Spatial immunoprofiling of retroperitoneal leiomyosarcomas reveals intratumoral heterogeneity in immune cell infiltration, checkpoint molecule expression, and tertiary lymphoid structures.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is a rare, aggressive cancer with limited treatment options at the metastatic stage. The response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is inconsistent, likely due to intratumoral heterogeneity, which is more pronounced in large tumours such as retroperitoneal LMS.

Methods

This study examined heterogeneity in four large treatment-naive LMS tumours (ten samples per tumour) by analysing immune cells, tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs), checkpoint molecules, and cytokine secretion across different tumour regions.

Results

Significant region-dependent differences were observed in immune components, with TLSs present only at tumour margins and inconsistently across samples from the same tumour. Expression levels of programmed cell death 1

SUBMITTER: Benesova I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12519586 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature