Cancer Management and Research (Nov 2020)
PD-L1 Expression is Highly Associated with Tumor-Associated Macrophage Infiltration in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
Abstract
Rui Deng,* Juan Lu,* Xiong Liu, Xiao-Hong Peng, Jie Wang, Xiang-Ping Li Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xiang-Ping LiDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Nanfang Hospital, 1838 North of Guangzhou Avenue, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-20-61642001Fax +86-20-87703645Email [email protected]: Tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) are the most abundant immune cells in the tumor microenvironment and provide a barrier against the cytotoxic effector functions of T cells and natural killer (NK) cells. Recently, TAMs have become increasingly recognised as an attractive target in combination therapy with PD-1/PD-L1 immuno-checkpoint blockades (ICBs). However, the relationship between PD-L1 expression and TAMs remains unknown in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).Patients and Methods: A total of 212 NPC patients from Nanfang hospital were collected in this study. We evaluated the expression of PD-L1 in tumor cells, CD68 (pan-macrophages), and CD163 (M2-like macrophage) in NPC tissues using immunohistochemical (IHC) staining.Results: The positivity of PD-L1 on tumor cells was 61.3% (130/212). The infiltration densities of CD68+ cells and CD163+ cells in PD-L1-positive NPC tissues were significantly higher than those in PD-L1-negative NPC tissues (P=0.0012 for CD68; P< 0.0001 for CD163). Logistic regression analysis showed that high densities of CD68+ macrophages and CD163+ TAMs were significantly associated with increased PD-L1 expression. Subgroup analyses demonstrated that a positive PD-L1 expression on tumor cells in combination with lower CD163+ TAMs density was significantly associated with favorable prognosis, whereas negative PD-L1 expression on tumor cells with higher CD163+ TAMs density was associated with worse prognosis.Conclusion: The PD-L1 expression in tumor cells was positively correlated with TAMs density in tumor microenvironment of NPC, suggesting TAMs as a new target for combination therapy to improve the response rate of ICBs in NPC treatment.Keywords: nasopharyngeal carcinoma, PD-L1, tumor-associated macrophage, prognosis, tumor microenvironment
