by the external NPC cohorts. Metabolomics has shown that arachidonic acid metabolites were associated with NPC malignancy. We also identified several key genes in each subtype using a weighted correlation network analysis. Furthermore, a prognostic risk model based on these key genes was developed and was significantly associated with disease-free survival (hazard ratio, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.07-1.16; P < 0.0001), which was further validated by an external NPC cohort (hazard ratio, 7.71; 95% CI, 1.39-42.73; P < 0.0001). Moreover, the 1-, 3-, and 5-year areas under the curve were 0.84 (95% CI, 0.74-0.94), 0.81 (95% CI, 0.73-0.89), and 0.82 (95% CI, 0.73-0.90), respectively, demonstrating a high predictive value. CONCLUSIONS Overall, we defined a novel classification of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (immune, metabolism, and proliferation subtypes). Among these subtypes, metabolism and proliferation subtypes were associated with advanced stage and poor prognosis of NPC patients, whereas the immune subtype was linked to early stage and favorable prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanzun Lin
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Medicine, Fuzhou, China
- Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaochuan Chen
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Medicine, Fuzhou, China
| | - Zongwei Huang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Medicine, Fuzhou, China
| | - Qin Ding
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Medicine, Fuzhou, China
| | - Hanxuan Yang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Medicine, Fuzhou, China
| | - Ying Li
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Medicine, Fuzhou, China
| | - Duo Lin
- Key Laboratory of OptoElectronic Science and Technology for Medicine, Ministry of Education, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory for Photonics Technology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Jun Lin
- Institute of Apply Genomics, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Haojiong Zhang
- Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Proton and Heavy Ion Center, Fudan University Cancer Hospital, Shanghai, China
| | - Xuelian Yang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Longyan First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Longyan, China
| | - Chao Li
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Second Hospital of Sanming City, Sangming, China
| | - Chuanben Chen
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, China.
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Medicine, Fuzhou, China.
| | - Sufang Qiu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, China.
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Medicine, Fuzhou, China.
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Gavrielatou N, Fortis E, Spathis A, Anastasiou M, Economopoulou P, Foukas GRP, Lelegiannis IM, Rusakiewicz S, Vathiotis I, Aung TN, Tissot S, Kastrinou A, Kotsantis I, Vagia EM, Panayiotides I, Rimm DL, Coukos G, Homicsko K, Foukas P, Psyrri A. B-cell infiltration is associated with survival outcomes following programmed cell death protein 1 inhibition in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Ann Oncol 2024; 35:340-350. [PMID: 38159908 DOI: 10.1016/j.annonc.2023.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) axis blockade has become the mainstay in the treatment of recurrent and/or metastatic (R/M) head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC). Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is the only approved biomarker for patient selection; however, response rate is limited even among high expressors. Our primary objective was to investigate the association of immune cell-related biomarkers in the tumor and tumor microenvironment with PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors' outcomes in patients with R/M HNSCC. PATIENTS AND METHODS NCT03652142 was a prospective study in nivolumab-treated platinum-refractory R/M HNSCC, aiming to evaluate biomarkers of response to treatment. Tumor biopsies and blood samples were collected from 60 patients at baseline, post-treatment, and at progression. Immune cells in the tumor and stromal compartments were quantified by immunofluorescence using a five-protein panel (CD3, CD8, CD20, FoxP3, cytokeratin). Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs), PD-L1 expression, and peripheral blood immune cell composition were also evaluated for associations with outcome. Our findings were validated by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) messenger RNA in situ expression data from the same patients, for B-cell- and TLS-associated genes. RESULTS High pre-treatment density of stromal B cells was associated with prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) (P = 0.011). This result was validated by GSEA, as stromal enrichment with B-cell-associated genes showed association with response to nivolumab. PD-L1 positivity combined with high B-cell counts in stroma defined a subgroup with significantly longer PFS and overall survival (P = 0.013 and P = 0.0028, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Increased B cells in pre-treatment HNSCC biopsy samples correlate with prolonged benefit from PD-1-based immunotherapy and could further enhance the predictive value of PD-L1 expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Gavrielatou
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Attikon University Hospital, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece; Department of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, USA
| | - E Fortis
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - A Spathis
- Department of Pathology, Attikon University Hospital, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - M Anastasiou
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Attikon University Hospital, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - P Economopoulou
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Attikon University Hospital, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - G R P Foukas
- Department of Pathology, Attikon University Hospital, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - I M Lelegiannis
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Attikon University Hospital, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - S Rusakiewicz
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - I Vathiotis
- Department of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, USA
| | - T N Aung
- Department of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, USA
| | - S Tissot
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - A Kastrinou
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Attikon University Hospital, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - I Kotsantis
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Attikon University Hospital, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - E M Vagia
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Attikon University Hospital, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - I Panayiotides
- Department of Pathology, Attikon University Hospital, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - D L Rimm
- Department of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, USA
| | - G Coukos
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - K Homicsko
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - P Foukas
- Department of Pathology, Attikon University Hospital, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - A Psyrri
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Attikon University Hospital, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
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Liu J, Ouyang Y, Xia Z, Mai W, Song H, Zhou F, Shen L, Chen K, Li X, Zhuang SM, Liao J. FAP is a prognostic marker, but not a viable therapeutic target for clinical translation in HNSCC. Cell Oncol (Dordr) 2024; 47:623-638. [PMID: 37856075 DOI: 10.1007/s13402-023-00888-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE PD-1 targeted immunotherapy has imparted a survival benefit to advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), but less than 20% patients produce a durable response to this therapy. Here we aimed to investigate the potential biomarkers for predicting the clinical outcome and resistance to PD-1 targeted immunotherapy in HNSCC patients, and to examine the involvement of FAP+ cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). METHODS Bioinformatics methods were applied to analyze multiple datasets and explore the role of PD-1 and FAP in HNSCC. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of FAP protein. Fap gene knockout mice (Fap-/-) and L929 cells with different levels of Fap overexpression (L929-Fap-Low/High) were established to demonstrate the role of FAP+ CAFs in tumor development and immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) resistance. RESULTS The expression level of PD-1 gene was positively correlated with better overall survival and therapeutic response to PD-1 blockade in HNSCC, but not all tumors with high expression of both PD-1 and PD-L1 were responsive. Moreover, FAP gene was overexpressed in pan-cancer tissues, and could serve as a prognostic biomarker for several cancers, including HNSCC. However, FAP protein was undetectable in mouse MTCQ1 tumors and barely expressed in human HNSCC tumors. Furthermore, FAP+ CAFs did not promote tumor growth or enhance the resistance to PD-1 inhibitor treatment. CONCLUSION Although FAP+ CAFs have attracted increasing attention for their role in cancer, the feasibility and efficacy of FAP-targeting therapies for HNSCC remain doubtful.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Liu
- GMU-GIBH Joint School of Life Sciences, The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Joint Laboratory for Cell Fate Regulation and Diseases, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- Department of General Surgery of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Biomedical Innovation Center, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yeling Ouyang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Institute of Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology and Resuscitation, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Wuhan, China
| | - Zijin Xia
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wenhao Mai
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hongrui Song
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Fang Zhou
- Central Sterile Supply Department, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lichun Shen
- Department of General Surgery of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Kaiting Chen
- Department of General Surgery of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaochen Li
- Department of General Surgery of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shi-Min Zhuang
- Department of General Surgery of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
- Biomedical Innovation Center, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Jing Liao
- GMU-GIBH Joint School of Life Sciences, The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Joint Laboratory for Cell Fate Regulation and Diseases, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
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Song D, Yang Q, Li L, Wei Y, Zhang C, Du H, Ren G, Li H. Novel prognostic biomarker TBC1D1 is associated with immunotherapy resistance in gliomas. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1372113. [PMID: 38529286 PMCID: PMC10961388 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1372113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Glioma, an aggressive brain tumor, poses a challenge in understanding the mechanisms of treatment resistance, despite promising results from immunotherapy. Methods We identified genes associated with immunotherapy resistance through an analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA), and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Subsequently, qRT-PCR and western blot analyses were conducted to measure the mRNA and protein levels of TBC1 Domain Family Member 1 (TBC1D1), respectively. Additionally, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was employed to reveal relevant signaling pathways, and the expression of TBC1D1 in immune cells was analyzed using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data from GEO database. Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion (TIDE) database was utilized to assess T-cell function, while Tumor Immunotherapy Gene Expression Resource (TIGER) database was employed to evaluate immunotherapy resistance in relation to TBC1D1. Furthermore, the predictive performance of molecules on prognosis was assessed using Kaplan-Meier plots, nomograms, and ROC curves. Results The levels of TBC1D1 were significantly elevated in tumor tissue from glioma patients. Furthermore, high TBC1D1 expression was observed in macrophages compared to other cells, which negatively impacted T cell function, impaired immunotherapy response, promoted treatment tolerance, and led to poor prognosis. Inhibition of TBC1D1 was found to potentially synergistically enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy and prolong the survival of cancer patients with gliomas. Conclusion Heightened expression of TBC1D1 may facilitate an immunosuppressive microenvironment and predict a poor prognosis. Blocking TBC1D1 could minimize immunotherapy resistance in cancer patients with gliomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daqiang Song
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Epigenetics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
- Department of Pharmacy, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Qian Yang
- Clinical Molecular Medicine Testing Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Liuying Li
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Epigenetics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yuxian Wei
- Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Chong Zhang
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Epigenetics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
- Department of Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Huimin Du
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Guosheng Ren
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Epigenetics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
- Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Hongzhong Li
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Epigenetics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
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Chen Q, Chen J, Lu Z, Nian R, Li W, Yao Z, Mou S, Liu Y, Cao X, He W, Zhu C. The prognostic value of LAYN in HPV-related head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and its influence on immune cell infiltration. Discov Oncol 2024; 15:57. [PMID: 38430385 PMCID: PMC10908921 DOI: 10.1007/s12672-024-00913-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND HPV-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) exhibits different characteristics from HPV-negative tumors in terms of tumor development, clinical features, treatment response, and prognosis. Layilin (LAYN), which contains homology with C-type lectins, plays a critical role in tumorigenesis and cancer progression. However, the prognostic value of LAYN and the relationship between LAYN and immune infiltration levels in HPV-related HNSCC patients still require a comprehensive understanding. Herein, we aimed to assess the prognostic value of LAYN and to investigate its underlying immunological function in HPV-related HNSCC. METHODS Through various bioinformatics methods, we analyzed the data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) databases to explore the potential underlying oncogenic impression of LAYN, including the relevance of LAYN to survival outcomes, clinicopathological factors, immune cell infiltration, and immune marker sets in HPV-related HNSCC. The expression levels of LAYN and HPV were also verified in HNSCC patient tissues. RESULTS LAYN was differentially expressed in a variety of tumors. The expression of LAYN in HNSCC was significantly higher than that in adjacent normal tissues (P < 0.0001), and high expression of LAYN was correlated with poor overall survival (OS) in HNSCC patients (Hazard Ratio (HR) = 1.3, P = 0.035). Moreover, LAYN expression level in HPV-positive HNSCC patients was significantly lower than that in HPV-negative patients, with HPV-positive HNSCC patients displaying a trend of favorable prognosis. In addition, the relationship between LAYN expression and immune infiltration levels in HPV-positive HNSCC group was less tightly correlated than that in HPV-negative HNSCC group, and there was a strong relationship between LAYN expression and markers of M2 macrophage (P < 0.001) and exhausted T cells (P < 0.05) in HPV-negative HNSCC. Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis suggested that LAYN potentially influenced tumor progression through HPV infection and other cancer-related pathways. CONCLUSIONS LAYN might contribute to tumorigenesis via its positive correlation with immune checkpoint molecules and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Our study might provide a novel prognostic biomarker and latent therapeutic target for the treatment of HPV-related HNSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingjuan Chen
- Department of Oncology, 3201 Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Hanzhong, 723000, Shaanxi, China
- Department of Oncology, Yongchuan Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 40016, China
| | - Jiankang Chen
- Department of Oncology, Yongchuan Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 40016, China
| | - Zuzhuang Lu
- Department of Oncology, Yongchuan Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 40016, China
| | - Rui Nian
- Department of Pathology, 3201 Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Hanzhong, 723000, Shaanxi, China
| | - Wanjun Li
- Department of Pathology, 3201 Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Hanzhong, 723000, Shaanxi, China
| | - Zhongqiang Yao
- Department of Oncology, 3201 Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Hanzhong, 723000, Shaanxi, China
| | - Shangdong Mou
- Department of Oncology, 3201 Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Hanzhong, 723000, Shaanxi, China
| | - Ying Liu
- Department of Oncology, 3201 Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Hanzhong, 723000, Shaanxi, China
| | - Xia Cao
- Department of Oncology, 3201 Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Hanzhong, 723000, Shaanxi, China
| | - Wenjing He
- Department of Oncology, Xianyang Center Hospital, Xi'an, 712000, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Chenjing Zhu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Jiangsu Cancer Hospital & Jiangsu Institute of Cancer Research & Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 42 Baiziting, Nanjing, 210009, Jiangsu, China.
