Assessment of dendritic cell number and radiosensitivity in laryngeal tumours

Abstract

Radiotherapy is one of the principal treatment modalities for many types of head and neck tumour; what effects the dendritic cell (DC) population may have on treatment outcome have not been critically evaluated in laryngeal cancer. Retrospective, case-controlled study using immunohistochemistry to investigate the presence of S-100 positive DC in pre-treatment, archival biopsy tissue of early stage laryngeal cancers. Patients with laryngeal cancer treated with radiotherapy in Head and Neck Departments in England. Patients diagnosed with early stage laryngeal cancer, treated with single modality radiotherapy with curative intent. Radioresistant tumours (n = 22), defined as recurrent tumours within 12 months of therapy. Radiosensitive tumours (n = 22), defined as no recurrence with a minimum follow-up of 36 months. Density of S-100 staining DC on three x200 magnified microscopic fields. DC were present in approximately equal numbers in both radioresistant and radiosensitive laryngeal tumour pre-treatment biopsies and therefore density did not correlate with radiotherapy treatment outcome (P = 0.420). There is no intrinsic deficiency in DC number in radioresistant laryngeal tumours meaning that such tumours could potentially benefit from vaccination strategies that enhance the specific anti-tumour immune response.