Work

The effect of neoadjuvant radiotherapy on immune cell infiltrates in myxofibrosarcoma

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Background: Myxofibrosarcoma (MFS) is a subtype of soft-tissue sarcoma for which local treatment includes neoadjuvant radiotherapy (nRT) followed by surgery. The impact of nRT on the MFS tumor immune microenvironment remains unexplored. Materials and methods: Paired pre-nRT biopsy and post-nRT surgery samples from 31 MFS patients were retrospectively collected. The intratumoral density of T cells, cytotoxic T cells, regulatory T cells, helper T cells, B cells and natural killer (NK) cells and expression of programmed death-ligand 1 were quantified using multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC). mIHC marker densities were compared between pre- and post-nRT samples, and their associations with clinicopathological characteristics and patient outcomes were assessed. Results: = 0.050] infiltration, was observed following nRT. There were no statistically significant associations between mIHC marker densities measured before or after nRT, or their changes over time, and patient outcomes. Conclusions: Conventional nRT is associated with reduced cytotoxic and helper T cell infiltration and increased presence of NK cells in MFS. These results suggest that conventional nRT reduces inflammatory aspects of MFS tumors.

Source: Immuno-Oncology Technology

DOI: 10.1016/j.iotech.2026.101586