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Jin Y, Huang S, Zhou H, Wang Z, Zhou Y. Multi-omics comprehensive analyses of programmed cell death patterns to regulate the immune characteristics of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Transl Oncol 2024; 41:101862. [PMID: 38237211 PMCID: PMC10825548 DOI: 10.1016/j.tranon.2023.101862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2023] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a heterogeneous cancer with high morbidity and mortality. Triggering the programmed cell death (PCD) to enhance the anti-tumor therapies is being applied in multiple cancers. However, the limited understanding of genetic heterogeneity in HNSCC severely hampers the clinical efficacy. We systematically analyzed 14 types of PCD in HNSCC from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We utilized ssGSEA to calculate the PCD scores and classify patients into two clusters. Subsequently, we displayed the genomic alteration landscape to unravel the significant differences in copy number alterations and gene mutations. Furthermore, we calculated the IC50 values of targeted drugs to predict the differences in sensitivity. To identify the immune-related prognostic types, we comprehensively estimated the relationship between immune indicators and all prognostic PCD in three datasets (TCGA, GSE65858, GSE41613). Finally, 7 regulators were filtered. Subsequently, we integrated 10 machine learning algorithms and 101 algorithm combinations to test the clinical predictive efficacy. Using WGCNA as a basis, we built a weighted co-expression network to identify modules involved in the immune landscape with different colors. Meanwhile, our results indicated that blue and red modules containing crucial regulators closely related to the CD4+, CD8+ T cells, TMB or PD-L1. FCGR2A from blue module, CSF2, INHBA, and THBS1 from the red module were determined. After verifying in vivo experiments, FCGR2A was identified as hub gene. In conclusion, our findings suggest a potential role of PCD in HNSCC, offering new insights into effective immunotherapy and anti-tumor therapies in HNSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Jin
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Hunan Cancer Hospital, The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410013, China; Key Laboratory of Translational Radiation Oncology, Department of Radiation Oncology, Hunan Cancer Hospital and The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410013, China.
| | - Siwei Huang
- School of Humanities and Management, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan 410208, China
| | - Hongyu Zhou
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Hunan Cancer Hospital, The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410013, China; Key Laboratory of Translational Radiation Oncology, Department of Radiation Oncology, Hunan Cancer Hospital and The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410013, China
| | - Zhanwang Wang
- Department of Oncology, Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha 410013, China.
| | - Yonghong Zhou
- School of Medicine, Shanghai University, 99 Shangda Road, Shanghai 200444, China.
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12
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Mucherino S, Lorenzoni V, Triulzi I, Del Re M, Orlando V, Capuano A, Danesi R, Turchetti G, Menditto E. Cost-Effectiveness of Treatment Optimisation with Biomarkers for Immunotherapy in Solid Tumours: A Systematic Review. Cancers (Basel) 2024; 16:995. [PMID: 38473355 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16050995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2023] [Revised: 02/17/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
This study investigated the health economic evaluations of predictive biomarker testing in solid tumours treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Searching PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science from June 2010 to February 2022, 58 relevant articles were reviewed out of the 730 screened. The focus was predominantly on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (65%) and other solid tumours (40%). Among the NSCLC studies, 21 out of 35 demonstrated cost-effectiveness, notably for pembrolizumab as first-line treatment when preceded by PD-L1 assessment, cost-effective at a threshold of $100,000/QALY compared to the standard of care. However, for bladder, cervical, and triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs), no economic evaluations met the affordability threshold of $100,000/QALY. Overall, the review highlights a certain degree of uncertainty about the cost-effectiveness of ICI. In particular, we found PD-L1 expression associated with ICI treatment to be a cost-effective strategy, particularly in NSCLC, urothelial, and renal cell carcinoma. The findings suggest the potential value of predictive biomarker testing, specifically with pembrolizumab in NSCLC, while indicating challenges in achieving cost-effectiveness for certain other solid tumours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Mucherino
- CIRFF-Centre of Pharmacoeconomics and Drug Utilization Research, Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, via D Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | | | - Isotta Triulzi
- Institute of Management, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - Marzia Del Re
- Unit of Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacogenetics, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Valentina Orlando
- CIRFF-Centre of Pharmacoeconomics and Drug Utilization Research, Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, via D Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Annalisa Capuano
- Section of Pharmacology 'L. Donatelli', Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania 'L. Vanvitelli', Via Costantinopoli 16, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | - Romano Danesi
- Unit of Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacogenetics, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | | | - Enrica Menditto
- CIRFF-Centre of Pharmacoeconomics and Drug Utilization Research, Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, via D Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
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13
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Zhang M, Wu Y, Mou J, Yao Y, Wen P, Liu X, Shang S, Kang X, Tian J, Liu Y, Lv E, Wang L. The global landscape of immune-derived lncRNA signature in colorectal cancer. Heliyon 2024; 10:e25568. [PMID: 38420407 PMCID: PMC10900961 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2023] [Revised: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a highly heterogeneous cancer. This heterogeneity has an impact on the efficacy of immunotherapy. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been found to play regulatory functions in cancer immunity. However, the global landscape of immune-derived lncRNA signatures has not yet been explored in colorectal cancer. METHODS In this study, we applied DESeq2 to identify differentially expressed lncRNAs in colon cancer. Next, we performed an integrative analysis to globally identify immune-driven lncRNA markers in CRC, including immune-associated pathways, tumor immunogenomic features, tumor-infiltrating immune cells, immune checkpoints, microsatellite instability (MSI) and tumor mutation burden (TMB). RESULTS We also identified dysregulated lncRNAs, such as LINC01354 and LINC02257, and their clinical relevance in CRC. Our findings revealed that the differentially expressed lncRNAs were closely associated with immune pathways. In addition, we found that RP11-354P11.3 and RP11-545G3.1 had the highest association with the immunogenomic signature. As a result, these signatures could serve as markers to assess immunogenomic activity in CRC. Among the immune cells, resting mast cells and M0 macrophages had the highest association with lncRNAs in CRC. The AC006129.2 gene was significantly associated with several immune checkpoints, for example, programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA). Therefore, the AC006129.2 gene could be targeted to regulate the condition of immune cells or immune checkpoints to enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy in CRC patients. Finally, we identified 15 immune-related lncRNA-generated open reading frames (ORFs) corresponding to 15 cancer immune epitopes. CONCLUSION In conclusion, we provided a genome-wide immune-driven lncRNA signature for CRC that might provide new insights into clinical applications and immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengying Zhang
- School of Medical Information and Engineering, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yifei Wu
- School of Medical Information and Engineering, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jingyi Mou
- Department of Clinical Medicine, School of 1st Clinical Medicine, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China
| | - Yang Yao
- School of Medical Information and Engineering, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Pengbo Wen
- School of Medical Information and Engineering, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xin Liu
- School of Medical Information and Engineering, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Shipeng Shang
- School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Xingxing Kang
- School of Medical Information and Engineering, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jiaqi Tian
- School of Medical Information and Engineering, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yan Liu
- School of Life Sciences, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Enhui Lv
- School of Medical Information and Engineering, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Liang Wang
- Laboratory Medicine, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
- Centre for Precision Health, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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14
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Wu S, Lv X, Wei H, Wu J, Liu S, Li X, Song J, Zou C, Ai Y. Integrated analysis of single-cell RNA-seq and bulk RNA-seq unravels the molecular feature of M2 macrophages of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. J Cell Mol Med 2024; 28:e18083. [PMID: 38393307 PMCID: PMC10902578 DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.18083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The connection between head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC) and M2 tumour-associated macrophages is not yet fully understood. We gathered gene expression profiles and clinical data from HNSC patients in the TCGA database. Using Consensus Clustering, we categorized these patients into M2 macrophage-related clusters. We developed a M2 macrophage-related signature (MRS) through statistical analyses. Additionally, we assessed gene expression in HNSC cells using single-cell sequencing data (GSE139324). We identified three distinct M2 macrophage-related clusters in HNSC, each with different prognostic outcomes and immune characteristics. Patients with different MRS profiles exhibited variations in immune infiltration, genetic mutations and prognosis. FCGR2A may play a role in creating an immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment and could potentially serve as a therapeutic target for HNSC. Our study demonstrated that M2 macrophage-related genes significantly impact the development and progression of HNSC. The M2 macrophage-related model offered a more comprehensive assessment of HNSC patient prognosis, genetic mutations and immune features. FCGR2A was implicated in immunosuppressive microenvironments and may hold promise for the development of novel immunotherapeutic strategies for HNSC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyuan Wu
- Foshan Stomatological Hospital, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong, China
| | - Xiaozhi Lv
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, ZhuJiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Haigang Wei
- Foshan Stomatological Hospital, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong, China
| | - Jialin Wu
- Foshan Stomatological Hospital, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong, China
| | - Shiwei Liu
- Department of Stomatology, Foshan First People's Hospital, Foshan, Guangdong, China
| | - Xia Li
- Foshan Stomatological Hospital, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong, China
| | - Jing Song
- Foshan Stomatological Hospital, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong, China
| | - Chen Zou
- Foshan Stomatological Hospital, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong, China
| | - Yilong Ai
- Foshan Stomatological Hospital, School of Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong, China
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Zhang Y, Tang H, Zi M, Zhang Z, Gao Q, Tian S. CCDC71L as a novel prognostic marker and immunotherapy target via lipid metabolism in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. J Stomatol Oral Maxillofac Surg 2024; 125:101799. [PMID: 38367702 DOI: 10.1016/j.jormas.2024.101799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2023] [Revised: 02/11/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most widespread cancer globally with high rate and poor prognosis. Coiled-coil domain containing 71 like (CCDC71L) exerts an important role in cellular lipid metabolic process. However, its function in HNSCC remains unclear. To this end, we examined the CCDC71L implications for prognosis and tumor microenvironment in HNSCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS First, CCDC71L expression was explored through The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Human Protein Atlas (HPA), the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis 2 (GEPIA2), Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. The clinicpathological information were obtained from the dataset of TCGA. The Kaplan-Meier Plotter databases and Cox model were performed for the determination of prognostic values of CCDC71L, including the overall survival (OS), progress free interval (PFI), recurrence-free survival (RFS) and disease specific survival (DSS). Then, the potential mechanism of CCDC71L in HNSCC development was elucidated by means of Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and Metascape databases. Furthermore, the relevance of CCDC71L to immune cells infiltration and immune checkpoints was assessed. The correlations among CCDC71L expression, mutational landscape and genome heterogeneity [mutant-allele tumor heterogeneity (MATH) and tumor purity] were detected by the data in TCGA. RESULTS CCDC71L expression was significantly upregulated in HNSCC, and positively associated with age, gender and N stage. Higher CCDC71L expression resulted in poor OS, RFS, DSS and PFI. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed CCDC71L would be an independent prognostic marker in patients with HNSCC. Moreover, CCDC71L and the level of macrophage and neutrophil cells infiltration were significantly correlated in HNSCC. High expression of CCDC71L was related to immune checkpoint genes, oncogene mutations and genome heterogeneity markers. CONCLUSION These results implied that CCDC71L plays vital roles in HNSCC progression, which could be used as a underlying biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of HNSCC. Meanwhile, CCDC71L participates in immune regulation, which has a potential value for the immunotherapy of HNSCC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Zhang
- Department of Oral Medicine, the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China
| | - Huifang Tang
- Department of Cariology and Endodontics, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining, Shandong, China
| | - Minghui Zi
- Department of Oral Medicine, the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China
| | - Zhiyong Zhang
- Department of Oral Medicine, the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China
| | - Qi Gao
- Department of Oral Medicine, the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China
| | - Songbo Tian
- Department of Oral Medicine, the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.
