Nature Communications (Jun 2021)

B cell signatures and tertiary lymphoid structures contribute to outcome in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

  • Ayana T. Ruffin,
  • Anthony R. Cillo,
  • Tracy Tabib,
  • Angen Liu,
  • Sayali Onkar,
  • Sheryl R. Kunning,
  • Caleb Lampenfeld,
  • Huda I. Atiya,
  • Irina Abecassis,
  • Cornelius H. L. Kürten,
  • Zengbiao Qi,
  • Ryan Soose,
  • Umamaheswar Duvvuri,
  • Seungwon Kim,
  • Steffi Oesterrich,
  • Robert Lafyatis,
  • Lan G. Coffman,
  • Robert L. Ferris,
  • Dario A. A. Vignali,
  • Tullia C. Bruno

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23355-x
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 1 – 16

Abstract

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Recent studies have highlighted the importance of B cells and tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) in the modulation of anti-tumor immune responses. Here, the authors characterize how HPV status influences the phenotype of tumor infiltrating B cells in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and demonstrate that TLS with germinal centres are associated with better survival.