Prognostic Immune Markers in Esophageal Cancer Patients
Author Information
Author(s): Farrugia Mark K., Repasky Elizabeth A., Chen Minhui, Attwood Kristopher, Catalfamo Kayla, Rosenheck Hanna, Yao Song, Mattson David M., Mukherjee Sarbajit, Kukar Moshim, Witkiewicz Agnieszka K., Singh Anurag K.
Primary Institution: Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Hypothesis
Is the immune landscape of pretreatment tissue associated with relapse in esophageal cancer patients managed with trimodal therapy?
Conclusion
High expression of certain immune markers in pretreatment biopsy samples is associated with reduced rates of relapse in esophageal cancer patients.
Supporting Evidence
- Higher expression of HLA-DR, CD8/LAG3, and CD8/CTLA4 was associated with longer time to progression.
- Stromal expression of CD163 and CD163/PDL1 was linked to improved disease-specific survival.
- 48% of patients experienced relapse within the follow-up period.
Takeaway
Doctors looked at tissue samples from patients with esophageal cancer to see if certain immune markers could help predict if they would get worse after treatment. They found that some markers were linked to better outcomes.
Methodology
The study analyzed pretreatment biopsies from 25 esophageal cancer patients using high-throughput multispectral immunofluorescence to assess immune marker expression.
Potential Biases
Referral patterns may have introduced selection bias, as most patients were biopsied before evaluation at the institution.
Limitations
The small sample size limited the ability to adjust for confounding variables, and the study could not differentiate between stromal and tumoral expression of some markers.
Participant Demographics
The median age was 68 years, with 92% male and 84% having adenocarcinoma.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p=0.0069 for HLA-DR and p=0.036 for CD8/CTLA4
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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