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Liu W, Pang Y, Yu X, Lu D, Yang Y, Meng F, Xu C, Yuan L, Nan Y. Pan-cancer analysis of NUDT21 and its effect on the proliferation of human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Aging (Albany NY) 2024; 16:3363-3385. [PMID: 38349866 DOI: 10.18632/aging.205539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/15/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Based on bioinformatics research of NUDT21 in pan-cancer, we aimed to clarify the mechanism of NUDT21 in HHNC by experiment. METHODS The correlation between differential expression of NUDT21 in pan-cancer and survival prognosis, genomic instability, tumor stemness, DNA repair, RNA methylation and with immune microenvironment were analyzed by the application of different pan-cancer analysis web databases. In addition, immunohistochemistry staining and genetic detection of NUDT21 in HHNCC tumor tissues by immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR. Then, through in vitro cell experiments, NUDT21 was knocked down by lentivirus to detect the proliferation, cycle, apoptosis of FaDu and CNE-2Z cells, and finally by PathScan intracellular signaling array reagent to detect the apoptotic protein content. RESULTS Based on the pan-cancer analysis, we found that elevated expression of NUDT21 in most cancers was significantly correlated with TMB, MSI, neoantigens and chromosomal ploidy, and in epigenetics, elevated NUDT21 expression was strongly associated with genomic stability, mismatch repair genes, tumor stemness, and RNA methylation. Based on immunosuppressive score, we found that NUDT21 plays an essential role in the immunosuppressive environment by suppressing immune checkpointing effect in most cancers. In addition, using HHNSCC as a study target, PCR and pathological detection of NUDT21 in tumor tissues was significantly increased than that in paracancerous normal tissues. In vitro cellular assays, silencing NUDT21 inhibited proliferation and promoted apoptosis in FaDu and CNE-2Z cells, and blocked the cell cycle in the G2/M phase. Therefore, the experiments confirmed that NUDT21 promotes the proliferation of FaDu by suppressing the expression of apoptotic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjing Liu
- Key Laboratory of Ningxia Minority Medicine Modernization Ministry of Education, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China
| | - Yingna Pang
- Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130000, China
| | - Xiaolu Yu
- Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130000, China
| | - Doudou Lu
- Clinical Medical College, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China
| | - Yating Yang
- Traditional Chinese Medicine College, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China
| | - Fandi Meng
- Traditional Chinese Medicine College, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China
| | - Chengbi Xu
- Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130000, China
| | - Ling Yuan
- College of Pharmacy, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China
| | - Yi Nan
- Key Laboratory of Ningxia Minority Medicine Modernization Ministry of Education, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China
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17
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Mestiri S, El-Ella DMA, Fernandes Q, Bedhiafi T, Almoghrabi S, Akbar S, Inchakalody V, Assami L, Anwar S, Uddin S, Gul ARZ, Al-Muftah M, Merhi M, Raza A, Dermime S. The dynamic role of immune checkpoint molecules in diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of head and neck cancers. Biomed Pharmacother 2024; 171:116095. [PMID: 38183744 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.116095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Head and neck cancer (HNC) is the sixth most common cancer type, accounting for approximately 277,597 deaths worldwide. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) agents targeting programmed death-1 (PD-1) and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) as a treatment regimen for head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). Studies have reported the role of immune checkpoint inhibitors as targeted therapeutic regimens that unleash the immune response against HNSCC tumors. However, the overall response rates to immunotherapy vary between 14-32% in recurrent or metastatic HNSCC, with clinical response and treatment success being unpredictable. Keeping this perspective in mind, it is imperative to understand the role of T cells, natural killer cells, and antigen-presenting cells in modulating the immune response to immunotherapy. In lieu of this, these immune molecules could serve as prognostic and predictive biomarkers to facilitate longitudinal monitoring and understanding of treatment dynamics. These immune biomarkers could pave the path for personalized monitoring and management of HNSCC. In this review, we aim to provide updated immunological insight on the mechanism of action, expression, and the clinical application of immune cells' stimulatory and inhibitory molecules as prognostic and predictive biomarkers in HNC. The review is focused mainly on CD27 and CD137 (members of the TNF-receptor superfamily), natural killer group 2 member D (NKG2D), tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 4 (TNFRSF4 or OX40), S100 proteins, PD-1, PD-L1, PD-L2, T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (TIM-3), cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4), lymphocyte-activation gene 3 (LAG-3), indoleamine-pyrrole 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA). It also highlights the importance of T, natural killer, and antigen-presenting cells as robust biomarker tools for understanding immune checkpoint inhibitor-based treatment dynamics. Though a comprehensive review, all aspects of the immune molecules could not be covered as they were beyond the scope of the review; Further review articles can cover other aspects to bridge the knowledge gap.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarra Mestiri
- Translational Cancer Research Facility, National Center for Cancer Care and Research/ Translational Research Institute, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Dina Moustafa Abo El-Ella
- Translational Cancer Research Facility, National Center for Cancer Care and Research/ Translational Research Institute, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Queenie Fernandes
- Translational Cancer Research Facility, National Center for Cancer Care and Research/ Translational Research Institute, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; College of Medicine, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Takwa Bedhiafi
- Translational Cancer Research Facility, National Center for Cancer Care and Research/ Translational Research Institute, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Salam Almoghrabi
- Translational Cancer Research Facility, National Center for Cancer Care and Research/ Translational Research Institute, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Shayista Akbar
- Translational Cancer Research Facility, National Center for Cancer Care and Research/ Translational Research Institute, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Varghese Inchakalody
- Translational Cancer Research Facility, National Center for Cancer Care and Research/ Translational Research Institute, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Laila Assami
- Translational Cancer Research Facility, National Center for Cancer Care and Research/ Translational Research Institute, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Shaheena Anwar
- Department of Biosciences, Salim Habib University, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Shahab Uddin
- Translational Research Institute and Dermatology Institute, Academic Health System, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; Laboratory Animal Research Center, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Abdul Rehman Zar Gul
- National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Mariam Al-Muftah
- Translational Cancer and Immunity Centre, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar; College of Health and Life Sciences, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Maysaloun Merhi
- Translational Cancer Research Facility, National Center for Cancer Care and Research/ Translational Research Institute, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Afsheen Raza
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Health Science, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Said Dermime
- Translational Cancer Research Facility, National Center for Cancer Care and Research/ Translational Research Institute, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
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Bila M, Franken A, Van Dessel J, Garip M, Meulemans J, Willaert R, Hoeben A, Vander Poorten V, Clement PM. Exploring long-term responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors in recurrent and metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Oral Oncol 2024; 149:106664. [PMID: 38113661 DOI: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2023.106664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have introduced a new era in the treatment of recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC). Optimal duration for ICI therapy is still unclear and the long-term outcomes and toxicity in patients responding to these therapies warrant further exploration. This study attempts to identify the clinical and biological determinants of a durable response and evaluate outcomes following ICI treatment discontinuation. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective review of 181 patients treated with ICI for R/M HNSCC was conducted. Long-term responders were defined as patients who sustained disease control at least two years after initiating ICI therapy. We compared clinical and biological characteristics associated with these long-term responders against the broader treatment population. RESULTS 10 % of R/M HNSCC patients treated with ICIs demonstrated a durable long-term response. Only three relapses (16 %) occurred after discontinuing ICI treatment in this subset, with a median follow-up of 52 months. Upon retreatment with ICI, two attained a documented response. Extended ICI response was observed even with < 2 years of treatment. 74 % of long-term responders experienced immune-related adverse events (irAEs), 37 % of which severe irAEs. Hypothyroidism was the most frequently reported irAEs. The predictive potential of systemic inflammation indices for clinical response appears to be limited. CONCLUSIONS ICI present an optimistic avenue for HNSCC patients, offering substantial long-term responses. The study suggests that a two-year treatment could be optimal and irAEs, although common, are typically mild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michel Bila
- Oral and maxillofacial surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Oncology, Leuven Cancer Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Amelie Franken
- Laboratory for Translational Genetics, Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; VIB Center for Cancer Biology, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jeroen Van Dessel
- Oral and maxillofacial surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Oral and Maxillo-facial Surgery - Imaging & Pathology (OMFS-IMPATH), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Melisa Garip
- Oral and maxillofacial surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jeroen Meulemans
- Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Oncology, Section Head and Neck Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Robin Willaert
- Oral and maxillofacial surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Oral and Maxillo-facial Surgery - Imaging & Pathology (OMFS-IMPATH), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ann Hoeben
- Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands; GROW-School of Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Vincent Vander Poorten
- Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Oncology, Section Head and Neck Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Paul M Clement
- Department of Oncology, Leuven Cancer Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Medical oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Zhang C, Deng J, Li K, Lai G, Liu H, Zhang Y, Xie B, Zhong X. Mononuclear phagocyte system-related multi-omics features yield head and neck squamous cell carcinoma subtypes with distinct overall survival, drug, and immunotherapy responses. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 2024; 150:37. [PMID: 38279056 PMCID: PMC10817853 DOI: 10.1007/s00432-023-05512-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent research reported that mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS) can contribute to immune defense but the classification of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients based on MPS-related multi-omics features using machine learning lacked. METHODS In this study, we obtain marker genes for MPS through differential analysis at the single-cell level and utilize "similarity network fusion" and "MoCluster" algorithms to cluster patients' multi-omics features. Subsequently, based on the corresponding clinical information, we investigate the prognosis, drugs, immunotherapy, and biological differences between the subtypes. A total of 848 patients have been included in this study, and the results obtained from the training set can be verified by two independent validation sets using "the nearest template prediction". RESULTS We identified two subtypes of HNSCC based on MPS-related multi-omics features, with CS2 exhibiting better predictive prognosis and drug response. CS2 represented better xenobiotic metabolism and higher levels of T and B cell infiltration, while the biological functions of CS1 were mainly enriched in coagulation function, extracellular matrix, and the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. Furthermore, we established a novel and stable classifier called "getMPsub" to classify HNSCC patients, demonstrating good consistency in the same training set. External validation sets classified by "getMPsub" also illustrated similar differences between the two subtypes. CONCLUSIONS Our study identified two HNSCC subtypes by machine learning and explored their biological difference. Notably, we constructed a robust classifier that presented an excellent classifying prediction, providing new insight into the precision medicine of HNSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cong Zhang
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Yixue Road, Chongqing, 400016, China
| | - Jielian Deng
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Yixue Road, Chongqing, 400016, China
| | - Kangjie Li
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Yixue Road, Chongqing, 400016, China
| | - Guichuan Lai
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Yixue Road, Chongqing, 400016, China
| | - Hui Liu
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Yixue Road, Chongqing, 400016, China
| | - Yuan Zhang
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Yixue Road, Chongqing, 400016, China
| | - Biao Xie
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Yixue Road, Chongqing, 400016, China.
| | - Xiaoni Zhong
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Yixue Road, Chongqing, 400016, China.
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Zhou M, Xiang S, Zhao Y, Tang Y, Yang J, Yin X, Tian J, Hu S, Du Y. [ 68Ga]Ga-AUNP-12 PET imaging to assess the PD-L1 status in preclinical and first-in-human study. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2024; 51:369-379. [PMID: 37759096 DOI: 10.1007/s00259-023-06447-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE PD-L1 PET imaging, as a non-invasive procedure, can perform a real-time, dynamic and quantitative analysis of PD-L1 expression at tumor sites. In this study, we developed a novel peptide-based PET tracer, [68 Ga]Ga-AUNP-12, for preclinical and first-of-its-kind imaging of PD-L1 expression in patients. METHODS Radiosynthesis of [68 Ga]Ga-AUNP-12 was conducted. Assays for cellular uptake and binding were conducted on the PANC02, CT26, and B16F10 cell lines. Preclinical models were used to investigate its biodistribution, imaging capacity, and pharmacokinetics. Furthermore, interferon-γ (IFN-γ) was used for development of an animal model with high PD-L1 expression for targeted PET imaging and efficacy evaluation of PD-L1 blocking therapy. In healthy volunteers and cancer patients, the PD-L1 imaging, radiation dosimetry, safety, and biodistribution were further evaluated. RESULTS In vitro and in vivo animal studies showed that [68 Ga]Ga-AUNP-12 PET imaging displayed a high specificity in evaluating PD-L1 expression. The radiochemical yield of [68 Ga]Ga-AUNP-12 was 71.7 ± 8.2%. Additionally, its molar activity and radiochemical purity were satisfactory. The B16F10 tumor was visualized with the tumor uptake of 6.86 ± 0.71% ID/g and tumor-to-muscle ratio of 6.83 ± 0.36 at 60 min after [68 Ga]Ga-AUNP-12 injection. Furthermore, [68 Ga]Ga-AUNP-12 PET imaging could sensitively detect the PD-L1 dynamic changes in CT26 tumor xenograft models regulated by IFN-γ treatment, and correspondingly can effectively guide immunotherapy. Regarding radiation dosimetry, [68 Ga]Ga-AUNP-12 is safe for human use. The first human study found that [68 Ga]Ga-AUNP-12 can be rapidly cleared from blood and other nonspecific organs through the kidney excretion, leading to form a clear imaging contrast in the clinical framework. The specificity of [68 Ga]Ga-AUNP-12 was validated and tumor uptake strongly correlated with the high PD-L1 expression in patients with lung adenocarcinoma and oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). CONCLUSION [68 Ga]Ga-AUNP-12 was successfully developed as a PD-L1-specific PET imaging tracer in preclinical and first-in-human studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Zhou
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China
| | - Shijun Xiang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China
| | - Yajie Zhao
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China
| | - Yongxiang Tang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China
| | - Jinhui Yang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China
| | - Xiaoqin Yin
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China
| | - Jie Tian
- CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 95 Zhongguancun East Road, Beijing, 100190, China.
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Big Data-Based Precision Medicine, School of Medicine, Beihang University, No. 95 Zhongguancun East Road, Beijing, 100190, China.
| | - Shuo Hu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China.
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders (Xiangya), Changsha, China.
- Key Laboratory of Biological Nanotechnology of National Health Commission, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 87 Xiangya Rd, Changsha, 410008, China.
| | - Yang Du
- CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 95 Zhongguancun East Road, Beijing, 100190, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100080, People's Republic of China.
