Abstract
Interleukin-32 (IL-32) is well known as a proinflammatory cytokine that is expressed in various immune cells and cancers. However, the clinical relevance of IL-32 expression in cutaneous melanoma has not been comprehensively studied. Here, we identified the prognostic value of IL32 expression using various systematic multiomic analyses. The IL32 expressions were significantly higher in cutaneous melanoma than in normal tissue, and Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed a correlation between IL32 expression and good prognosis in cutaneous melanoma patients. In addition, we analyzed the correlation between IL32 expression and the infiltration of natural killer (NK) cells to identify a relevant mechanism between IL32 expression and prognosis in cutaneous melanoma (p = 0.00031). In the relationship between IL32 expression and the infiltration of NK cells, a negative correlation was found in resting NK cells (rho = −0.38, p = 3.95 × 10−17) whereas a strong positive correlation was observed only in active NK cells (rho = 0.374, p = 1.23 × 10−16). Moreover, IL32 expression was markedly positively correlated with the cytolytic molecules, such as granzyme and perforin. These data suggest that IL32 expression may increase patient survival through the infiltration and activation of NK cells, representative anticancer effector cells, in cutaneous melanoma. Collectively, this study provides the prognostic value of IL32 expression and its potential role as an effective predictive biomarker for NK cell infiltration in cutaneous melanoma.
Highlights
Published: 13 October 2021Despite its relatively low incidence rate, melanoma is the most critical type of cancer due to its high levels of malignancy and invasive activity [1,2]
To determine the mechanism associated with clinical relevance, we investigated the correlation between IL32 expression levels and immune cell infiltration in Skin Cutaneous Melanoma (SKCM)
We found that IL32 mRNA expression was higher in cutaneous melanoma (SKCM; skin cutaneous melanoma) tissue than in normal tissue and that a higher expression of IL32 was significantly correlated with patient survival (Figures 1 and 2), suggesting that a higher IL32 expression leads to better clinical outcomes in SKCM patients
Summary
Published: 13 October 2021Despite its relatively low incidence rate, melanoma is the most critical type of cancer due to its high levels of malignancy and invasive activity [1,2]. A type of melanoma, is characterized by high metastasis and poor prognosis; it accounts for 75% of skin-related deaths [3]. Various methods have been used to treat melanoma, but achieving significant therapeutic effects is difficult due to its high resistance to classical therapies, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy [5,6,7]. Various immunotherapies, such as vaccines and immuno-checkpoint inhibitors, have attempted to improve the side effects and to overcome resistance. Monoclonal antibodies targeting the checkpoint molecules cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) and programmed cell death protein
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
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 call
