Abstract
Myeloid cells are a major heterogeneous cell population in the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). Imbalance of myeloid response remains a major obstacle to a favorable prognosis and successful immune therapy. Therefore, we aimed to construct a risk model to evaluate the myeloid contexture, which may facilitate the prediction of prognosis and immune infiltration in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). In our study, six myeloid signature genes (including CCL13, CCR7, CD276, IL1B, LYVE1 and VEGFC) analyzed from 52 differentially expressed myeloid signature genes were finally pooled to establish a prognostic risk model, termed as myeloid gene score (MGS) in a training cohort and validated in a test cohort and an independent external cohort. Furthermore, based on the MGS subgroups, we were able to effectively identify patients with a poor prognosis, aggressive clinical parameters, immune cell infiltration status and immunotherapy response. Thus, MGS may serve as an effective prognostic signature and predictive indicator for immunotherapy response in patients with HNSCC.
Highlights
The tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) has an enormous impact on carcinogenesis, metastasis and progression [1, 2]
myeloid gene score (MGS) of each sample was calculated with the following equation: Risk score (MGS) = CCL13 ∗ 0.0380 + CCR7 ∗ (−0.1049) + CD276 ∗ 0.0073 + IL1B ∗ 0.0034 + LYVE1 ∗ 0.0673 + VEGFC ∗ 0.0020
According to the median value of MGS (0.246), head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients in the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) training and test cohorts were classified into MGSlow and MGShigh subgroups
Summary
The tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) has an enormous impact on carcinogenesis, metastasis and progression [1, 2]. Diverse immune cells in TIME have conflicting effects, tumorantagonizing in some cases and tumor-promoting in others [3]. The heterogeneity of immune components is a pivotal factor affecting the interactions between tumor and TIME [4]. Increasing evidence revealed that myeloid cells are central compartments of immunosuppressive cells, as a major obstacle to immune therapy [6, 9]. Programmed death-ligand 1 (PDL1) expression on myeloid cells hampers T cells differentiation into tumor scavenging effector cells [10] and antagonizes the response to anti-PD-1 therapy [11]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
