Molecular subtypes of oropharyngeal cancer show distinct immune microenvironment related with immune checkpoint blockade response
Menée en Corée du Sud à partir de l'analyse immunohistochimique et du séquençage de l'ARN de 37 tumeurs oropharyngées traitées par résection et de 9 tumeurs récidivantes ou métastatiques traitées par inhibiteur de point de contrôle immunitaire, cette étude met en évidence une association entre le sous-type moléculaire de la tumeur, les caractéristiques du micro-environnement immunitaire et la réponse aux anti-PD1/PD-L1
Background : Oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) exhibits diverse immunological properties; however, their implications for immunotherapy are unknown.
Methods : We analysed 37 surgically resected and nine recurrent or metastatic anti-programmed death-1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1)-treated OPC tumours. OPCs were classified into immune-rich (IR), mesenchymal (MS) and xenobiotic (XB) subtypes based on RNA-sequencing data.
Results : All IR type tumours were human papillomavirus (HPV) positive, most XB types were HPV negative, and MS types showed mixed HPV status. The IR type showed an enriched T cell exhaustion signature with PD-1+ CD8+ T cells and type I macrophages infiltrating the tumour nest on multiplex immunohistochemistry. The MS type showed an exclusion of CD8+ T cells from the tumour nest and high MS and tumour growth factor-
β signatures. The XB type showed scant CD8+ T cell infiltration and focal CD73 expression. The IR type was associated with a favourable response signature during anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy and showed a high APOBEC mutation signature, whereas the MS and XB types showed resistance signature upregulation. Among anti-PD-1/PD-L1-treated OPC patients, the IR type showed a favourable clinical response (3/4 patients), whereas the XB type showed early progression (3/3 patients).
Conclusion
:
Our analysis classified OPCs into three subtypes with distinct immune microenvironments that are potentially related to the response to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy.
British Journal of Cancer , résumé, 2020