Infiltration of CD163‐, PD‐L1‐ and FoxP3‐positive cells adversely affects outcome in patients with mantle cell lymphoma independent of established risk factors

• Published in: British journal of haematology Vol. 193; no. 3; pp. 520 - 531
• Main Authors: Rodrigues, Joana M., Nikkarinen, Anna, Hollander, Peter, Weibull, Caroline E., Räty, Riikka, Kolstad, Arne, Amini, Rose‐Marie, Porwit, Anna, Jerkeman, Mats, Ek, Sara, Glimelius, Ingrid
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2021
• Subjects: Age; Apoptosis; Cancer and Oncology; Cancer och onkologi; CD163; CD163 antigen; CD25 antigen; CD3 antigen; CD4 antigen; CD8 antigen; Cell death; Clinical Medicine; Clinical trials; Cyclin D1; Cytology; Forkhead protein; FoxP3; Foxp3 protein; Hematologi; Hematology; Immunoregulation; Infiltration; Klinisk medicin; Lymphocytes T; Lymphoma; Macrophages; Mantle cell lymphoma; Medical and Health Sciences; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Metastases; microenvironment; Morphology; Mortality; p53 Protein; Pathology; Patologi; PD‐ PD-1; PD-L1; PD-L1 protein; Risk factors; Transcription factors; Tumors; microenvironment; PD-L1; mantle cell lymphoma; CD163; FoxP3; PD-1
• ISSN: 0007-1048; 1365-2141; 1365-2141
• DOI: 10.1111/bjh.17366

Summary We characterised patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) with poor prognosis based on differences in immune infiltration. Different expressions of the tumour cell markers Cyclin D1 and sex‐determining region Y‐box transcription factor 11 (SOX11), and the immune markers cluster of differentiation 3 (CD3), CD4, CD8, CD25, forkhead box protein P3 (FoxP3), T‐box transcription factor TBX21 (T‐bet), programmed cell death protein 1 (PD‐1), programmed‐death ligand 1 (PD‐L1) and CD163 were investigated for all‐cause mortality in 282 patients with MCL and time‐to‐progression (TTP) in 106 clinical trial patients. With increasing age, a significantly lower infiltration of CD3+ T lymphocytes was seen. T‐cell infiltration was independent of cellular tumour antigen p53 (p53) expression, Ki‐67, morphology and frequency of tumour cells. The all‐cause mortality was higher in patients with PD‐L1‐expression above cut‐off [hazard ratio (HR) 1·97, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·18–3·25, adjusted for sex and MCL International Prognostic Index (MIPI)] and a higher frequency of CD163+ cells (continuously, HR 1·51, 95% CI 1·03–2·23, adjusting for age, sex, morphology, Ki‐67 and p53). In patients treated within the Nordic Lymphoma Group MCL2/3 trials, TTP was shorter in patients with a higher frequency of FoxP3+ cells (HR 3·22, 95% CI 1·40–7·43) and CD163+ cells (HR 6·09, 95% CI 1·84–20·21), independent of sex and MIPI. When combined a higher frequency of CD163+ macrophages and PD‐L1+ cells or high CD163+ macrophages and FoxP3+ regulatory T cells indicated worse outcome independent of established risk factors. The T‐cell infiltrate was in turn independent of molecular characteristics of the malignant cells and decreased with age.