Stromal score is a promising index in tumor patients’ outcome determination
Xiaoxian Xu,
Yu Xu,
Wangxiong Hu,
Wenjie Hong,
Yichen Wang,
Xiaojing Zhang,
Xiaoji Fan,
Tingzhang Wang,
Hanmei Lou,
Yanmei Yang,
Jianhua Qian
Affiliations
Xiaoxian Xu
Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, NO. 79 Qingchun Road, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou City, 310003, Zhejiang Province, China; Department of Gynecologic Radiation, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Radiation Oncology, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou Institute of Medicine (HIM), Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 1 Banshan Road, Gongshu District, Hangzhou City, 310022, Zhejiang Province, China
Yu Xu
Jianggao Town Health Center of Baiyun District, Technical Cooperation Hospital of Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510460, China
Wangxiong Hu
Cancer Institute (Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, China National Ministry of Education), The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310009, China
Wenjie Hong
Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology and Bioinformatics of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China
Yichen Wang
Department of Gynecologic Radiation, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Radiation Oncology, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou Institute of Medicine (HIM), Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 1 Banshan Road, Gongshu District, Hangzhou City, 310022, Zhejiang Province, China
Xiaojing Zhang
Department of Gynecologic Radiation, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Radiation Oncology, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou Institute of Medicine (HIM), Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 1 Banshan Road, Gongshu District, Hangzhou City, 310022, Zhejiang Province, China
Xiaoji Fan
Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology and Bioinformatics of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China
Tingzhang Wang
Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology and Bioinformatics of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China
Hanmei Lou
Department of Gynecologic Radiation, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Radiation Oncology, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou Institute of Medicine (HIM), Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 1 Banshan Road, Gongshu District, Hangzhou City, 310022, Zhejiang Province, China
Yanmei Yang
Key Laboratory of Reproductive and Genetics, Ministry of Education, Women’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310006, China; Corresponding author.
Jianhua Qian
Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, NO. 79 Qingchun Road, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou City, 310003, Zhejiang Province, China; Corresponding author.
Background: Immune status is widely acknowledged as a valuable marker for predicting cancer prognosis and therapy response. However, there has been a limited understanding of the stromal landscape in cancer. Methods: By employing ESTIMATE, stromal- and immune-scores were inferred for 6193 tumor samples spanning 12 cancer types sourced from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Subsequently, the samples were categorized into seven groups based on their stromal and immune scores. A comparison of prognosis, lymphocyte and stromal cell infiltration, and the response to programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) therapy was conducted among these subtypes. Results: It was unveiled by the analysis that, in the majority of cancer types, stromal score exhibited a more potent predictive capability for outcomes compared to the immune score. Furthermore, it was observed that in four cancer types, intermediate immune infiltration coupled with low stromal infiltration correlated with the most favorable overall survival, whereas an unfavorable outcome was predicted in colorectal cancer (CRC) and stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) when high immune infiltration coexisted with intermediate or high stromal infiltration. Conclusion: In summary, while high immune scores frequently correlate with a positive prognosis, such correlation is not universal. A potential strategy to address the current limitations of the immune score in specific circumstances could involve a focus on stromal scores or a subtle integration of stromal and immune status.
