Personal immune profiles: Diversity and prognostic value for oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma evaluated by comprehensive immune parameter analyses with multiplex immunofluorescence
Pissacha Daroonpan, Ryo Ouchi, Chenyang Zhang, Shigenori Nagai, Naoto Nishii, Yoshihisa Kashima, Fumihiko Tsushima, Hiroyuki Harada, Miwako Hamagaki, Tohru Ikeda, Jun Aida, Ruchadaporn Kaomongkolgit, Miyuki Azuma
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Understanding the tumor immune microenvironment is becoming increasingly necessary for risk prediction and treatment selection. In particular, oral cancer has various immunosuppressive characteristics in the tumor microenvironment. Therefore, we comprehensively assessed the immune profiles of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Multiplex immunofluorescence and tissue imaging analyses were performed to evaluate immune profiles at the invasive tumor front of 60 OTSCC surgical specimens. We analyzed 58 immune parameters including the density and proportion (%) of total leukocytes (Leu) and T cells, six subsets of T and myeloid cells, and the expression of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and PD-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1). RESULTS: M2 macrophages, and neutrophils were highly variable at the individual level. The density and proportion of M2 macrophages were significantly lower in the T1 stage group. Risk prediction analyses for recurrence and/or metastasis (R/M) showed that R/M (+) T1 cases had significantly higher M2 density and percentages. CONCLUSIONS: The immune profiles of OTSCC patients are diverse and cannot be predicted from clinicopathological information alone. The M2 macrophage abundance is a potential candidate biomarker for R/M in the early stage of OTSCC. Personal immune profiling may provide beneficial information for risk prediction and treatment selection.