Abstract 1154: Spatial profiling of the tumor microenvironment in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma revealed immune cell type infiltration into the TME as a predictor of immunotherapy response
Authors: Sadeghirad Habib , Tan Chin Wee , Liu Ning , Monkman James , Cooper Caroline , O’Byrne Ken , Davis Melissa , Hughes Brett , Kulasinghe Arutha 
Published: March 2024

Background: Immunotherapy has shown promising results in advanced head and neck cancer patients, however, only a subset of patients are responsive to immune checkpoint blockade therapy. The molecular and cellular characterization of the tumor microenvironment (TME) may reveal clues as to why some head and neck tumors are responsive or resistant to the therapy.

Methods: Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples were collected from 34 patients at two major Queensland Hospitals with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), prior to immunotherapy. To investigate the cellular and molecular characteristics of the HNSCC TME, we used the Nanostring GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler (DSP) spanning modules in an immune-oncology panel, which included immune cell typing and profiling, cell death, PI3K/AKT signaling, drug target, immune activation, and pan tumor protein biomarkers. A deeper structural analysis was performed using the Nanostring whole transcriptome atlas (WTA) panel of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) and germinal centers (GCs).

Results: Out of 34 patients, 3 had a complete response (CR), 7 had a partial response (PR), 5 had stable disease (SD), and 19 had progressive disease (PD), based on the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST). When we compared patient responders (patients with CR, PR, and SD) to patient non-responders (patients with PD), we found that the former had a higher infiltration of immune cell type markers representatives of CD8+ T cells, dendritic cells, and macrophages, into their tumor microenvironment than the latter. Then, to investigate differentially expressed genes between patients with complete response and patients with partial response to immunotherapy, we performed DE analyses and we found that patients with PR had higher Ki-67 expression than those with CR. Spatial transcriptomic mapping of TLS’s (peripheral, intra-tumoral) and normal germinal centers revealed interferon pathway enrichment in the TLS’s. In a subset, these appear to be linked with HPV viral infection.

Conclusion: In this study, we found that immune cell type infiltration into the tumor microenvironment of head and neck cancers could be predictive of response to immunotherapy. Furthermore, it was revealed that patients with a high expression of Ki-67 might be less likely to respond completely to immunotherapy. Spatially resolved whole transcriptome analysis of HNSCC tissues revealed the presence of tertiary lymphoid structures with a higher enrichment of interferon pathway genes.

Citation Format: Habib Sadeghirad, Chin Wee Tan, Ning Liu, James Monkman, Caroline Cooper, Ken O’Byrne, Melissa Davis, Brett Hughes, Arutha Kulasinghe. Spatial profiling of the tumor microenvironment in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma revealed immune cell type infiltration into the TME as a predictor of immunotherapy response [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 1154.