Density, Distribution, and Composition of Immune Infiltrates Correlate with Survival in Merkel Cell Carcinoma.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive cancer with frequent metastasis and death with few effective therapies. Because programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) is frequently expressed in MCC, immune checkpoint blockade has been leveraged as treatment for metastatic disease. There is therefore a critical need to understand the relationships between MCPyV status, immune profiles, and patient outcomes.

Experimental design

IHC for CD3, CD8, PD-1, PD-L1, and MCPyV T-antigen (to determine MCPyV status) was performed on 62 primary MCCs with annotated clinical outcomes. Automated image analysis quantified immune cell density (positive cells/mm²) at discrete geographic locations (tumor periphery, center, and hotspot). T-cell receptor sequencing (TCRseq) was performe

SUBMITTER: Feldmeyer L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5857157 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature