Altered extracellular matrix correlates with an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and disease progression in younger adults with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) occurs most frequently in patients >60 years old with a history of tobacco and alcohol use. Epidemiological studies describe increased incidence of OSCC in younger adults (<45 years). Despite its poor prognosis, knowledge of OSCC tumor microenvironment (TME) characteristics in younger adults is scarce and could help inform possible resistance to emerging treatment options.

Methods

Patients with OSCC were evaluated using TCGA-HNSC (n=121) and a stage and subsite-matched institutional cohort (n=8) to identify differential gene expression focusing on the extracellular matrix (ECM) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) processes in younger (≤45 years) vs. older adults (≥60 years). NanoString nCounter analysis was perf

SUBMITTER: Estephan LE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11217481 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature