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. 2014 Jan 1;3(1):e27254.
doi: 10.4161/onci.27254.

The immune response in HPV+ oropharyngeal cancer

Emma V King  1 , Christian H Ottensmeier  2 , Gareth J Thomas  2
Affiliations

The immune response in HPV+ oropharyngeal cancer

Emma V King et al. Oncoimmunology. .

Abstract

Although human papillomavirus (HPV)+ oropharyngeal cancers often present with metastasis, most patients have excellent long-term survival. The reason underlying such an apparent contradiction remains unclear, but we have recently demonstrated that the improved survival of HPV+ oropharyngeal cancer patients has an immunological component, as the levels of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) can be used to stratify HPV+ patients into high-risk and low-risk groups.

Keywords: human papillomavirus; oropharyngeal cancer; prognosis; survival; tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes.

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Figures

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Figure 1. Disease-specific survival of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) patients from independent cohorts. (A) Kaplan–Meier curves depicting the disease-specific survival of OPSCC patients stratified according to human papillomavirus (HPV) status (P < 0.001, P = 0.002, respectively, as per log rank test). (B) Kaplan–Meier curves depicting the disease-specific survival of OPSCC patients stratified according to HPV status and tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) levels. The survival of patients with HPV+/TILlow tumors is similar to that of HPV− patients. (C) Hematoxylin and eosin (H+E)-stained sections showing examples of OPSCC with high and low TIL levels. Tumor islands are marked with an asterix. In TILhigh OPSCCs, lymphocytes fill the stromal compartment and infiltrate into tumor islands. (D) Immunochemistry showing typical examples of HPV+ OPSCCs with high and low infiltrates of CD3+ T cells.
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