Abstract
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have multiple functions with regard to the cancer immunity response and the tumor microenvironment. The prognosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is still poor currently, and it may be effective to predict the clinical outcome and immunotherapeutic response of HNSCC by immunogenic analysis. Therefore, by using univariate COX analysis and Lasso Cox regression, we identified a signature consisting of 21 immune-related lncRNA pairs (IRLPs) that predicted clinical outcome and Immunotherapeutic response in HNSCC. Specifically, it was associated with immune cell infiltration (i.e., T cells CD4 memory resting, CD8 T cells, macrophages M0, M2, and NK cells), and more importantly this signature was strongly related with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) [such as PDCD1 (r = -0.35, P < 0.001), CTLA4 (r = -0.26, P < 0.001), LAG3 (r = -0.22, P < 0.001) and HAVCR2 (r = -0.2, P < 0.001)] and immunotherapy-related biomarkers (MMR and HLA). The present study highlighted the value of the 21 IRLPs signature as a predictor of prognosis and immunotherapeutic response in HNSCC.
Highlights
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common malignant tumor
We find that human leukocyte antigen (HLA) family plays a certain role in the sensitivity difference of immunotherapy, as shown in Figure 6E, HLA family was downregulated in the high-risk group, which led to tumor immune evasion, and may be related to immunotherapy insensitivity
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) based on PD-1/PDL-1 monoclonal antibodies have become a new clinical treatment option for advanced HNSCC
Summary
HNSCC is the sixth most common malignant tumor. About 600,000 people worldwide suffer from this disease, and about 300,000 patients die from the disease every year [1]. With the development of highthroughput gene sequencing technology and the establishment of large-scale gene expression data sets, cancer researchers are able to accurately identify tumor-related prognostic biomarkers [16]. Li et al constructed IRLPs to predict overall survival in patients with osteosarcoma and to provide potential guidance for patients who might benefit from immunotherapy [22] These studies about IRGPs have important clinical significance for the personalized treatment and prognosis of cancer patients. We found that IRLPs are powerful prognostic biomarkers and predictors of HNSCC
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