Abstract
Alteration in MHC class I expression may be used by cancer cells to avoid immune destruction. Much experimental evidence supports this idea, although survival studies are very scarce. To investigate whether the presence or absence of HLA-A, -B and -C antigens in laryngeal carcinoma influences survival, a series of 60 primary laryngeal tumours treated surgically and normal tissues were evaluated in frozen sections for the expression of MHC class I antigens and tumour-infiltrating leucocytes (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD11b, CD1, CD20 and CD16), using monoclonal antibodies and the APAAP, technique. Long-term follow-up from the patients is available, ranging from 6 to 10 years. Thirteen tumours presented total HLA-ABC loss, five selective losses of HLA-A antigens and one absence of HLA-B antigens. Total losses were statistically associated with several clinical and pathological parameters, but there were no differences regarding tumour-infiltrating leucocytes. After conducting a prospective study, only T and N staging and scoring according to Glanz's malignancy classification were found to be independently related to patients' outcome. From our data, we conclude that neither complete loss of HLA class I antigens nor tumour-infiltrating leucocytes appear to influence survival in squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx.
Highlights
MHC class I antigens are membrane glycoproteins involved in effective killing by cytotoxic T cells, which require HLA class I compatibility between T cells and target cells (Thorsby, 1982; Festenstein and Garrido, 1986)
We investigated changes in the expression of HLA class I antigens during malignant transformation of the laryngeal epithelium and some mechanisms involved (Esteban et al, 1989), and we found several clinical and pathological correlations between HLAABC losses and aggressiveness (Esteban et al, 1990a)
MHC class II antigens were only found in verrucous cell carcinomas, DR expression seems to be associated with tumours with excellent prognosis (Esteban et al, 1990b)
Summary
MHC class I antigens are membrane glycoproteins involved in effective killing by cytotoxic T cells, which require HLA class I compatibility between T cells and target cells (Thorsby, 1982; Festenstein and Garrido, 1986). Alterations in HLA-ABC expression may be one method used by cancer cells to avoid immune destruction (Garrido, 1987). We investigated changes in the expression of HLA class I antigens during malignant transformation of the laryngeal epithelium and some mechanisms involved (Esteban et al, 1989), and we found several clinical and pathological correlations between HLAABC losses and aggressiveness (Esteban et al, 1990a). MHC class II antigens were only found in verrucous cell carcinomas, DR expression seems to be associated with tumours with excellent prognosis (Esteban et al, 1990b). The aim of the present work is to present the long-term results of the series and to evaluate the prognostic significance of MHC class I antigens and tumour-infiltrating leucocytes (TILs) in patients with laryngeal carcinoma after long-term follow-up
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