| Title | Prognostic role of stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in locally advanced upper tract urothelial carcinoma: A retrospective multicenter study (TSU-02 study) |
| Authors | Cheng, Sida Zhong, Wenlong Xia, Kun Hong, Peng Lin, Rongcheng Wang, Bo Li, Xinfei Chen, Junyu Liu, Zining Zhang, Hongxian Liu, Cheng Ye, Liefu Ma, Lulin Lin, Tianxin Li, Xuesong Huang, Jian Zhou, Liqun |
| Affiliation | Peking Univ, Peking Univ First Hosp, Inst Urol, Natl Urol Canc Ctr,Dept Urol, Beijing, Peoples R China Sun Yat Sen Mem Hosp, Guangdong Prov Key Lab Malignant Tumor Epigenet &, Dept Urol, Guangzhou, Peoples R China Peking Univ, Peking Univ Third Hosp, Dept Urol, Beijing, Peoples R China Fujian Prov Hosp, Dept Urol, Fuzhou, Fujian, Peoples R China |
| Issue Date | 2021 |
| Publisher | ONCOIMMUNOLOGY |
| Abstract | Locally advanced upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) exhibits high recurrence and metastasis rates even after radical nephroureterectomy. Adjuvant immunotherapy can be a reasonable option, and a simple, low-cost, and effective biomarker is further needed. Stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs) has been demonstrated as a prognostic and predictive biomarker in various tumor types, but not yet in locally advanced UTUC. In this multicenter, real-world and retrospective study, we tried to investigate the prognostic role of sTIL and its correlation with the PD-L1/PD-1/CD8 axis by reviewing the clinicopathologic variables of 398 locally advanced UTUC patients at four high-volume Chinese medical centers. sTIL density was evaluated with standardized methodology on H&E sections, and patients were stratified by the cutoff of sTIL (50%). Results showed that high sTIL indicated improved survival (CSS, p = .022; RFS, p = .015; DFS, p = .004), and was an independent predictor of better CSS (HR, 0.577; 95% CI, 0.391-0.851; p = .006), RFS (HR, 0.613; 95% CI 0.406-0.925; p = .020) and DFS (HR, 0.609; 95% CI, 0.447-0.829; p = .002). A strongly positive correlation between sTIL density and the expression level of PD-1/PD-L1/CD8 axis was observed. We also found that aristolochic acid (AA) exposure was associated with increased sTIL and elevated PD-L1 expression, indicating that AA-related UTUC might be a distinct subgroup with unique tumor microenvironment characteristics. Our results show that sTIL can be an easily acquired biomarker for prognostic stratification in locally advanced UTUC. |
| URI | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11897/602376 |
| ISSN | 2162-402X |
| DOI | 10.1080/2162402X.2020.1861737 |
| Indexed | SCI(E) |
| Appears in Collections: | 第一医院 第三医院 |
