Transcriptional analysis links B cells and TERT expression to favorable prognosis in head and neck cancer.

ABSTRACT: Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is a conserved self-tumor antigen overexpressed in ∼85% of tumor cells and is immunogenic in cancer patients. The effect of TERT expression on the regulation of intratumor adaptive immunity has not yet been investigated. We used RNA sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) in 11 solid tumor types to investigate potential interactions between TERT expression, and B and T cell infiltrate in the tumor microenvironment. We found a positive correlation between TERT expression, B and T cells in four cancer types with the strongest association in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HSNCC). In HNSCC a B^high/TERT^high signature was associated with improved progression-free survival (PFS) (P = 0.0048). This effect was

SUBMITTER: Xian S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10003760 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature