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Updated: Aug 4, 2026
Intramucosal Inoculation of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells in Mice for Tumor Immune Profiling and Treatment Response Assessment
Published on: April 22, 2019
Interplay between MRI radiomics and immune gene expression signatures in oral squamous cell carcinoma
Anna Corti1, Deborah Lenoci2, Valentina D A Corino3,4
1Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Via Ponzio 34/5, Milan, 20133, Italy. anna.corti@polimi.it.
Abstract:
With the advances in immunotherapy and the challenge of poor responsiveness in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients, understanding the tumor microenvironment is crucial. Radiogenomics offers the potential to provide pre-operative, non-invasive image-derived immune biomarkers. To this aim, the present study explores the capability of MRI-based radiomics to describe patients' immune state in OSCC. Seven MRI-based radiomic, 29 immune-related gene expression signatures were computed and deconvolution analysis was performed for a subset of OSCC from the BD2Decide database. A correlation-driven analysis identified key associations between radiomic and immune-related signatures and cell populations. Radiomic classifiers of the gene expression signatures were then developed to evaluate their capability to stratify patients based on immune status. MRI-based radiomic models showed promising results in predicting a gene expression signature associated with significant prognostic value for HNSCC patients who underwent radiotherapy (AUC = 0.92), suggesting these models' potential in distinguishing radioresistant from radiosensitive patients, aiding treatment decisions. Additionally, radiomic signatures reflected immune infiltrating cells in our cohort (M1, CD8 + T, B cells). MRI-radiomic signatures and associated models could become non-invasive methods to evaluate the prognosis and treatment choice in OSCC patients. Based on our promising results, and upon external validation, MRI-radiomics could enhance personalized medicine approaches.
Insights
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based radiomics can predict immune cell status in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). This non-invasive approach may help personalize treatment strategies for OSCC patients.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Radiology
- Immunology
Background:
- Immunotherapy response in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is challenging.
- Understanding the tumor microenvironment is crucial for improving treatment outcomes.
- Radiogenomics offers potential for non-invasive, pre-operative immune biomarker discovery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the capability of MRI-based radiomics to characterize the immune state in OSCC.
- To explore associations between radiomic features and immune gene expression signatures.
- To develop radiomic models for predicting patient immune status and treatment response.
Main Methods:
- Computed seven MRI-based radiomic features and 29 immune-related gene expression signatures from OSCC patient data.
- Performed deconvolution analysis to identify correlations between radiomic and immune signatures.
- Developed radiomic classifiers to stratify patients based on immune status.
Main Results:
- MRI-based radiomic models accurately predicted a prognostic gene expression signature in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients undergoing radiotherapy (AUC=0.92).
- Radiomic signatures reflected immune infiltrating cells, including M1 macrophages, CD8+ T cells, and B cells.
- The models showed potential in distinguishing radioresistant from radiosensitive patients.
Conclusions:
- MRI-based radiomic signatures can serve as non-invasive biomarkers for evaluating prognosis and guiding treatment choices in OSCC.
- These findings suggest MRI-radiomics could enhance personalized medicine approaches for OSCC.
- External validation is recommended to confirm the clinical utility of these MRI-radiomic models.
