Year: 2024
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Treatment of salivary gland tumors (SGTs) remains challenging. Little is known about the immune landscape of SGTs. We aimed to characterize the tumor microenvironment in benign and malignant SGTs. METHODS: Eleven benign and nine malignant tumors were collected from patients undergoing curative intent surgery. Specimens were analyzed using mass cytometry by time-of-flight. Immune cell populations were manually gated, and T cells were clustered using the FlowSOM algorithm. Population frequencies were compared between high-grade and low-grade malignancies, corrected for multiple hypothesis testing. RESULTS: There were trends towards increased CD4+ and CD8+ T cells among malignant tumors. High-grade malignancies exhibited trends towards higher frequencies of CD8+ PD-1+ CD39+ CD103+ exhausted T cells, CD4+ FoxP3+ TCF-1+ CD127- Tregs, and CD69+ CD25- CD4+ T cells compared to low-grade malignancies. CONCLUSION: SGTs exhibit significant immunologic diversity. High-grade malignancies tended to have greater infiltration of exhausted CD8+ T cells and Tregs, which may guide future studies for immunotherapy strategies.
Source: Head & Neck
DOI: 10.1002/hed.27716
Authors: Katherine C. Wai, Trine Line H. Okholm, Patrick K. Ha, Diana M. Marquez, Iliana Tenvooren, Kyle B. Jones, Matthew H. Spitzer
Language: English
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,760
OpenAlex ID: W4392594534