Characterization of the immune profile of oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas with advancing disease

Abstract We investigated whether a unique immune response was instigated with the development of oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas (OTSCC), with/without nodal involvement, with/without recurrent metastatic disease, or within tumor involved nodes. One hundred and ten formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedd...

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Main Authors: Katie Meehan, Connull Leslie, Michaela Lucas, Angela Jacques, Bob Mirzai, James Lim, Max Bulsara, Yasir Khan, Nicholas C. Wong, Benjamin Solomon, Chady Sader, Peter Friedland, Gisela Mir Arnau, Timothy Semple, Annette M. Lim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2020-07-01
Series:Cancer Medicine
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.3106
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author Katie Meehan
Connull Leslie
Michaela Lucas
Angela Jacques
Bob Mirzai
James Lim
Max Bulsara
Yasir Khan
Nicholas C. Wong
Benjamin Solomon
Chady Sader
Peter Friedland
Gisela Mir Arnau
Timothy Semple
Annette M. Lim
author_facet Katie Meehan
Connull Leslie
Michaela Lucas
Angela Jacques
Bob Mirzai
James Lim
Max Bulsara
Yasir Khan
Nicholas C. Wong
Benjamin Solomon
Chady Sader
Peter Friedland
Gisela Mir Arnau
Timothy Semple
Annette M. Lim
author_sort Katie Meehan
collection DOAJ
description Abstract We investigated whether a unique immune response was instigated with the development of oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas (OTSCC), with/without nodal involvement, with/without recurrent metastatic disease, or within tumor involved nodes. One hundred and ten formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded samples were collected from a retrospective cohort of 67 OTSCC patients and 10 non‐cancerous tongue samples. Targets including CD4, CD8, FOXP3, PD‐L1, and PD‐1 were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. The Nanostring PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel was used for gene expression profiling. Data were externally validated in the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) head and neck (HNSCC), melanoma and lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) cohorts. A 24‐immune gene signature was identified that discriminated more aggressive OTSCC cases, and although not prognostic in HNSCC was associated with survival in other TCGA cohorts (improved survival for melanoma, P < .001 and worse survival for LSCC, P = .038). OTSCC exhibited concordant gene and immunohistochemical (IHC) features characterized by a TH‐2 biased, proinflammatory profile with upregulated B cell and neutrophil gene activity and increased CD4, FOXP3, and PD‐L1 expression (P < .001 for all by IHC). Compared to less advanced disease, nodal involvement and recurrent OTSCC did not induce a different immune response although recurrent disease was characterized by significantly higher PD‐L1 expression (P = .004 by SP263, P = .013 by 22C3, P = .004 for gene expression). Identification of a gene signature associated with different prognostic effects in other cancers highlights common pathways of immune dysregulation that are impacted by the tumor origin. The significant immunosuppressive signaling in OTSCC indicates primary failure of immune system to control carcinogenesis emphasizing the need for early, combination therapeutic approaches.
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spelling doaj-art-c08ee623e4694fc1995cafcc8f96480a2025-08-20T01:58:43ZengWileyCancer Medicine2045-76342020-07-019134791480710.1002/cam4.3106Characterization of the immune profile of oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas with advancing diseaseKatie Meehan0Connull Leslie1Michaela Lucas2Angela Jacques3Bob Mirzai4James Lim5Max Bulsara6Yasir Khan7Nicholas C. Wong8Benjamin Solomon9Chady Sader10Peter Friedland11Gisela Mir Arnau12Timothy Semple13Annette M. Lim14Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong KongDepartment of Anatomical Pathology PathWest Laboratory Medicine Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre Nedlands WA AustraliaUniversity of Western Australia Crawley WA AustraliaInstitute for Health Research University of Notre Dame Fremantle WA AustraliaDepartment of Anatomical Pathology PathWest Laboratory Medicine Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre Nedlands WA AustraliaGenomics WATelethon Kids Institute West Perth WA AustraliaInstitute for Health Research University of Notre Dame Fremantle WA AustraliaDepartment of Medical Oncology Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Nedlands WA AustraliaMonash Bioinformatics Platform Monash University Clayton VIC AustraliaPeter MacCallum Cancer Centre Melbourne VIC AustraliaUniversity of Western Australia Crawley WA AustraliaUniversity of Western Australia Crawley WA AustraliaPeter MacCallum Cancer Centre Melbourne VIC AustraliaPeter MacCallum Cancer Centre Melbourne VIC AustraliaPeter MacCallum Cancer Centre Melbourne VIC AustraliaAbstract We investigated whether a unique immune response was instigated with the development of oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas (OTSCC), with/without nodal involvement, with/without recurrent metastatic disease, or within tumor involved nodes. One hundred and ten formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded samples were collected from a retrospective cohort of 67 OTSCC patients and 10 non‐cancerous tongue samples. Targets including CD4, CD8, FOXP3, PD‐L1, and PD‐1 were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. The Nanostring PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel was used for gene expression profiling. Data were externally validated in the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) head and neck (HNSCC), melanoma and lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) cohorts. A 24‐immune gene signature was identified that discriminated more aggressive OTSCC cases, and although not prognostic in HNSCC was associated with survival in other TCGA cohorts (improved survival for melanoma, P < .001 and worse survival for LSCC, P = .038). OTSCC exhibited concordant gene and immunohistochemical (IHC) features characterized by a TH‐2 biased, proinflammatory profile with upregulated B cell and neutrophil gene activity and increased CD4, FOXP3, and PD‐L1 expression (P < .001 for all by IHC). Compared to less advanced disease, nodal involvement and recurrent OTSCC did not induce a different immune response although recurrent disease was characterized by significantly higher PD‐L1 expression (P = .004 by SP263, P = .013 by 22C3, P = .004 for gene expression). Identification of a gene signature associated with different prognostic effects in other cancers highlights common pathways of immune dysregulation that are impacted by the tumor origin. The significant immunosuppressive signaling in OTSCC indicates primary failure of immune system to control carcinogenesis emphasizing the need for early, combination therapeutic approaches.https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.3106FOXP3Immune signatureoral tongue squamous cell carcinomaPD‐L1
spellingShingle Katie Meehan
Connull Leslie
Michaela Lucas
Angela Jacques
Bob Mirzai
James Lim
Max Bulsara
Yasir Khan
Nicholas C. Wong
Benjamin Solomon
Chady Sader
Peter Friedland
Gisela Mir Arnau
Timothy Semple
Annette M. Lim
Characterization of the immune profile of oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas with advancing disease
Cancer Medicine
FOXP3
Immune signature
oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma
PD‐L1
title Characterization of the immune profile of oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas with advancing disease
title_full Characterization of the immune profile of oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas with advancing disease
title_fullStr Characterization of the immune profile of oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas with advancing disease
title_full_unstemmed Characterization of the immune profile of oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas with advancing disease
title_short Characterization of the immune profile of oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas with advancing disease
title_sort characterization of the immune profile of oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas with advancing disease
topic FOXP3
Immune signature
oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma
PD‐L1
url https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.3106
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