Loco-Regional Control and Sustained Difference in Serum Immune Protein Expression in Patients Treated for p16-Positive and p16-Negative Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2023-02, Vol.24 (4), p.3838
• Main Authors: Sandström, Karl, Ehrsson, Ylva Tiblom, Sellberg, Felix, Johansson, Hemming, Laurell, Göran
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: B cells; Biomarkers; Biomarkers, Tumor; Care and treatment; CCL3 protein; CD28 antigen; Chromosomes; Comparative analysis; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 - metabolism; cytokines; Head & neck cancer; head and neck cancer; Human papillomavirus; Humans; Immune response; Immune system; Immunoassay; Immunology; INK4a protein; Lung cancer; Lung diseases; Medical prognosis; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Metastasis; Mutation; Oropharyngeal cancer; Oropharyngeal Neoplasms - drug therapy; Oropharyngeal Neoplasms - metabolism; Ovarian cancer; P16; p16 Protein; Patients; Prostate cancer; Protein expression; Proteins; serum; Squamous cell carcinoma; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck - drug therapy; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck - metabolism; Throat cancer; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Tumors
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms24043838

The main prognostic factors for patients with head and neck cancer are the tumour site and stage, yet immunological and metabolic factors are certainly important, although knowledge is still limited. Expression of the biomarker p16INK4a (p16) in oropharyngeal cancer tumour tissue is one of the few biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of head and neck cancer. The association between p16 expression in the tumour and the systemic immune response in the blood compartment has not been established. This study aimed to assess whether there is a difference in serum immune protein expression profiles between patients with p16+ and p16- head and squamous cell carcinoma (HNCC). The serum immune protein expression profiles, using the Olink immunoassay, of 132 patients with p16+ and p16- tumours were compared before treatment and one year after treatment. A significant difference in the serum immune protein expression profile was observed both before and one year after treatment. In the p16- group, a low expression of four proteins: IL12RB1, CD28, CCL3, and GZMA before treatment conferred a higher rate of failure. Based on the sustained difference between serum immune proteins, we hypothesise that the immunological system is still adapted to the tumour p16 status one year after tumour eradication or that a fundamental difference exists in the immunological system between patients with p16+ and p16- tumours.