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Lien MY, Hwang TZ, Wang CC, Hsieh CY, Yang CC, Wang CC, Lien CF, Shih YC, Yeh SA, Hsieh MC. A Novel Prognostic Model Using Pan-Immune-Inflammation Value and Programmed Death Ligand 1 in Patients with Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Receiving Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: A Retrospective Multicenter Analysis. Target Oncol 2024; 19:71-79. [PMID: 38041732 DOI: 10.1007/s11523-023-01018-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Little is known regarding the prognostication of the Pan-Immune-Inflammation Value (PIV) in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC). OBJECTIVES This study aimed to investigate the prognostic role of PIV in patients with R/M HNSCC receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients who were diagnosed to have R/M HNSCC and treated with ICI were reviewed retrospectively. The cutoff value of PIV was set at the median. Patients were stratified into high PIV and low PIV. Kaplan-Meier curves were estimated for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS A total of 192 patients were included in our study for oncologic outcomes evaluation. For the total population, the median PFS was 5.5 months and OS was 18.2 months. After stratification by PIV, median PFS was 11.7 months in the low PIV and 2.8 months in the high PIV groups (p < 0.001). The median OS was 21.8 months in the low PIV and 11.5 months in the high PIV groups (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that PIV and PD-L1 were independent predictors associated with survival. A prognostic model using both PIV and PD-L1 was constructed. The median PFS was 12.2, 6.4, and 3.0 months for patients with risk scores of 0, 1, and 2, respectively (p < 0.001). The median OS was 23.7, 18.1, and 11.4 months for patients with risk scores of 0, 1, and 2, respectively (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS PIV is a prognostic biomarker in patients with R/M HNSCC treated with ICI. A prognostic model using PIV and PD-L1 could provide outcome prediction and risk stratification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Yu Lien
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
- School and Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Tzer-Zen Hwang
- Department of Otolaryngology, E-Da Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- College of Medicine, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Chun Wang
- Department of Otolaryngology, E-Da Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- College of Medicine, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Ching-Yun Hsieh
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
- School and Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Chuan-Chien Yang
- Department of Otolaryngology, E-Da Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- College of Medicine, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Chien-Chung Wang
- Department of Otolaryngology, E-Da Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- College of Medicine, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Ching-Feng Lien
- Department of Otolaryngology, E-Da Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- College of Medicine, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chen Shih
- College of Medicine, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Department of Otolaryngology, E-Da Cancer Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Shyh-An Yeh
- College of Medicine, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, E-Da Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Meng-Che Hsieh
- College of Medicine, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
- Department of Hematology-Oncology, College of Medicine, E-Da Cancer Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
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22
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Yang Z, He F. An immune cell infiltration landscape classification to predict prognosis and immunotherapy effect in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin 2024; 27:191-203. [PMID: 36794748 DOI: 10.1080/10255842.2023.2179364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
Tumor immune cell infiltration (ICI) is associated with the prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients and the effect of immunotherapy. The combat algorithm was used to merge the data from three databases and the Cell-type Identification by Estimating Relative Subsets of RNA Transcripts (CIBERSORT) algorithm to quantify the amount of infiltrated immune cells. Unsupervised consistent cluster analysis was used to determine ICI subtypes, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were determined according to these subtypes. The DEGs were then clustered again to obtain the ICI gene subtypes. The principal component analysis (PCA) and the Boruta algorithm were used to construct the ICI scores. Three different ICI clusters and gene clusters with a prognosis of significant difference were found and the ICI score was constructed. Patients with higher ICI scores have a better prognosis following internal and external verification. Besides, the proportion of patients with effective immunotherapy was higher than those with low scores in two external datasets with immunotherapy. This study shows that the ICI score is an effective prognostic biomarker and a predictor of immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqiang Yang
- Department of Stomatology, Meishan People's Hospital, Meishan, China
| | - Fan He
- Department of Stomatology, Meishan People's Hospital, Meishan, China
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Olatunji E, Patel S, Graef K, Joseph A, Lasebikan N, Mallum A, Chigbo C, Jaffee E, Ngwa W. Utilization of cancer immunotherapy in sub-Saharan Africa. Front Oncol 2023; 13:1266514. [PMID: 38179176 PMCID: PMC10765613 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1266514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction The Lancet Oncology Commission for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) predicts that cancer deaths will double from 520,158 per year to more than 1 million per year by the year 2040. These striking figures indicate a need to urgently evaluate cancer treatment infrastructure and resources in the region. Studies have found immunotherapy to be effective for the treatment of advanced-stage cancer, which almost 70% of patients in SSA present with. Despite immunotherapy's significant therapeutic potential, its utilization in SSA is not well documented. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the landscape of immunotherapy in SSA. Methods A Qualtrics survey assessing the existing infrastructure and training for safe immunotherapy administration was developed and distributed online via email and WhatsApp to 3,231 healthcare providers across SSA, with a target audience of healthcare providers serving patients with cancer. The survey contained 22 questions evaluating the accessibility, use, knowledge, and training on immunotherapy in SSA. Responses were collected between January and February 2023. Microsoft Excel was used to summarize and visually present the distribution of responses as counts and proportions. Results 292 responses were included from 28 countries in SSA. 29% of all respondents indicated their clinic has easy access to cancer immunotherapy and 46% indicated their clinic currently practices it. Of clinics that practiced immunotherapy (n = 133), 12% used genomic sequencing to assess the tumor mutational burden biomarker, and 44% assessed expression of the PD-L1 biomarker prior to immunotherapy administration. 46% of all respondents were familiar with immunotherapy. 11% indicated being adequately trained to administer it. Of these (n=33), 52% indicated also being trained to manage immune-related adverse events related to immunotherapy administration. Conclusion Immunotherapy utilization and training is low in SSA and insufficient for the rising cancer burden. Increased accessibility and usage of biomarker testing to predict immunotherapy response, incorporation of immunotherapy training into continuous medical education, and increased access to immunotherapy drugs may be prerequisites for expanded utilization of immunotherapy in SSA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Olatunji
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Saloni Patel
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Katy Graef
- BIO Ventures for Global Health, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Adedayo Joseph
- Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority-Lagos University Teaching Hospital (NSIA-LUTH) Cancer Center, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria
| | - Nwamaka Lasebikan
- Oncology Center, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu, Enugu, Nigeria
| | - Abba Mallum
- Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
- Department of Oncology, Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, Durban, South Africa
| | - Chinelo Chigbo
- Oncology Center, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu, Enugu, Nigeria
| | - Elizabeth Jaffee
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Wil Ngwa
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
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Yan W, Hou N, Zheng J, Zhai W. Predictive genomic biomarkers of therapeutic effects in renal cell carcinoma. Cell Oncol (Dordr) 2023; 46:1559-1575. [PMID: 37223875 DOI: 10.1007/s13402-023-00827-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In recent years, there have been great improvements in the therapy of renal cell carcinoma. Nevertheless, the therapeutic effect varies significantly from person to person. To discern the effective treatment for different populations, predictive molecular biomarkers in response to target, immunological, and combined therapies are widely studied. CONCLUSION This review summarized those studies from three perspectives (SNPs, mutation, and expression level) and listed the relationship between biomarkers and therapeutic effect, highlighting the great potential of predictive molecular biomarkers in metastatic RCC therapy. However, due to a series of reasons, most of these findings require further validation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weijie Yan
- Department of Urology, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Naiqiao Hou
- Department of Urology, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Junhua Zheng
- Department of Urology, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Wei Zhai
- Department of Urology, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
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Xin Y, Jiang Q, Liu C, Qiu J. Plumbagin has an inhibitory effect on the growth of TSCC PDX model and it enhances the anticancer efficacy of cisplatin. Aging (Albany NY) 2023; 15:12225-12250. [PMID: 37925175 PMCID: PMC10683608 DOI: 10.18632/aging.205175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas are the sixth most common malignant tumors worldwide. Tongue squamous cell carcinoma is a common malignant tumor of this type, and it is associated with poor prognosis, a high rate of recurrence and a low survival rate. Plumbagin is derived from Plumbago zeylanica L, several studies report that plumbagin could inhibit cell, tumor metastasis, induce apoptosis in various cancer cells. Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model can maintain the heterogeneity and microenvironment of human tumors, is a powerful research tool for developing potentially effective therapies for TSCC. METHODS Tumor tissues obtained from TSCC patients were implanted into immunodeficient mice to establish TSCC PDX models. Subsequently, the PDX models were used to evaluate the anti-tumor effects of plumbagin on TSCC. Furthermore, we conducted next-generation sequencing (NGS) and explored the mRNA expression profiles between the treatment and control groups. We selected eight mRNAs related to the characteristics and prognosis of TSCC patients for further analysis. RESULTS Plumbagin could inhibit the growth of TSCC PDX models and inhibit expression of Akt/mTOR pathway. In addition, plumbagin was shown to increase drug sensitivity to cisplatin. The eight mRNAs selected for further analysis, AXL, SCG5, VOPP1, DCBLD2 and DRAM1 are cancer-promoting genes, DUSP1, AQP5 and BLNK are cancer suppressor genes. And they were related to the diagnosis, growth, prognosis, and immune cell infiltration in TSCC patients. CONCLUSION Plumbagin exhibits an inhibitory effect on the growth of the PDX model of TSCC. Moreover, plumbagin enhances the inhibitory effects of cisplatin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuqi Xin
- Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China
- Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China
| | - Qingkun Jiang
- Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China
- Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China
| | - Chenshu Liu
- Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China
- Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China
| | - Jiaxuan Qiu
- Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China
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26
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Zhou C, Deng H, Fang Y, Wei Z, Shen Y, Qiu S, Ye D, Shen Z, Shen Y. Identification and validation of a novel signature based on T cell marker genes to predict prognosis, immunotherapy response and chemotherapy sensitivity in head and neck squamous carcinoma by integrated analysis of single-cell and bulk RNA-sequencing. Heliyon 2023; 9:e21381. [PMID: 37954266 PMCID: PMC10632748 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
T cells are among the most potent anti-tumor cells that are found in humans. Our study sought to develop a reliable signature incorporating T cell marker genes (TMGs) for predicting the prognosis and therapy responsiveness of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients. We downloaded scRNA-seq data from the GSE181919 to identify TMGs. Subsequently, we devised a 12 TMG signature in the TCGA HNSCC cohort by using LASSO analysis. Patients with high-risk scores were shown to experience unfavorable progression-free survival, disease-specific survival, and overall survival, which was validated in the GSE65858 cohort. Additionally, the nomogram integrated risk score and clinical features are more suitable for clinical application. The enrichment analyses of both pathways and functions showed that high- and low-risk patients had functionally related distinctions. Furthermore, analysis of the immunological landscape confirmed that the low-risk patients had a larger percentage of infiltrating immune cells as well as a higher incidence rate of immune-related events. In the meantime, a greater IPS score and expression of immune checkpoint genes suggested significantly favorable responsiveness to immunotherapy in low-risk patients. On the other hand, the high-risk patients had a greater degree of sensitivity to the chemotherapy agents, which included paclitaxel, gemcitabine, docetaxel, and cisplatin. Our finding revealed that this TMG signature independently functioned as a prognostic marker and guided individualized immunotherapy and chemotherapy selection for patients with HNSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chongchang Zhou
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
| | - Hongxia Deng
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yi Fang
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
- Health Science Center, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zhengyu Wei
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
- Health Science Center, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yiming Shen
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
- Health Science Center, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
| | - Shijie Qiu
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
| | - Dong Ye
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zhisen Shen
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yi Shen
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Ningbo NO. 2 Hospital, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
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Wamsley NT, Wilkerson EM, Guan L, LaPak KM, Schrank TP, Holmes BJ, Sprung RW, Gilmore PE, Gerndt SP, Jackson RS, Paniello RC, Pipkorn P, Puram SV, Rich JT, Townsend RR, Zevallos JP, Zolkind P, Le QT, Goldfarb D, Major MB. Targeted Proteomic Quantitation of NRF2 Signaling and Predictive Biomarkers in HNSCC. Mol Cell Proteomics 2023; 22:100647. [PMID: 37716475 PMCID: PMC10587640 DOI: 10.1016/j.mcpro.2023.100647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 09/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The NFE2L2 (NRF2) oncogene and transcription factor drives a gene expression program that promotes cancer progression, metabolic reprogramming, immune evasion, and chemoradiation resistance. Patient stratification by NRF2 activity may guide treatment decisions to improve outcome. Here, we developed a mass spectrometry-based targeted proteomics assay based on internal standard-triggered parallel reaction monitoring to quantify 69 NRF2 pathway components and targets, as well as 21 proteins of broad clinical significance in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). We improved an existing internal standard-triggered parallel reaction monitoring acquisition algorithm, called SureQuant, to increase throughput, sensitivity, and precision. Testing the optimized platform on 27 lung and upper aerodigestive cancer cell models revealed 35 NRF2 responsive proteins. In formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded HNSCCs, NRF2 signaling intensity positively correlated with NRF2-activating mutations and with SOX2 protein expression. Protein markers of T-cell infiltration correlated positively with one another and with human papilloma virus infection status. CDKN2A (p16) protein expression positively correlated with the human papilloma virus oncogenic E7 protein and confirmed the presence of translationally active virus. This work establishes a clinically actionable HNSCC protein biomarker assay capable of quantifying over 600 peptides from frozen or formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded archived tissues in under 90 min.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan T Wamsley
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Emily M Wilkerson
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Li Guan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Kyle M LaPak
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Travis P Schrank
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Brittany J Holmes
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Robert W Sprung
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Petra Erdmann Gilmore
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Sophie P Gerndt
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Ryan S Jackson
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Randal C Paniello
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Patrik Pipkorn
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Sidharth V Puram
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Jason T Rich
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Reid R Townsend
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - José P Zevallos
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Paul Zolkind
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Quynh-Thu Le
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Dennis Goldfarb
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri, USA; Institute for Informatics, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri, USA.
| | - Michael B Major
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri, USA; Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri, USA.
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28
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Jha A, Alam M, Kashyap T, Nath N, Kumari A, Pramanik KK, Nagini S, Mishra R. Crosstalk between PD-L1 and Jak2-Stat3/ MAPK-AP1 signaling promotes oral cancer progression, invasion and therapy resistance. Int Immunopharmacol 2023; 124:110894. [PMID: 37678027 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2023.110894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1)is an antitumor immunity molecule and a great target to cure oral cancer; nonetheless, the limited success can be attributed to many complex pathways and tumor-related interferences. METHODS In the present study, 150 human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) tissue samples, including 17 adjacent normals, 56 primary tumors, 47 invasive tumors, and 30 therapy-resistant (RT) samples, were included. The parental/cisplatin-resistant (CisR-SCC4/9) cells were utilized for overexpression (Jak1-3 wild type and catalytically inactive), knockdown (PD-L1 siRNA), targeting MAPK/PI3K/Jak-Stat pathways (SMIs) and checking microsomes. The expression of PD-L1, transcription factors (TFs), signaling pathways, survival/apoptosis, therapy resistance, and invasiveness-related molecules/their activity were determined by RT-PCR, Immunohistochemistry, Western blot, Gelatin Zymography, and MTT assay. RESULTS Advanced OSCC tumors (invasive and drug-resistance), CisR-SCC4/9 cells, and secretory exosomes (CisR-SCC4/9) were found with increased PD-L1 expression. PD-L1 mRNA/protein showed a positive correlation with different TFs (AP1 > Stat3 > c-myc > NFκB) in tumor samples. The PD-L1 expression was more influenced by Jak-Stat/ MAPK-AP1 pathways over PI3K. The ectopic expression of Jak1-3 suggests Jak2 inducted PD-L1 level over Jak1/Jak3. Finally, PD-L1 directly supports survival (Bcl-xL, Bax, cleaved caspase-3), invasion (MMP2/9), and drug-resistance (ALDH-1A1/-3A1) program in OSCC through its link with several molecules. CONCLUSIONS PD-L1 was regulated mainly by the Jak2-Stat3/ MAPK-AP1 pathway, and besides the routine immunological functions, it supports OSCC survival, invasion, and therapy resistance. PD-L1 can be used as an indicator of severity and can be targeted along with Jak2-Stat3/ MAPK-AP1 for a better outcome OSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arpita Jha
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Central University of Jharkhand, Cheri-Manatu, Kanke, Ranchi 835 222, Jharkhand, India
| | - Manzar Alam
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Central University of Jharkhand, Cheri-Manatu, Kanke, Ranchi 835 222, Jharkhand, India
| | - Tanushree Kashyap
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Central University of Jharkhand, Cheri-Manatu, Kanke, Ranchi 835 222, Jharkhand, India
| | - Nidhi Nath
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Central University of Jharkhand, Cheri-Manatu, Kanke, Ranchi 835 222, Jharkhand, India
| | - Anjali Kumari
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Central University of Jharkhand, Cheri-Manatu, Kanke, Ranchi 835 222, Jharkhand, India
| | - Kamdeo K Pramanik
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Central University of Jharkhand, Cheri-Manatu, Kanke, Ranchi 835 222, Jharkhand, India
| | - Siddavaram Nagini
- Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Annamalai University, Annamalainagar 608 002, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Rajakishore Mishra
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Central University of Jharkhand, Cheri-Manatu, Kanke, Ranchi 835 222, Jharkhand, India.
