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Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy
Published in: Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy 3/2014

Open Access 01-03-2014 | Original Article

Subtypes of cytotoxic lymphocytes and natural killer cells infiltrating cancer nests correlate with prognosis in patients with vulvar squamous cell carcinoma

Authors: Jacek Jan Sznurkowski, Anton Żawrocki, Wojciech Biernat

Published in: Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy | Issue 3/2014

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Abstract

Objective

Adaptive immune effectors do not influence prognosis in vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (vSCC). Therefore, we tried to clarify the prognostic role of innate immunity and granzyme B-dependent cytotoxicity as defined by intratumoral infiltrates of natural killer cells (CD56+) and lymphocytes expressing granzyme B (GrB+).

Methods

We analyzed 76 primary vSCCs and 35 lymph node metastases that were obtained from 76 patients with a full clinical history. The distribution and density of GrB+ and CD56+ cells within cancer tissues were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and correlated with clinicopathological features, commonly recognized prognostic factors and overall survival (OS).

Results

CD56+ cells were mostly detected within the cancer nests, while GrB+ cells were predominant in the tumor stroma. Intraepithelial (IE) CD56+ infiltrates at the primary site were correlated with depth of invasion (r = 0.339, p = 0.003) and recurrence (r = 0.295, p = 0.011), while IE GrB+ infiltrates were correlated with tumor grade (r = 0.304, p = 0.009) and age (r = 0.333, p = 0.004). The primary cancer nests of metastatic patients were infiltrated more by intraepithelial (IE) CD56+ cells than were those of the non-metastatic patients (p = 0.05). The median OS was 41.16 months (range 1.7–98.43). High IE GrB+ infiltrates predicted longer OS among patients without metastases (p = 0.028). High IE CD56+ infiltrates were correlated with longer OS in metastatic cases (p = 0.009).

Conclusion

The combined cytotoxicity of innate and adaptive immune effectors infiltrating cancer nests (IE GrB+) predicts an improved clinical outcome among non-metastatic vSCC patients. The functional status of prognostic IE CD56+ infiltrates in immune escaped (metastatic) tumors requires further investigation.
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Metadata
Title
Subtypes of cytotoxic lymphocytes and natural killer cells infiltrating cancer nests correlate with prognosis in patients with vulvar squamous cell carcinoma
Authors
Jacek Jan Sznurkowski
Anton Żawrocki
Wojciech Biernat
Publication date
01-03-2014
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy / Issue 3/2014
Print ISSN: 0340-7004
Electronic ISSN: 1432-0851
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00262-013-1511-x

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