Tissue-resident memory CD8 T cells as a prognostic marker in sinonasal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Introduction Immune cells of the tumor microenvironment (TME) play a crucial role in tumor biology. Part of this TME are CD103⁺tissue-resident memory CD8 T cells (T_rm). However, the role of T_rm in sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma (SNSCC) is unclear. The aim of this work is to characterize Trm in SNSCC and to investigate their impact on disease prognosis.

Methods Flow cytometry was used to detect and characterize T_rm in human SNSCC tissue. Furthermore, CD103⁺and CD8⁺cells were quantified in a retrospective cohort of 77 SNSCC patients using immunohistochemistry (IHC). The patients were assigned to groups CD103^high and CD103^low as well as CD8^high and CD8^low based on the median of the determined cell count. Survival curves were generated using Kaplan-Meier curves and compared with the log-rank test.

Results Using flow cytometry CD3⁺CD8⁺CD69⁺CD103⁺cells were detected in the tumors of SNSCC patients, but not in their blood. With IHC CD103⁺cells were also detected in all patients. The overall survival in the groups CD8^high and CD103^high was significantly better than in the groups CD8^low and CD103^low (p=0,0083; p=0,0437). The disease-free survival was significantly better in CD8^high (p=0,0394) than in CD8^low patients. For CD103 no differences in terms of disease-free survival were found.

Discussion T_rm could be identified as a component of the TME in SNSCC. In our cohort, the number of CD103⁺as well as CD8⁺cells in tumor tissue correlates significantly with the prognosis of the disease.

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Artikel online veröffentlicht:
19. April 2024