Characterization of immune microenvironment in patients with HPV-positive and negative head and neck cancer

Human papillomavirus (HPV) status strongly predicts positive clinical outcomes in patients with head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC); however, the potential reasons have not been fully elucidated. Here, we characterized the immune context in HPV+ and HPV- HNSCC by integrating scRNA-seq and bulk RNA-seq data. In scRNA-seq data, HPV + HNSCC displayed increased B cells, plasma cells, CD4⁺ effector T cells, and decreased macrophages and mast cells. This finding was validated using bulk-cell data. Plasma cells predicted improved survival, and macrophages were associated with survival disadvantage. 1403 upregulated and 1877 downregulated differential expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained. Gene Ontology and KEGG enrichment analysis showed these DEGs focused on cytokine-related activity. Transcriptional analysis of B and plasma cells revealed associations between B-cell surface marker FCER2 and improved survival. In vitro assays confirmed the ability of FCER2 to suppress cellular proliferation and migration of HPV + tumors. In conclusion, our analysis revealed a heterogeneous tumor immune environment (TME) for HPV+ and HPV- HNSCC. Further, FCER2⁺ B cells contribute to antitumor immunity.