Spatial relationships in the urothelial and head and neck tumor microenvironment predict response to combination immune checkpoint inhibitors.

ABSTRACT: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) can achieve remarkable responses in urothelial cancer (UC), which may depend on tumor microenvironment (TME) characteristics. However, the relationship between the TME, usually characterized by immune cell density, and response to ICI is unclear. Here, we quantify the TME immune cell densities and spatial relationships (SRs) of 24 baseline UC samples, obtained before pre-operative combination ICI treatment, using multiplex immunofluorescence. We describe SRs by approximating the first nearest-neighbor distance distribution with a Weibull distribution and evaluate the association between TME metrics and ipilimumab+nivolumab response. Immune cell density does not discriminate between response groups. However, the Weibull SR metrics of CD8⁺ T cell

SUBMITTER: Gil-Jimenez A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10957922 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature