Effector memory T-cell frequencies in relation to tumour stage, location and HPV status in HNSCC patients

Abstract

Background: The immune system plays an important role in tumour immune surveillance. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients are often immune compromised. Objective: To chart the baseline levels of T-cell subpopulation frequencies in patients with cancer prior to treatment. Subjects and methods: Blood samples of patients were taken at the time of diagnosis, analysed with flowcytometry and compared with blood samples of healthy donors. Results: Compared to healthy donors, a significant shift from naive to effector memory T cells was observed. This effect was most prominent in stage II patients. A similar shift from naive to effector memory T cells was noted in patients with oropharynx or larynx squamous cell carcinomas. Furthermore, the percentage of effector memory and effector T cells was higher in the group of patients with human papillomavirus-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas, compared with patients with human papillomavirus-negative tumours, suggestive of virus-induced T-cell activation. Conclusion: Here, we provide a simple and easily implementable tool to document T lymphocyte subsets in the peripheral blood of head and neck cancer patients, which might be useful for prognosis and/or therapy response prediction. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.