The ratio of cytotoxic lymphocytes to M2-like macrophages is prognostic in immunogenic tumors

Immune cells in the microenvironment shape tumor development and progression. The prognostic value of T-cell-based immune scores exceeds those of clinical parameters in colon cancer, but reflects only a part of the anti-tumor immune response. Here, we assessed 15 distinct immune cell classes and ide...

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Published inbioRxiv
Main Authors Mezheyeuski, Artur, Backman, Max, Mattsson, Johanna, Martín-Bernabé, Alfonso, Larsson, Chatarina, Hrynchyk, Ina, Hammarström, Klara, Ström, Simon, Ekström, Joakim, Mauchanski, Siarhei, Khelashvili, Salome, Agnarsdóttir, Margrét, Per-Henrik Edqvist, Huvila, Jutta, Segersten, Ulrika, Per-Uno Malmström, Botling, Johan, Nodin, Björn, Hedner, Charlotta, Borg, David, Bärndstedt, Jenny, Sartor, Hanna, Leandersson, Karin, Glimelius, Bengt, Portyanko, Anna, Ponten, Fredrik, Jirström, Karin, Micke, Patrick, Sjöblom, Tobias
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published Cold Spring Harbor Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press 24.03.2021
Subjects
Colon cancer
Colorectal cancer
Cytotoxicity
Esophagus
Immune response
Immunogenicity
Lymphocytes
Lymphocytes T
Macrophages
Medical prognosis
Patent applications
Tumor microenvironment
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Summary:Immune cells in the microenvironment shape tumor development and progression. The prognostic value of T-cell-based immune scores exceeds those of clinical parameters in colon cancer, but reflects only a part of the anti-tumor immune response. Here, we assessed 15 distinct immune cell classes and identified a simple prognostic signature based on pro- and anti-tumoral immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. The ratio of cytotoxic lymphocytes to tumor supportive macrophages predicted survival better than the state-of-art immune score in colon cancer and had the highest relative contribution to survival prediction when compared to established clinical parameters. This signature was prognostic also in other cancers with high mutation burden, such as those of the lung, bladder, esophagus, and melanomas, supporting broad clinical applicability. Competing Interest Statement A.M and T.S are co-inventors on a provisional patent application P42105124SE00 Novel biomarker, regarding the novel method for the prognosis of survival time of a subject diagnosed with a cancer described herein. No conflicts of interest were disclosed by the other authors.
DOI:10.1101/2021.03.24.436814