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Yang Y, Yan C, Chen XJ. CERCAM is a prognostic biomarker associated with immune infiltration of macrophage M2 polarization in head and neck squamous carcinoma. BMC Oral Health 2023; 23:724. [PMID: 37803318 PMCID: PMC10559510 DOI: 10.1186/s12903-023-03421-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE This study aimed to investigate the relevance of cerebral endothelial cell adhesion molecule (CERCAM) expression to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) prognosis and immune infiltration by macrophage M2 polarization. METHODS Timer, UALCAN and HPA databases was used to analyze the differences in mRNA and protein levels of CERCAM expression in HNSCC. The Timer database was also applied to analyze the correlation between CERCAM in HNSCC and immune infiltration. TCGA-HNSCC database was applied to analyze the correlation between CERCAM expression levels and clinicopathological features, and its diagnostic and prognostic value in HNSCC was also assessed. The cBioPortal and MethSurv databases were then applied to analyze the genetic variation and methylation status of CERCAM. In vitro cellular assays were performed to provide evidence that CERCAM promotes malignant biological behavior of tumors and promotes macrophage M2 polarization in tumors. Finally, underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of CERCAM involvement in the development of HNSCC were predicted using a bioinformatics approach. RESULTS CERCAM is significantly overexpressed in HNSCC and correlates with poor prognostic levels and has good performance in predicting survival status in HNSCC patients. Cox regression analysis indicates that CERCAM expression levels are independent risk factors for predicting OS, DSS, and PFI. CERCAM promotes tumor malignant biological behavior and promotes macrophage M2 polarization immune infiltration in HNSCC. In addition, CERCAM promotes tumor cell adhesion in head and neck squamous carcinoma and promotes tumor progression through several oncogenic signaling pathways. CONCLUSION CERCAM may serve as a new diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in HNSCC and is a promising therapeutic target for HNSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Yang
- Department of Stomatology, General Hospital of the Central Theater Command, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Cong Yan
- Department of Oral Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Stomatology, China Medical University, Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110000, P.R. China
| | - Xiao-Jian Chen
- Department of Stomatology, General Hospital of the Central Theater Command, Wuhan, 430070, China.
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Affolter A, Liebel K, Tengler L, Seiz E, Tiedtke M, Azhakesan A, Schütz J, Theodoraki MN, Kern J, Ruder AM, Fleckenstein J, Weis CA, Bieback K, Kramer B, Lammert A, Scherl C, Rotter N, Ludwig S. Modulation of PD‑L1 expression by standard therapy in head and neck cancer cell lines and exosomes. Int J Oncol 2023; 63:102. [PMID: 37503786 PMCID: PMC10552694 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2023.5550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Although checkpoint inhibitors (CPI) have recently extended the treatment options and improved clinical response of advanced stage head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), treatment success remains unpredictable. Programmed cell death ligand‑1 (PD‑L1) is a key player in immunotherapy. Tumor cells, and exosomes derived therefrom, are carriers of PD‑L1 and efficiently suppress immune responses. The aim of the present study was to analyze the influence of established therapies on PD‑L1 expression of HNSCC cell lines and their exosomes. The HNSCC cell lines, UM‑SCC‑11B, UM‑SCC‑14C and UM‑SCC‑22C were treated with fractionated radiotherapy (RT; 5x2 Gy), cisplatin (CT) and cetuximab (Cetux) as monotherapy, or combined therapy, chemoradiotherapy (CRT; RT and CT) or radioimmunotherapy (RT and Cetux). The expression of PD‑L1 and phosphorylated (p)ERK1/2 as a mediator of radioresistance were assessed using western blotting, immunohistochemistry and an ex vivo vital tissue culture model. Additionally, exosomes were isolated from concentrated supernatants of the (un‑)treated HNSCC cell lines by size exclusion chromatography. Exosomal protein expression levels of PD‑L1 were detected using western blotting and semi‑quantitative levels were calculated. The functional impact of exosomes from the (un‑)treated HNSCC cell lines on the proliferation (MTS assay) and apoptosis (Caspase 3/7 assay) of the untreated HNSCC cell lines were measured and compared. The HNSCC cell lines UM‑SCC‑11B and UM‑SCC‑22B showed strong expression of pERK1/2 and PD‑L1, respectively. RT upregulated the PD‑L1 expression in UM‑SCC‑11B and UM‑SCC‑14C and in exosomes from all three cell lines. CT alone induced PD‑L1 expression in all cell lines. CRT induced the expression of PD‑L1 in all HNSCC cell lines and exosomes from UM‑SCC‑14C and UM‑SCC‑22B. The data indicated a potential co‑regulation of PD‑L1 and activated ERK1/2, most evident in UM‑SCC‑14C. Exosomes from irradiated UM‑SCC‑14C cells protected the unirradiated cells from apoptosis by Caspase 3/7 downregulation. The present study suggested a tumor cell‑mediated regulation of PD‑L1 upon platinum‑based CRT in HNSCC and in exosomes. A co‑regulation of PD‑L1 and MAPK signaling response was hypothesized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annette Affolter
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University, D-68167 Mannheim
| | - Kai Liebel
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University, D-68167 Mannheim
| | - Luisa Tengler
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University, D-68167 Mannheim
| | - Elena Seiz
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University, D-68167 Mannheim
| | - Moritz Tiedtke
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University, D-68167 Mannheim
| | - Alexya Azhakesan
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University, D-68167 Mannheim
| | - Julia Schütz
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University, D-68167 Mannheim
| | - Marie-Nicole Theodoraki
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Ulm, D-89075 Ulm
| | - Johann Kern
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University, D-68167 Mannheim
| | - Arne M. Ruder
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University, D-68167 Mannheim
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Heidelberg, D-69120 Heidelberg
| | - Jens Fleckenstein
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University, D-68167 Mannheim
| | - Cleo-Aron Weis
- Department of Pathology, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University, Mannheim
- Department of Pathology, Heidelberg University Hospital
| | - Karen Bieback
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Immunology, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, German Red Cross Blood Donor Service Baden-Württemberg-Hessen, D-68167 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Benedikt Kramer
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University, D-68167 Mannheim
| | - Anne Lammert
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University, D-68167 Mannheim
| | - Claudia Scherl
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University, D-68167 Mannheim
| | - Nicole Rotter
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University, D-68167 Mannheim
| | - Sonja Ludwig
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University, D-68167 Mannheim
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Zeng J, Ye Z, Shi S, Liang Y, Meng Q, Zhang Q, Le AD. Targeted inhibition of eIF5A hpu suppresses tumor growth and polarization of M2-like tumor-associated macrophages in oral cancer. Cell Death Dis 2023; 14:579. [PMID: 37653021 PMCID: PMC10471704 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-023-06109-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2023] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023]
Abstract
Eukaryotic initiation factor 5A2 (eIF5A2) is overexpressed in many types of cancer, and spermidine-mediated eIF5A hypusination (eIF5Ahpu) appears to be essential to most of eIF5A's biological functions, including its important role in regulating cancer cell proliferation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and cancer stem cell (CSC) properties as well as immune cell functions. Here we investigated the role of eIF5Ahpu in the growth of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells (OSCCs) and OSCC-induced polarization of M2-like tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). TCGA dataset analysis revealed an overall upregulation in the mRNA expression of eIF5A2 and several key enzymes involved in polyamine (PA) metabolism in HNSCC, which was confirmed by Western blot and IHC studies. Blocking eIF5Ahpu by GC-7 but not the upstream key enzyme activities of PA metabolism, remarkably inhibited cell proliferation and the expression of EMT- and CSC-related genes in OSCC cells. In addition, blocking eIF5Ahpu robustly inhibited OSCC-induced M2-like TAM polarization in vitro. More Importantly, blocking eIF5Ahpu dramatically retarded tumor growth and infiltration/polarization of M2-like TAM in a syngeneic orthotopic murine tongue SCC model. Thus, eIF5Ahpu plays dual functions in regulating tumor cell growth and polarization of M2-TAMs in OSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jincheng Zeng
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Dongguan Key Laboratory of Medical Bioactive Molecular Developmental and Translational Research, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Diagnostics, Guangdong Medical University, 523808, Dongguan, China
| | - Ziyu Ye
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Dongguan Key Laboratory of Medical Bioactive Molecular Developmental and Translational Research, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Diagnostics, Guangdong Medical University, 523808, Dongguan, China
| | - Shihong Shi
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Yanfang Liang
- Department of Pathology, Dongguan Hospital Affiliated to Jinan University, Bin-haiwan Central Hospital of Dongguan, 523905, Dongguan, China
| | - Qingyu Meng
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Qunzhou Zhang
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Anh D Le
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
- Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Penn Medicine Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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32
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Wan L, Li Y, Pan W, Yong Y, Yang C, Li C, Zhao X, Li R, Yue W, Yan X. Effective TME-related signature to predict prognosis of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Front Mol Biosci 2023; 10:1232875. [PMID: 37670814 PMCID: PMC10475735 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1232875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: The tumor microenvironment (TME) is crucial for the development of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, the correlation of the characteristics of the TME and the prognosis of patients with HNSCC remains less known. Methods: In this study, we calculated the immune and stromal cell scores using the "estimate" R package. Kaplan-Meier survival and CIBERSORT algorithm analyses were applied in this study. Results: We identified seven new markers: FCGR3B, IGHV3-64, AC023449.2, IGKV1D-8, FCGR2A, WDFY4, and HBQ1. Subsequently, a risk model was constructed and all HNSCC samples were grouped into low- and high-risk groups. The results of both the Kaplan-Meier survival and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analyses showed that the prognosis indicated by the model was accurate (0.758, 0.756, and 0.666 for 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates). In addition, we applied the CIBERSORT algorithm to reveal the significant differences in the infiltration levels of immune cells between the two risk groups. Discussion: Our study elucidated the roles of the TME and identified new prognostic biomarkers for patients with HNSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingfei Wan
- College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China
- Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Lab, Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Yuanshuai Li
- College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Wenting Pan
- College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China
- Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Lab, Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Yuting Yong
- College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China
- Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Lab, Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Chao Yang
- Department of Nucleus Radiation-Related Injury Treatment, PLA Rocket Force Characteristic Medical Center, Beijing, China
| | - Chen Li
- College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Xingxing Zhao
- College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China
- Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Lab, Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Ruihong Li
- College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Wen Yue
- Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Lab, Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, China
- South China Research Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xinlong Yan
- College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China
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Mireștean CC, Stan MC, Schenker M, Volovăț C, Volovăț SR, Iancu DTP, Iancu RI, Bădulescu F. Immunotherapy with PD-1 Inhibitor Nivolumab in Recurrent/Metastatic Platinum Refractory Head and Neck Cancers-Early Experiences from Romania and Literature Review. Diagnostics (Basel) 2023; 13:2620. [PMID: 37627878 PMCID: PMC10452972 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13162620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 07/02/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Prognosis in recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma (HNSCC) refractory to platinum-based chemotherapy is poor, making therapy optimization a priority. Anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1) monoclonal antibody Nivolumab was approved in such cases. We present the early experience with Nivolumab immunotherapy at three cancer clinics from south and northeast Romania, aiming to describe the main characteristics and outcomes relative to literature reports, and to suggest patient selection criteria. Diagnostic, clinical, biological, therapeutic, and outcomes-related data from January 2020 until March 2023 were analyzed retrospectively. Eighteen patients with platinum refractory HNSCC (85.7% men, median age 58.9) were administered Nivolumab for 1-14 months (median 5.6 months) in addition to other treatments (surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy), and monitored for up to 25 months. Median neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) ranged from 2.72 initially to 6.01 during treatment. Overall survival (OS) was 16 months, and patients who died early had the sharpest NLR increases (13.07/month). There were no severe immune-related adverse events. Lower NLR values and combined intensive chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy were related to better outcomes. To our knowledge, we also report the first two cases of second primary malignancy (SPM) in the head and neck region treated with Nivolumab in Romania (for which the sequential administration of radiotherapy and immunotherapy seems better). The work of other Romanian authors on the role of HPV status in HNC is also discussed. Multi-center trials are needed in order to investigate and confirm these observations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camil Ciprian Mireștean
- Department of Medical Oncology and Radiotherapy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania; (C.C.M.); (M.C.S.); (F.B.)
- Department of Surgery, Railways Clinical Hospital, 700506 Iași, Romania
| | - Mihai Cosmin Stan
- Department of Medical Oncology and Radiotherapy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania; (C.C.M.); (M.C.S.); (F.B.)
- Department of Medical Oncology, Vâlcea County Emergency Hospital, 200300 Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania
| | - Michael Schenker
- Department of Medical Oncology and Radiotherapy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania; (C.C.M.); (M.C.S.); (F.B.)
