Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33047888›Full record

ArticleCancer medicine2020

The immune phenotype of tongue squamous cell carcinoma predicts early relapse and poor prognosis.

Giuseppe Troiano, Corrado Rubini, Lucrezia Togni, Vito Carlo Alberto Caponio, Khrystyna Zhurakivska, Andrea Santarelli, Nicola Cirillo, Lorenzo Lo Muzio, Marco Mascitti

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cancer medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 52 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
52citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
7.1field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

52 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 100 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Giuseppe TroianoDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-5647-4414
Corrado RubiniDepartment of Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy.
Lucrezia TogniDepartment of Clinical Specialistic and Dental Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy.
Vito Carlo Alberto CaponioDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-5080-5921
Khrystyna ZhurakivskaDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
Andrea SantarelliDepartment of Clinical Specialistic and Dental Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy.
Nicola CirilloMelbourne Dental School, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
Lorenzo Lo MuzioDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
Marco MascittiDepartment of Clinical Specialistic and Dental Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy.
Marche Polytechnic University · ITUniversity of Foggia · ITThe University of Melbourne · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue (OTSCC), current tumor node metastasis staging system fails to identify at-risk patients associated with early relapse and poor prognosis despite complete surgical resection. Given the importance of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in the development of cancers, here we investigated the prognostic significance of the immune phenotype in OTSCC.

methodsHematoxylin-eosin stained sections of OTSCCs from 211 patients were evaluated. Cancers were classified as (a) immune-inflamed when TILs were found next to tumor cell nests; (b) immune-excluded when TILs were found in the stroma, outside the tumor; and (c) immune-desert for tumors lacking lymphocyte infiltrate. The prognostic significance of these immune phenotypes classes was investigated. Data were further validated on an independent cohort from The Cancer Genome Atlas database.

resultsImmune-desert phenotype was the least represented group of OTSCCs in our cohort (11.8%) and served as an independent prognostic factor. Patients with immune-desert tumors exhibited worse disease-specific survival (HR = 2.673; [CI: 95% 1.497-4.773]; P = .001), overall survival (HR = 2.591; [CI: 95% 1.468-4.572]; P = .001), and disease-free survival (HR = 2.313; [CI: 95% 1.118-4.786]; P = .024) at multivariate analysis.

conclusionsWe identified a specific subgroup of OTSCCs with poor prognosis. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes density and localization could serve as an integrative parameter to the current staging system and inform the selection of most appropriate treatments. In particular, the tumor immune phenotype could improve the stratification of patients with more aggressive disease.

Indexed as

AgedDisease-Free SurvivalFemaleHumansImmunophenotypingLymphocytes, Tumor-InfiltratingMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm StagingPhenotypePredictive Value of TestsRetrospective StudiesRisk AssessmentRisk FactorsSquamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and NeckTime Factorshead and neckimmunityoral squamous cell carcinomaprognosistongue squamous cell carcinoma

Identifiers

PMID33047888
PMCPMC7666743
OpenAlexW3092230273

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.