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Updated: Aug 7, 2026
Isolation and Characterization of a Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Subpopulation Having Stem Cell Characteristics
Published on: May 11, 2016
CD103+ tissue-resident T-cells in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas of patients treated anti-PD-1 therapy
Christine Sanders1, Dahlia Kittel1, Annkristin Heine2
1Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Bonn (UKB), Bonn, Germany.
Purpose:
Anti-PD-1 therapy is nowadays the state of the art treatment in advanced-stage head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), showing improved survival rates in contrast to chemotherapy, but still lacking reliable biomarkers for therapy response prediction. The aim of the study was to investigate whether specific subtypes of immune cells could predict the response to anti-PD-1 therapy.
Material And Methods:
The infiltration density of CD8+, CD69+, CD103+ and PD-1+ cells were performed in a large HNSCC cohort (n=125) and correlated with clinic-pathological data and follow-up. Additionally, the infiltration density of CD103+, CD69+ or PD-1+ lymphocytes in a cohort of advanced primary HNSCC cases treated with immune checkpoint therapy (pembrolizumab or nivolumab) during course of the disease was examined by immunohistochemistry (primary tumors n=56, paired local recurrences n=12, paired lung metastases n=5).
Results:
In the HNSCC cohort, poorer differentiation was associated with higher infiltration density of CD8+, CD69+ and CD103+ lymphocytes (p=0.025, p=0.024, and p=0.043, respectively). Nodal-positive HNSCC showed a significantly higher infiltration density of CD103+ lymphocytes (p=0.026). There was no association between infiltration density of CD103+, CD69+ or PD-1+ cells to the response to immune checkpoint inhibition in the relatively small and heterogenous ICI therapy cohort.
Conclusion:
CD103+ tissue-resident T-cells accumulate in poorly differentiated, nodal positive tumors as well as in non-smokers in HNSCC. There was no association between infiltration density of CD103+, CD69+ or PD-1+ cells to the response to immune checkpoint inhibition in a small retrospective therapy cohort.
Insights
Immune cell subtypes like CD103+ T-cells accumulate in specific head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) tumors. However, these cells did not predict response to anti-PD-1 therapy in this study.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Oncology
- T-cell biology
Background:
- Anti-PD-1 therapy is a standard treatment for advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
- Reliable biomarkers to predict patient response to anti-PD-1 therapy are still lacking.
- Understanding immune cell infiltration may offer predictive insights.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if specific immune cell subtypes can predict response to anti-PD-1 therapy in HNSCC.
- To analyze the infiltration density of CD8+, CD69+, CD103+, and PD-1+ cells in HNSCC.
- To correlate immune cell infiltration with clinical outcomes and therapy response.
Main Methods:
- Immunohistochemistry was used to assess immune cell infiltration in HNSCC cohorts (n=125).
- Analysis included primary tumors (n=56), paired local recurrences (n=12), and paired lung metastases (n=5).
- Correlations were made between immune cell density, clinicopathological data, and response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).
Main Results:
- Higher infiltration of CD8+, CD69+, and CD103+ lymphocytes was associated with poorer tumor differentiation.
- Nodal-positive HNSCC exhibited significantly higher CD103+ lymphocyte infiltration.
- No significant association was found between CD103+, CD69+, or PD-1+ cell density and response to ICI therapy in the ICI cohort.
Conclusions:
- CD103+ tissue-resident T-cells are found in poorly differentiated, nodal-positive HNSCC and in non-smokers.
- The infiltration density of CD103+, CD69+, or PD-1+ cells did not predict response to anti-PD-1 therapy in this retrospective cohort.
- Further research is needed to identify reliable biomarkers for ICI response in HNSCC.