- Department of Medical Oncology, “Sf Nectarie” Oncology Center, 200347 Craiova, Romania
- Department of Medical Oncology, Clinical Emergency County Hospital, 200642 Craiova, Romania
| | - Constantin Volovăț
- Department of Medical Oncology and Radiotherapy, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iași, Romania; (C.V.); (D.T.P.I.)
- Department of Medical Oncology, Euroclinic Oncology Center, Victoria Hospital, 700110 Iași, Romania
| | - Simona Ruxandra Volovăț
- Department of Medical Oncology and Radiotherapy, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iași, Romania; (C.V.); (D.T.P.I.)
- Department of Medical Oncology, Regional Institute of Oncology, 700483 Iași, Romania
| | - Dragoș Teodor Petru Iancu
- Department of Medical Oncology and Radiotherapy, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iași, Romania; (C.V.); (D.T.P.I.)
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Regional Institute of Oncology, 700483 Iași, Romania
| | - Roxana Irina Iancu
- Oral Pathology Department, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iași, Romania;
- Clinical Laboratory Department, “Sf. Spiridon” Emergency University Hospital, 700111 Iaşi, Romania
| | - Florinel Bădulescu
- Department of Medical Oncology and Radiotherapy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania; (C.C.M.); (M.C.S.); (F.B.)
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Li X, Li D, Li J, Chen Y, Cai Z, Tan F. A Prognostic Model of Head and Neck Cancer Based on Amino Acid Metabolism-Related Signature and Its Implication for Immunosuppressive Microenvironment. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:11753. [PMID: 37511510 PMCID: PMC10380987 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241411753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Amino acid metabolism has been implicated in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. Alterations in intracellular and extracellular metabolites associated with metabolic reprogramming in cancer have profound effects on gene expression, cell differentiation, and tumor immune microenvironment. However, the prognostic significance of amino acid metabolism in head and neck cancer remains to be further investigated. In this study, we identified 98 differentially expressed genes related to amino acid metabolism in head and neck cancer in The Cancer Genome Atlas. Using batch univariate Cox regression and Lasso regression, we extracted nine amino acid metabolism-related genes. Based on that, we developed the amino acid metabolism index. The prognostic value of this index was validated in two Gene Expression Omnibus cohorts. The results show that this model can help predict tumor recurrence and prognosis. The infiltration of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment was analyzed, and it was discovered that the high index is associated with an immunosuppressive microenvironment. In addition, this study demonstrated the impact of the amino acid metabolism index on clinical indicators, survival of patients with head and neck cancer, and the prediction of treatment response to immune checkpoint inhibitors. We conducted several cell experiments and demonstrated that epigenetic drugs could affect the index and enhance tumor immunity. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that the index not only has important prognostic value in head and neck cancer patients but also facilitates patient stratification for immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuran Li
- Department of ORL-HNS, Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China
| | - Danni Li
- Department of ORL-HNS, Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China
| | - Jiaojiao Li
- Department of ORL-HNS, Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China
| | - Yiliang Chen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China
| | - Zhenyu Cai
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China
| | - Fei Tan
- Department of ORL-HNS, Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China
- The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, D02 YN77 Dublin, Ireland
- The Royal College of Surgeons of England, London WC2A 3PE, UK
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Jia W, Chen S, Wei R, Yang X, Zhang M, Qian Y, Liu H, Lei D. CYP4F12 is a potential biomarker and inhibits cell migration of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma via EMT pathway. Sci Rep 2023; 13:10956. [PMID: 37414830 PMCID: PMC10326030 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37950-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC) is the most common malignant tumor of head and neck. Due to the insidious nature of HNSC and the lack of effective early diagnostic indicators, the development of novel biomarkers to improve patient prognosis is particularly urgent. In this study, we explored and validated the correlation between cytochrome P450 family 4 subfamily F member 12 (CYP4F12) expression levels and HNSC progression using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets and collected patient samples. We analyzed the association of CYP4F12 expression with clinicopathological features, immune correlation and prognosis. Finally, we analyzed the correlation between CYP4F12 and pathways, and verified by experiments. The results showed that CYP4F12 was low expressed in tumor tissues, participated in a variety of phenotypic changes of HNSC and affected immune cell infiltration. Pathway analysis indicated that CYP4F12 may play a key role in tumor cell migration and apoptosis. Experimental results showed that over-expression of CYP4F12 inhibited cell migration and enhanced the adhesion between cells and matrix by inhibiting epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) pathway in HNSC cells. In conclusion, our study provided insights into the role of CYP4F12 in HNSC and revealed that CYP4F12 may be a potential therapeutic target for HNSC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenming Jia
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology (Shandong University), Jinan, China
| | - Shuai Chen
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology (Shandong University), Jinan, China
| | - Ran Wei
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology (Shandong University), Jinan, China
| | - Xiaoqi Yang
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology (Shandong University), Jinan, China
| | - Minfa Zhang
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Institute of Otolaryngology, Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University, Binzhou, China
| | - Ye Qian
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology (Shandong University), Jinan, China
| | - Heng Liu
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology (Shandong University), Jinan, China.
| | - Dapeng Lei
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology (Shandong University), Jinan, China.
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Rahimy E, Gensheimer MF, Beadle B, Le QT. Lessons and Opportunities for Biomarker-Driven Radiation Personalization in Head and Neck Cancer. Semin Radiat Oncol 2023; 33:336-347. [PMID: 37331788 DOI: 10.1016/j.semradonc.2023.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
Head and neck cancer is notoriously challenging to treat in part because it constitutes an anatomically and biologically diverse group of cancers with heterogeneous prognoses. While treatment can be associated with significant late toxicities, recurrence is often difficult to salvage with poor survival rates and functional morbidity.1,2 Thus, achieving tumor control and cure at the initial diagnosis is the highest priority. Given the differing outcome expectations (even within a specific sub-site like oropharyngeal carcinoma), there has been growing interest in personalizing treatment: de-escalation in selected cancers to decrease the risk of late toxicity without compromising oncologic outcomes, and intensification for more aggressive cancers to improve oncologic outcomes without causing undue toxicity. This risk stratification is increasingly accomplished using biomarkers, which can represent molecular, clinicopathologic, and/or radiologic data. In this review, we will focus on biomarker-driven radiotherapy dose personalization with emphasis on oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. This radiation personalization is largely performed on the population level by identifying patients with good prognosis via traditional clinicopathologic factors, although there are emerging studies supporting inter-tumor and intra-tumor level personalization via imaging and molecular biomarkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elham Rahimy
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
| | | | - Beth Beadle
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
| | - Quynh-Thu Le
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
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Stögbauer F, Beck S, Ourailidis I, Hess J, Poremba C, Lauterbach M, Wollenberg B, Buchberger AMS, Jesinghaus M, Schirmacher P, Stenzinger A, Weichert W, Boxberg M, Budczies J. Tumour budding-based grading as independent prognostic biomarker in HPV-positive and HPV-negative head and neck cancer. Br J Cancer 2023; 128:2295-2306. [PMID: 37045906 PMCID: PMC10241901 DOI: 10.1038/s41416-023-02240-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 03/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The prognostic significance of tumour budding (TB) and minimal cell nest size (MCNS) was shown in human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). However, the optimisation of cutpoints, the prognostic impact in HPV-positive HNSCC, and the comparison with other histopathological grading systems are insufficiently investigated. METHODS TB and MCNS were analysed digitally in 1 and 10 high-power fields (HPF) of 331 HPV-positive and HPV-negative cases from TCGA. Optimising the cutpoints a new cellular dissociation grading (CDG) system was defined and compared to the WHO grading and the Brandwein-Gensler (BG) risk model. RESULTS The two-tiered CDG system based solely on TB yielded optimal prognostic stratification with shortened overall survival for CDG-high cases. Optimal cut-offs were two buds (1 HPF) and six buds (10 HPF), respectively. Analysing MCNS did not add prognostic significance to quantifying TB. CDG was a significant prognostic marker in HPV-negative and HPV-positive tumours and prognostically superior to the WHO and BG systems. High CDG was associated with clinically occult lymph-node metastases. CONCLUSIONS The most comprehensive study of TB in HNSCC so far confirmed its prognostic impact in HPV-negative tumours and for the first time in HPV-positive tumours. Further studies are warranted to evaluate its applicability for therapy guidance in HNSCC.
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Grants
- Speaker’s fees: AstraZeneca, Incyte, Janssen. Advisory Boards: BMS, MSD, AstraZeneca, Roche. Funding for research: Roche, Chugai, BMS, Novartis.
- Advisory Board/Speaker’s Bureau: Astra Zeneca, AGCT, Bayer, BMS, Eli Lilly, Illumina, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Seattle Genetics, Takeda, Thermo Fisher. Grants: Bayer, BMS, Chugai, Incyte.
- Advisory Boards and speaker’s fees: Roche, MSD, BMS, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Merck, Lilly, Boehringer, Novartis, Takeda, Bayer, Amgen, Astellas, Eisai, Illumina, Siemens, Agilent, ADC, GSK and Molecular Health. Funding for research: Roche, MSD, BMS and AstraZeneca.
- Deutsche Krebshilfe (German Cancer Aid)
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Stögbauer
- Institute of Pathology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Susanne Beck
- University of Heidelberg, Institute of Pathology, Im Neuenheimer Feld 224, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Iordanis Ourailidis
- University of Heidelberg, Institute of Pathology, Im Neuenheimer Feld 224, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jochen Hess
- Section Experimental and Translational Head and Neck Oncology, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
- Research Group Molecular Mechanisms of Head and Neck Tumors, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Maren Lauterbach
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Ismaningerstr. 22, 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Barbara Wollenberg
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Ismaningerstr. 22, 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Anna Maria Stefanie Buchberger
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Ismaningerstr. 22, 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Moritz Jesinghaus
- Institute of Pathology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 81675, Munich, Germany
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Marburg, Baldingerstraße, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Peter Schirmacher
- University of Heidelberg, Institute of Pathology, Im Neuenheimer Feld 224, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Munich and Heidelberg partner sites, Munich and Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Albrecht Stenzinger
- University of Heidelberg, Institute of Pathology, Im Neuenheimer Feld 224, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Munich and Heidelberg partner sites, Munich and Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Wilko Weichert
- Institute of Pathology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 81675, Munich, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Munich and Heidelberg partner sites, Munich and Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Melanie Boxberg
- Institute of Pathology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 81675, Munich, Germany.
- Pathologie München-Nord, 80992, Munich, Germany.
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Munich and Heidelberg partner sites, Munich and Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Jan Budczies
- University of Heidelberg, Institute of Pathology, Im Neuenheimer Feld 224, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Munich and Heidelberg partner sites, Munich and Heidelberg, Germany.
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Fiedler M, Off A, Eichberger J, Spoerl S, Schuderer JG, Taxis J, Bauer RJ, Schreml S, Reichert TE, Ettl T, Weber F. OSCC in Never-Smokers and Never-Drinkers Is Associated with Increased Expression of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes and Better Survival. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:2688. [PMID: 37345025 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15102688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2023] [Revised: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical, histopathologic, and immunologic differences of oral squamous cell carcinoma of never-smokers/never-drinkers and smokers/drinkers. Immunohistochemical staining for CD4, CD8, FoxP3, CD1a, and p16 was performed in 131 oral squamous cell carcinomas from smokers/drinkers and never-smokers/never-drinkers. Associations of smoking/drinking status with clinicopathologic data, immunohistochemical antibody expression, and survival were examined. Oral squamous cell carcinoma in never-smokers/never-drinkers was associated with the female gender (p < 0.001). Never-smokers/never-drinkers were older at diagnosis than smokers/drinkers (p < 0.001). Never-smokers/never-drinkers had more tumors in the maxilla, mandible, and tongue (p < 0.001). Pre-existing oral potentially malignant disorders appeared to be more common in never-smokers/never-drinkers (p < 0.001). Perineural invasion was more common in smokers/drinkers (p = 0.039). Never-smoking/never-drinking was associated with better overall survival (p = 0.004) and disease-specific survival (p = 0.029). High CD4+ T cell infiltration was associated with never-smoking/never-drinking (p = 0.008). Never-smokers/never-drinkers also showed increased CD8+ T cell infiltration (p = 0.001) and increased FoxP3+ Treg infiltration (p = 0.023). Furthermore, the total group of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes was associated with never smoking/never drinking (p = 0.005). To conclude oral squamous cell carcinoma of the never-smokers/never-drinkers appears to be a distinct type of tumor, as it appears to have unique clinical and pathologic features and a more immunogenic microenvironment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathias Fiedler
- Department of Cranio- and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of the University of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Alisa Off
- Department of Cranio- and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of the University of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
- Insitute of Pathology, University of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Jonas Eichberger
- Department of Cranio- and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of the University of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Steffen Spoerl
- Department of Cranio- and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of the University of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Johannes G Schuderer
- Department of Cranio- and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of the University of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Juergen Taxis
- Department of Cranio- and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of the University of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Richard J Bauer
- Department of Cranio- and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of the University of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
- Department of Cranio- and Maxillofacial Surgery, Center for Medical Biotechnology, Hospital of the University of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Stephan Schreml
- Department of Dermatology, Hospital of the University of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Torsten E Reichert
- Department of Cranio- and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of the University of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Tobias Ettl
- Department of Cranio- and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of the University of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Florian Weber
- Insitute of Pathology, University of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
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Luo Y, Zhou LQ, Yang F, Chen JC, Chen JJ, Wang YJ. Construction and analysis of a conjunctive diagnostic model of HNSCC with random forest and artificial neural network. Sci Rep 2023; 13:6736. [PMID: 37185487 PMCID: PMC10130066 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32620-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a heterogeneous tumor that is highly aggressive and ranks fifth among the most common cancers worldwide. Although, the researches that attempted to construct a diagnostic model were deficient in HNSCC. Currently, the gold standard for diagnosing head and neck tumors is pathology, but this requires a traumatic biopsy. There is still a lack of a noninvasive test for such a high-incidence tumor. In order to screen genetic markers and construct diagnostic model, the methods of random forest (RF) and artificial neural network (ANN) were utilized. The data of HNSCC gene expression was accessed from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database; we selected three datasets totally, and we combined 2 datasets (GSE6631 and GSE55547) for screening differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and chose another dataset (GSE13399) for validation. Firstly, the 6 DEGs (CRISP3, SPINK5, KRT4, MMP1, MAL, SPP1) were screened by RF. Subsequently, ANN was applied to calculate the weights of 6 genes. Besides, we created a diagnostic model and nominated it as neuralHNSCC, and the performance of neuralHNSCC by area under curve (AUC) was verified using another dataset. Our model achieved an AUC of 0.998 in the training cohort, and 0.734 in the validation cohort. Furthermore, we used the Cell-type Identification using Estimating Relative Subsets of RNA Transcripts (CIBERSORT) algorithm to investigate the difference in immune cell infiltration between HNSCC and normal tissues initially. The selected 6 DEGs and the constructed novel diagnostic model of HNSCC would make contributions to the diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yao Luo
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China
| | - Liu-Qing Zhou
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China
| | - Fan Yang
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China
| | - Jing-Cai Chen
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China
| | - Jian-Jun Chen
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China.
| | - Yan-Jun Wang
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China.
