Abstract 1299: Tumor-infiltrating B cells are predictive of human lung squamous cell survival

Abstract

Abstract Recent studies in human lung squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) have shown that upregulation of B cell-associated genes strongly correlate with patient survival. More than any genetic factor (immunologic or otherwise) CD79A, a pan-B cell marker, was found to have the strongest predictive value. Expression of this marker was capable of identifying short (< 2 years) and long (> 6 years) term lung SqCC survivors, with greater than 80% accuracy. These data suggest that the presence of CD79A-expressing tumor-infiltrating B (TIL-B) cells may be contributing to patient outcome. The aim of this study was to characterize CD79A+ TIL-B cells in SqCC patient samples and evaluate their role in lung SqCC survival. We evaluated human lung cancer specimens from long and short term survivors for the presence of CD79A+ TIL-B cells by immunofluorescence and found that their presence directly correlates with survival time. Further analysis showed that CD79A expression found in tumors of long term survivors (>6 years) co-localizes with CD20 staining but not CD138 staining, indicating that the cells responsible for producing a survival signature are not plasma cells. These data indicate that CD79A+ TIL-B cells are contributing to the generation of an efficient immune response in lung SqCC and may be doing so through non-humoral functions. Citation Format: Sara Centuori, Samuel Kim, Cecil Gomes, Charles Putnam, David Mount, Linda Garland, Jesse Martinez. Tumor-infiltrating B cells are predictive of human lung squamous cell survival. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1299. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1299