Abstract
BackgroundFunctional interactions between immune cells and neoplastic cells in the tumor immune microenvironment have been actively pursued for both biomarker discovery for patient stratification, as well as therapeutic anti-cancer targets to improve clinical outcomes. Although accumulating evidence indicates that intratumoral infiltration of immune cells has prognostic significance, limited information is available on the spatial infiltration patterns of immune cells within intratumoral regions. This study aimed to understand the intratumoral heterogeneity and spatial distribution of immune cell infiltrates associated with cell phenotypes and prognosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).MethodsA total of 88 specimens of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, categorized into discovery (n = 38) and validation cohorts (n = 51), were analyzed for immune contexture by multiplexed immunohistochemistry (IHC) and image cytometry-based quantification. Tissue segmentation was performed according to a mathematical morphological approach using neoplastic cell IHC images to dissect intratumoral regions into tumor cell nests versus intratumoral stroma.ResultsTissue segmentation revealed heterogeneity in intratumoral T cells, varying from tumor cell nest-polarized to intratumoral stroma-polarized distributions. Leukocyte composition analysis revealed higher ratios of TH1/TH2 in tumor cell nests with higher percentages of helper T cells, B cells, and CD66b+ granulocytes within intratumoral stroma. A discovery and validation approach revealed a high density of programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1)+ helper T cells in tumor cell nests as a negative prognostic factor for short overall survival. CD163+ tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) provided the strongest correlation with PD-1+ helper T cells, and cases with a high density of PD-1+ helper T cells and CD163+ TAM had a significantly shorter overall survival than other cases.ConclusionThis study reveals the significance of analyzing intratumoral cell nests and reports that an immune microenvironment with a high density of PD-1+ helper T cells in tumoral cell nests is a poor prognostic factor for HNSCC.
Highlights
Malignant tumor cells interact with various immune cells, tumor-associated stromal cells, secreted molecules and extracellular matrix in the tumor immune microenvironment (TiME), often establishing immunosuppressive environments that support tumor proliferation and metastasis, and to\hat promote immune evasion [1, 2]
We aimed to identify the phenotypes and spatial profiles of immune cells in the complex TiME associated with the prognosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC)
Since the intratumoral area is microscopically divided into tumor cell nests and the surrounding intratumoral stroma (Figure 1A), we developed tissue segmentation algorithms based on tumor cell markers to characterize microregional immune profiles in HNSCC (Figure 1B)
Summary
Malignant tumor cells interact with various immune cells, tumor-associated stromal cells, secreted molecules and extracellular matrix in the tumor immune microenvironment (TiME), often establishing immunosuppressive environments that support tumor proliferation and metastasis, and to\hat promote immune evasion [1, 2]. Accumulating evidence indicates that intratumoral heterogeneity in the TiME and spatial profiles of immune cell distribution have prognostic significance. Given that intercellular crosstalk occurs in the milieu of multiple cellular components in different proximities, spatial patterns of immune cells can provide a framework for understanding various biological interactions in the TiME, aiding the development of tissue-based biomarkers for predicting clinical outcomes [12]. Accumulating evidence indicates that intratumoral infiltration of immune cells has prognostic significance, limited information is available on the spatial infiltration patterns of immune cells within intratumoral regions. This study aimed to understand the intratumoral heterogeneity and spatial distribution of immune cell infiltrates associated with cell phenotypes and prognosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC)
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