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Cirillo A, Zizzari IG, Botticelli A, Strigari L, Rahimi H, Scagnoli S, Scirocchi F, Pernazza A, Pace A, Cerbelli B, d'Amati G, Marchetti P, Nuti M, Rughetti A, Napoletano C. Circulating CD137 + T Cell Levels Are Correlated with Response to Pembrolizumab Treatment in Advanced Head and Neck Cancer Patients. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24087114. [PMID: 37108276 PMCID: PMC10138766 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24087114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Pembrolizumab, an anti-PD-1 antibody, has been approved as first-line treatment for recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma ((R/M) HNSCC). However, only a minority of patients benefit from immunotherapy, which highlights the need to identify novel biomarkers to optimize treatment strategies. CD137+ T cells have been identified as tumour-specific T cells correlated with immunotherapy responses in several solid tumours. In this study, we investigated the role of circulating CD137+ T cells in (R/M) HNSCC patients undergoing pembrolizumab treatment. PBMCs obtained from 40 (R/M) HNSCC patients with a PD-L1 combined positive score (CPS) ≥1 were analysed at baseline via cytofluorimetry for the expression of CD137, and it was found that the percentage of CD3+CD137+ cells is correlated with the clinical benefit rate (CBR), PFS, and OS. The results show that levels of circulating CD137+ T cells are significantly higher in responder patients than in non-responders (p = 0.03). Moreover, patients with CD3+CD137+ percentage ≥1.65% had prolonged OS (p = 0.02) and PFS (p = 0.02). Multivariate analysis, on a combination of biological and clinical parameters, showed that high levels of CD3+CD137+ cells (≥1.65%) and performance status (PS) = 0 are independent prognostic factors of PFS (CD137+ T cells, p = 0.007; PS, p = 0.002) and OS (CD137+ T cells, p = 0.006; PS, p = 0.001). Our results suggest that levels of circulating CD137+ T cells could serve as biomarkers for predicting the response of (R/M) HNSCC patients to pembrolizumab treatment, thus contributing to the success of anti-cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessio Cirillo
- Division of Oncology, Department of Radiological, Oncological and Pathological Science, Policlinico Umberto I, "Sapienza" University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Cell Therapies, Department of Experimental Medicine, "Sapienza" University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Ilaria Grazia Zizzari
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Cell Therapies, Department of Experimental Medicine, "Sapienza" University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Botticelli
- Division of Oncology, Department of Radiological, Oncological and Pathological Science, Policlinico Umberto I, "Sapienza" University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Lidia Strigari
- Medical Physics Unit, "Sant'Orsola-Malpighi" Hospital, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Hassan Rahimi
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Cell Therapies, Department of Experimental Medicine, "Sapienza" University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Simone Scagnoli
- Division of Oncology, Department of Radiological, Oncological and Pathological Science, Policlinico Umberto I, "Sapienza" University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Fabio Scirocchi
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Cell Therapies, Department of Experimental Medicine, "Sapienza" University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Angelina Pernazza
- Department of Radiology, Oncology and Pathology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Angelica Pace
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Cell Therapies, Department of Experimental Medicine, "Sapienza" University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Bruna Cerbelli
- Department of Radiology, Oncology and Pathology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Giulia d'Amati
- Department of Radiology, Oncology and Pathology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Paolo Marchetti
- Istituto Dermopatico dell'Immacolata (IDI-IRCCS), 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Marianna Nuti
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Cell Therapies, Department of Experimental Medicine, "Sapienza" University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Aurelia Rughetti
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Cell Therapies, Department of Experimental Medicine, "Sapienza" University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Napoletano
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Cell Therapies, Department of Experimental Medicine, "Sapienza" University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
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Huang X, Shi S, Wang H, Zhao T, Wang Y, Huang S, Su Y, Zhao C, Yang M. Advances in antibody-based drugs and their delivery through the blood-brain barrier for targeted therapy and immunotherapy of gliomas. Int Immunopharmacol 2023; 117:109990. [PMID: 37012874 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2023.109990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023]
Abstract
Gliomas are highly invasive and are the most common type of primary malignant brain tumor. The routine treatments for glioma include surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. However, glioma recurrence and patient survival remain unsatisfactory after employing these traditional treatment approaches. With the rapid development of molecular immunology, significant breakthroughs have been made in targeted glioma therapy and immunotherapy. Antibody-based therapy has excellent advantages in treating gliomas due to its high specificity and sensitivity. This article reviewed various targeted antibody drugs for gliomas, including anti-glioma surface marker antibodies, anti-angiogenesis antibodies, and anti-immunosuppressive signal antibodies. Notably, many antibodies have been validated clinically, such as bevacizumab, cetuximab, panitumumab, and anti-PD-1 antibodies. These antibodies can improve the targeting of glioma therapy, enhance anti-tumor immunity, reduce the proliferation and invasion of glioma, and thus prolong the survival time of patients. However, the existence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) has caused significant difficulties in drug delivery for gliomas. Therefore, this paper also summarized drug delivery methods through the BBB, including receptor-mediated transportation, nano-based carriers, and some physical and chemical methods for drug delivery. With these exciting advancements, more antibody-based therapies will likely enter clinical practice and allow more successful control of malignant gliomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Huang
- College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China
| | - Shuyou Shi
- College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China
| | - Hongrui Wang
- College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China
| | - Tiesuo Zhao
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, China
| | - Yibo Wang
- The College of Clinical College, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Sihua Huang
- The College of Clinical College, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Yingying Su
- College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China
| | - Chunyan Zhao
- College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China.
| | - Ming Yang
- College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China.
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Gavrielatou N, Vathiotis I, Aung TN, Shafi S, Burela S, Fernandez AI, Moutafi M, Burtness B, Economopoulou P, Anastasiou M, Foukas P, Psyrri A, Rimm DL. Digital Spatial Profiling Links Beta-2-microglobulin Expression with Immune Checkpoint Blockade Outcomes in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Cancer Res Commun 2023; 3:558-563. [PMID: 37057033 PMCID: PMC10088911 DOI: 10.1158/2767-9764.crc-22-0299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Revised: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023]
Abstract
Programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1)-targeted immunotherapy is approved for recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC) treatment. Although its efficacy correlates with PD-L1 expression, response is limited even among positive cases. We employed digital spatial profiling (DSP) to discover potential biomarkers of immunotherapy outcomes in HNSCC. Fifty prospectively collected, pretreatment biopsy samples from patients with anti-PD-1-treated R/M HNSCC, were assessed using DSP, for 71 proteins in four molecularly defined compartments (tumor, leukocyte, macrophage, and stroma). Markers were evaluated for associations with progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS). High beta-2 microglobulin (B2M), LAG-3, CD25, and 4-1BB in tumor; high B2M, CD45, CD4 in stroma, and low fibronectin in the macrophage compartment, correlated with prolonged PFS. Improved PFS and OS were observed for cases with high B2M by quantitative and mRNA. Findings were validated in an independent cohort for PFS (HR, 0.41; 95% confidence interval, 0.19-0.93; P = 0.034). B2M-high tumors showed enrichment with immune cell and immune checkpoint markers. Our study illustrates B2M expression is associated with improved survival for immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-treated HNSCC. Significance In the current study, DSP revealed the positive association of B2M expression in the tumor compartment with immunotherapy outcomes in R/M HNSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niki Gavrielatou
- Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Ioannis Vathiotis
- Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Thazin Nwe Aung
- Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Saba Shafi
- Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Sneha Burela
- Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | | | - Myrto Moutafi
- Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Barbara Burtness
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Panagiota Economopoulou
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Attikon University Hospital, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Maria Anastasiou
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Attikon University Hospital, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Periklis Foukas
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Attikon University Hospital, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Amanda Psyrri
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Attikon University Hospital, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - David L. Rimm
- Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Medical Oncology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
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43
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Jiang Z, Wu C, Zhao Y, Zhan Q, Wang K, Li Y. Global research trends in immunotherapy for head and neck neoplasms: A scientometric study. Heliyon 2023; 9:e15309. [PMID: 37113789 PMCID: PMC10126860 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 04/01/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent decades, the traditional treatment of head and neck neoplasms has reached a bottleneck with limited improvement in overall survival. Nevertheless, the emerging field of immunotherapy has shown promise. Literature on research into immunotherapy for head and neck neoplasms was retrieved from WoSCC. Citespace was used as a scientometric analysis tool for text mining and visualization of the scientific literature. This analysis included 1915 documents. Recently, the annual number of publications and citations has been growing rapidly. 'Oncology' was the most popular research area. The most dominant institution and country were the University of Pittsburgh and the USA. Ferris RL was not only the most prolific but also the most cited author, demonstrating a strong influence and reputation. Of the ten core journals identified in this field, Cancer Research ranked first. 'Regulatory T cell', 'PD-1' and 'biomarker' were regarded as current hotspots, while 'recurrent' and 'nivolumab' were considered as trending keywords. The most cited reference was Ferris RL (2016). Notably, the front trends and future directions in the field may lie in the clinical practice of combination therapy of immunotherapy plus other therapies, the mechanism of impaired immune surveillance, and the improvement in resistance to immunotherapeutic agents. It is firmly believed that the present scientometric analysis has provided both a macroscopic and microscopic overview of research into immunotherapy for head and neck neoplasms, which will assist researchers and oncologists to better understand this discipline and thus promote further development and policies in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Yi Li
- Corresponding author. Dept. of Head and Neck Oncology, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, No.14, The 3rd section of Renminnan Avenue, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China.
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Shan F, Shen S, Wang X, Chen G. BST2 regulated by the transcription factor STAT1 can promote metastasis, invasion and proliferation of oral squamous cell carcinoma via the AKT/ERK1/2 signaling pathway. Int J Oncol 2023; 62:54. [PMID: 36929425 PMCID: PMC10019759 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2023.5502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the main types of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Although progress has been made in treating OSCC, it remains a threat to human health, and novel therapeutic strategies are needed to extend the lifespan of patients with OSCC. The present study, evaluated whether bone marrow stromal antigen 2 (BST2) and STAT1 were potential therapeutic targets in OSCC. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) or overexpression plasmids were used to regulate BST2 or STAT1 expression. Western blotting and reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR were performed to assess changes in the protein and mRNA expression levels of signaling pathway components. The effects of BST2 and STAT1 expression changes on the migration, invasion and proliferation of OSCC cells were assessed using the scratch test assay, Transwell assay and colony formation assay in vitro, respectively. Cell‑derived xenograft models were used to evaluate the impact of BST2 and STAT1 on the occurrence and development of OSCC in vivo. Finally, it was demonstrated that BST2 expression was significantly upregulated in OSCC. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that high expression of BST2 in OSCC contributed to the metastasis, invasion and proliferation of OSCC cells. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the promoter region of BST2 was regulated by the transcription factor STAT1, and that the STAT1/BST2 axis could affect the behavior of OSCC via the AKT/ERK1/2 signaling pathway. In vivo studies also demonstrated that STAT1 downregulation inhibited OSCC growth by down‑regulating BST2 expression via the AKT/ERK1/2 signaling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fayu Shan
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, P.R. China
| | - Si Shen
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, P.R. China
| | - Xinxing Wang
- Environmental Medicine Laboratory, Tianjin Institute of Environmental and Operational Medicine, Tianjin 300050, P.R. China
- Correspondence to: Dr Xinxing Wang, Environmental Medicine Laboratory, Tianjin Institute of Environmental and Operational Medicine, 1 Dali Road, Heping, Tianjin 300050, P.R. China, E-mail:
| | - Gang Chen
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, P.R. China
- Dr Gang Chen, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Tianjin Medical University, 12 Qi Xinang Tai Road, Heping, Tianjin 300070, P.R. China, E-mail:
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Sakai A, Iijima H, Ebisumoto K, Yamauchi M, Teramura T, Yamazaki A, Watanabe T, Inagi T, Maki D, Okami K. Prognostic Value of Inflammatory and Nutritional Biomarkers of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Treatment for Recurrent or Metastatic Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15072021. [PMID: 37046684 PMCID: PMC10093403 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15072021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/31/2023] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to determine the prognostic value of inflammatory and nutritional biomarkers of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy for recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (RMHNSCC) and to identify the most useful factor for prognosis assessment. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with RMHNSCC who received ICI therapy. The response rate for ICI therapy and the relationship between inflammatory and nutritional biomarkers and overall survival were examined. The included biomarkers did not correlate with an objective response rate but were associated with a disease control rate. Univariate analysis showed significant correlations between the serum albumin level, C-reactive protein level, platelet to lymphocyte ratio, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR), systemic immune-inflammation index, and controlling the nutritional status score and overall survival; multivariate analysis showed that LMR was significantly correlated with overall survival. LMR was the most important biomarker according to the machine learning model. This study suggests that LMR may be the most useful biomarker for predicting the prognosis of ICI treatment for RMHNSCC.
