Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have been approved for patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), but not all patients benefit from ICI. One reason is the tumor microenvironment (TME) that has substantial influence on patient's prognosis and therapy response. Thus, we comprehensively analyzed the TME of ccRCC regarding prognostic and predictive properties.
Tumor-infiltrating CD3-positive T-cells, CD8-positive cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs), regulatory T-cells, B-cells, plasma cells, macrophages, granulocytes, programmed cell death receptor 1 (PD-1), and its ligand PD-L1 were examined in a large hospital-based series of ccRCC with long-term follow-up information (n = 756) and in another patient collective with information on response to nivolumab therapy (n = 8). Tissue microarray technique and digital image analysis were used. Relationship between immune cell infiltration and tumor characteristics, cancer-specific survival (CSS), or response to ICI was examined.
Univariate survival analysis revealed that increased tumor-infiltrating B-cells, T-cells, and PD-1-positive cells were significantly associated with favorable CSS and high levels of intratumoral granulocytes, macrophages, cytotoxic T-cells, and PD-L1 significantly with poor CSS. High CTL or B-cell infiltration and high PD-L1 expression of ccRCC tumor cells qualified as independent prognostic biomarkers for patients' CSS. Significantly higher densities of intratumoral T-cells, CTLs, and PD-1-positive immune cells were observed in ccRCC with response to ICI compared with patients with mixed or no response (CD3: p = 0.003; CD8: p = 0.006; PD-1: p = 0.01).
This study shows that subsets of tumor-infiltrating leukocytes in the TME and also PD-1/PD-L1 provide prognostic and predictive information for patients with ccRCC.
Translational oncology. 2019 Dec 24 [Epub ahead of print]
Philipp J Stenzel, Mario Schindeldecker, Katrin E Tagscherer, Sebastian Foersch, Esther Herpel, Markus Hohenfellner, Gencay Hatiboglu, Juergen Alt, Christian Thomas, Axel Haferkamp, Wilfried Roth, Stephan Macher-Goeppinger
Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Mainz, Mainz, Germany. Electronic address: ., Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Mainz, Mainz, Germany; Tissue Biobank, University Medical Center Mainz, Mainz, Germany., Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Mainz, Mainz, Germany., Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; Tissue Bank of the National Center for Tumor Diseases, Heidelberg, Germany., Department of Urology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany., Department of Hematology, Medical Oncology & Pneumology, University Medical Center Mainz, Mainz, Germany., Department of Urology, University Medical Center Mainz, Germany; Department of Urology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden, Germany., Department of Urology, University Medical Center Mainz, Germany.