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46
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Shi MW, Huang J, Sun Y. Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Expecting Its Application in Temporal Bone Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Curr Med Sci 2023; 43:213-222. [PMID: 36971976 DOI: 10.1007/s11596-023-2700-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
Temporal bone malignant tumors are characterized by atypical clinical symptoms, and easy recurrence and metastasis. They account for 0.2% of head and neck tumors, and the most common pathological type is squamous cell carcinoma. Patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the temporal bone are often at advanced stages when diagnosed, and lose the chance for surgery. Neoadjuvant immunotherapy has recently been approved as the first-line treatment for refractory recurrent/metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. However, it remains to be determined whether neoadjuvant immunotherapy can be used as the first-line treatment for temporal bone squamous cell carcinoma to reduce the tumor stage before surgery, or as a palliative treatment for patients with unresectable advanced stage carcinoma. The present study reviews the development of immunotherapy and its clinical application in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, summarizes the treatment of temporal bone squamous cell carcinoma, and prospects the neoadjuvant immunotherapy as the first-line treatment for temporal bone squamous cell carcinoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng-Wen Shi
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China
| | - Jing Huang
- Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China.
| | - Yu Sun
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China.
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Zhang X, Yi C, Zhang L, Zhu X, He Y, Lu H, Li Y, Tang Y, Zhao W, Chen G, Wang C, Huang S, Ouyang G, Yu D. Size-optimized nuclear-targeting phototherapy enhances the type I interferon response for "cold" tumor immunotherapy. Acta Biomater 2023; 159:338-352. [PMID: 36669551 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2023.01.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
There is growing interest in the effect of innate immune silencing in "cold" tumors, which always fail in the immune checkpoint blockade monotherapy using PD-L1 monoclonal antibodies (aPD-L1). Combination of aPD-L1 with photodynamic therapy, i.e., photoimmunotherapy, is a promising strategy to improve the mono immunotherapy. Nuclear-targeting nanoparticles could elicit a type I interferon (IFN)-mediated innate immune response and reverse the immunosuppressive microenvironment for long-term immunotherapy of "cold" tumors. Photosensitizers such as zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) have limited ability to target the nucleus and activate innate sensing pathways to minimize tumor recurrence. Additionally, the relationship between nanoparticle size and nuclear entry capacity remains unclear. Herein, graphene quantum dots (GQDs) were employed as aPD-L1 and ZnPc carriers. Three particle sizes (200 nm, 32 nm and 5 nm) of aPD-L1/ZnPc/GQD-PEG (PZGE) were synthesized and tested. The 5 nm nanoparticles achieved the best nuclear enrichment capacity contributing to their ultrasmall size. Notably, 5 nm PZGE-based photodynamic therapy enabled an amplification of the type I IFN-mediated innate immune response and could convert "immune-cold" tumors into "immune-hot" ones. Utilizing their size advantage to target the nucleus, 5 nm nanoparticles induced DNA damage and activated the type I IFN-mediated innate immune response, subsequently promoting cytotoxic T-lymphocyte infiltration and reversing negative PD-L1 expression. Furthermore, the nanoplatform we designed is promising for the effective suppression of distant oral squamous cell carcinoma. Thus, for the first time, this study presents a size design strategy for nuclear-targeted photo-controlled immune adjuvants and the nuclear-targeted phototherapy-mediated immunomodulatory functions of type I IFN innate immune signalling for "immune-cold" tumors. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The potential of commonly used photosensitizers to activate innate sensing pathways for producing type I IFNs is limited due to the lack of nuclear targeting. Facilitating the nuclear-targeting of photosensitizers to enhance innate immune response and execute long-term tumor killing effect would be a promising strategy for "cold" tumor photoimmunotherapy. Herein, we report an optimal size of PZGE nanoparticles that enable the nuclear-targeting of ZnPc, which reinforces the type I IFN-mediated innate immune response, synergistically reversing "cold tumors" to "hot tumors" for effective primary and distant tumor photoimmunotherapy. This work highlights the marked efficacy of ultrasmall nuclear-located nanocarriers and offers new insight into "immune-cold tumors" via prominent innate immune activation mediated by nuclear-targeting photoimmunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiliu Zhang
- Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Guangzhou, 510055, China
| | - Chen Yi
- Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Guangzhou, 510055, China
| | - Lejia Zhang
- Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Guangzhou, 510055, China
| | - Xinyu Zhu
- Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Guangzhou, 510055, China
| | - Yi He
- Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Guangzhou, 510055, China
| | - Huanzi Lu
- Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Guangzhou, 510055, China
| | - Yiming Li
- Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Guangzhou, 510055, China
| | - Yuquan Tang
- Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Guangzhou, 510055, China
| | - Wei Zhao
- Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Guangzhou, 510055, China
| | - Guosheng Chen
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinorganic and Synthetic Chemistry, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Cheng Wang
- Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Guangzhou, 510055, China.
| | - Siming Huang
- Guangzhou Municipal and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Target & Clinical Pharmacology, the NMPA and State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 511436, China.
| | - Gangfeng Ouyang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinorganic and Synthetic Chemistry, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Dongsheng Yu
- Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Guangzhou, 510055, China.
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Wang L, Chen K, Weng S, Xu H, Ren Y, Cheng Q, Luo P, Zhang J, Liu Z, Han X. PI3K pathway mutation predicts an activated immune microenvironment and better immunotherapeutic efficacy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. World J Surg Oncol 2023; 21:72. [PMID: 36864522 PMCID: PMC9979448 DOI: 10.1186/s12957-023-02938-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND PI3K pathway is the most frequently mutated pathway in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC), which plays a crucial role in tumorigenesis and progression. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the role of PI3K pathway mutation in clinical prognosis prediction and the relationship with immune microenvironment and response rate to immunotherapy. METHODS We collected 129 samples with immunotherapy information from MSKCC-2019 cohort as well as 501 and 40 samples from TCGA-HNSC and MD-Anderson non-immunotherapy cohorts, respectively. Somatic mutation data was utilized to characterize the mutational status of the PI3K pathway. Subsequently, we further analyzed the differences in prognosis, immunotherapy response, genomic alterations, functional characteristics, and immune microenvironment between the mutation and wild groups. RESULTS The Kaplan-Meier survival curves displayed that PI3K pathway mutation predicted observably prolonged overall survival (OS) in the immunotherapy cohort MSKCC-2019 (p = 0.012) but did not reach statistical significance in the non-immunotherapy cohorts TCGA-HNSC (p = 0.68) and MD-Anderson (p = 0.68). After incorporating several clinicopathologic features such as age, gender, and tumor mutation burden (TMB), the results of multivariate Cox regression analysis also demonstrated that the PI3K pathway mutation could indicate better immunotherapy outcomes in HNSC patients with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.533 (95% CI: 0.313-0.910; p = 0.021) in the immunotherapy cohort MSKCC-2019, compared with 0.888 (95% CI: 0.636-1.241; p = 0.487) and 1.939 (95% CI: 0.483-7.781; p = 0.351) in the non-immunotherapy cohorts TCGA-HNSC and MD-Anderson. In addition, the results of the subclass mapping (SubMap) and the tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE) also consistently suggested that patients in the mutation group are more likely to benefit from immunotherapy. And further studies showed that the mutation group owned significantly higher TMB, activated immune-related pathways, richer abundance of immune cells, and higher expression levels of immunomodulators. To improve the prognosis of the wild group, we identified five relatively sensitive potential drugs for the wild group, including "BMS-536924," "linsitinib," "NVP-TAE684," "PLX-4720," and "clonazepam." CONCLUSIONS The PI3K pathway mutation status could be considered as a potential biomarker to predict better immunotherapeutic efficacy and clinical outcomes after immunotherapy in HNSC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Libo Wang
- grid.412633.10000 0004 1799 0733Department of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052 Henan People’s Republic of China ,grid.412633.10000 0004 1799 0733Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052 Henan People’s Republic of China
| | - Kejun Chen
- grid.412633.10000 0004 1799 0733Department of Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052 Henan People’s Republic of China
| | - Siyuan Weng
- grid.412633.10000 0004 1799 0733Department of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052 Henan People’s Republic of China ,grid.207374.50000 0001 2189 3846Interventional Institute of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052 Henan People’s Republic of China ,grid.412633.10000 0004 1799 0733Interventional Treatment and Clinical Research Center of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, 450052 Henan People’s Republic of China
| | - Hui Xu
- grid.412633.10000 0004 1799 0733Department of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052 Henan People’s Republic of China
| | - Yuqing Ren
- grid.412633.10000 0004 1799 0733Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052 Henan People’s Republic of China
| | - Quan Cheng
- grid.216417.70000 0001 0379 7164Department of Neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008 Hunan People’s Republic of China
| | - Peng Luo
- grid.284723.80000 0000 8877 7471Department of Oncology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510280 Guangdong People’s Republic of China
| | - Jian Zhang
- grid.284723.80000 0000 8877 7471Department of Oncology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510280 Guangdong People’s Republic of China
| | - Zaoqu Liu
- Department of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, People's Republic of China. .,Interventional Institute of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, People's Republic of China. .,Interventional Treatment and Clinical Research Center of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, People's Republic of China.
| | - Xinwei Han
- Department of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, People's Republic of China. .,Interventional Institute of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, People's Republic of China. .,Interventional Treatment and Clinical Research Center of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, People's Republic of China.
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Parikh AS, Yu VX, Flashner S, Okolo OB, Lu C, Henick BS, Momen-Heravi F, Puram SV, Teknos T, Pan Q, Nakagawa H. Patient-derived three-dimensional culture techniques model tumor heterogeneity in head and neck cancer. Oral Oncol 2023; 138:106330. [PMID: 36773387 PMCID: PMC10126876 DOI: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2023.106330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Abstract
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) outcomes remain stagnant, in part due to a poor understanding of HNSCC biology. The importance of tumor heterogeneity as an independent predictor of outcomes and treatment failure in HNSCC has recently come to light. With this understanding, 3D culture systems, including patient derived organoids (PDO) and organotypic culture (OTC), that capture this heterogeneity may allow for modeling and manipulation of critical subpopulations, such as p-EMT, as well as interactions between cancer cells and immune and stromal cells in the microenvironment. Here, we review work that has been done using PDO and OTC models of HNSCC, which demonstrates that these 3D culture models capture in vivo tumor heterogeneity and can be used to model tumor biology and treatment response in a way that faithfully recapitulates in vivo characteristics. As such, in vitro 3D culture models represent an important bridge between 2D monolayer culture and in vivo models such as patient derived xenografts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anuraag S Parikh
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States; Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Victoria X Yu
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Samuel Flashner
- Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Ogoegbunam B Okolo
- Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Chao Lu
- Department of Genetics and Development, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Brian S Henick
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Columbia Unversity, New York, NY, United States
| | - Fatemeh Momen-Heravi
- Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Sidharth V Puram
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States; Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Theodoros Teknos
- Department of Otolaryngology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Quintin Pan
- Department of Otolaryngology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Hiroshi Nakagawa
- Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States.
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50
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Bueno-Urquiza LJ, Martínez-Barajas MG, Villegas-Mercado CE, García-Bernal JR, Pereira-Suárez AL, Aguilar-Medina M, Bermúdez M. The Two Faces of Immune-Related lncRNAs in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Cells 2023; 12:cells12050727. [PMID: 36899863 PMCID: PMC10000590 DOI: 10.3390/cells12050727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 01/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a group of cancers originating from the mucosal epithelium in the oral cavity, larynx, oropharynx, nasopharynx, and hypopharynx. Molecular factors can be key in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of HNSCC patients. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are molecular regulators composed of 200 to 100,000 nucleotides that act on the modulation of genes that activate signaling pathways associated with oncogenic processes such as proliferation, migration, invasion, and metastasis in tumor cells. However, up until now, few studies have discussed the participation of lncRNAs in modeling the tumor microenvironment (TME) to generate a protumor or antitumor environment. Nevertheless, some immune-related lncRNAs have clinical relevance, since AL139158.2, AL031985.3, AC104794.2, AC099343.3, AL357519.1, SBDSP1, AS1AC108010.1, and TM4SF19-AS1 have been associated with overall survival (OS). MANCR is also related to poor OS and disease-specific survival. MiR31HG, TM4SF19-AS1, and LINC01123 are associated with poor prognosis. Meanwhile, LINC02195 and TRG-AS1 overexpression is associated with favorable prognosis. Moreover, ANRIL lncRNA induces resistance to cisplatin by inhibiting apoptosis. A superior understanding of the molecular mechanisms of lncRNAs that modify the characteristics of TME could contribute to increasing the efficacy of immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lesly J. Bueno-Urquiza
- Department of Physiology, University Center for Health Sciences, University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Mexico
| | - Marcela G. Martínez-Barajas
- Department of Physiology, University Center for Health Sciences, University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Mexico
| | | | - Jonathan R. García-Bernal
- Department of Physiology, University Center for Health Sciences, University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Mexico
| | - Ana L. Pereira-Suárez
- Department of Microbiology and Pathology, University Center for Health Sciences, University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Mexico
| | - Maribel Aguilar-Medina
- Faculty of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Autonomous University of Sinaloa, Culiacán, Sinaloa 80030, Mexico
| | - Mercedes Bermúdez
- Faculty of Dentistry, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Chihuahua 31000, Mexico
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +52-(614)-439-1834
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