ReviewCancers2021
Prognostic Significance of CD4+ and CD8+ Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Meta-Analysis.
Review in Cancers, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 83 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
83 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 119 citations in OpenAlex.
- Loss of p53-DREAM-mediated repression of cell cycle genes as a driver of lymph node metastasis in head and neck cancer.Genome medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes: from prognosis to treatment selection.British journal of cancer · 2023Pooled it
- Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: current and emerging therapeutic strategies.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026Review
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- Article
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- Arecoline-induced EV-mediated ZNF582 hypermethylation drives IFIT1-PD-L1 immune evasion in oral squamous cell carcinoma.Clinical epigenetics · 2026Article
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- Immunohistochemical Study of the Tumor Immune Microenvironment in Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Its Prognostic Implications.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Predicting Different Recurrence Risk in HNSCC Using Circulating Inflammatory and T-Cell Biomarkers.The Laryngoscope · 2026Article
- Single-cell RNA sequencing identifies cancer-associated fibroblast marker genes for determining cancer subtypes in oral squamous cell carcinoma and predicting patient prognosis.Translational cancer research · 2026Article
- INHBA: a mitochondrial-related pan-cell death gene associated with the prognosis and immunity of OSCC.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Plasma PFDN2 suppresses head and neck squamous cell carcinoma progression by restricting CD64 on monocyte-driven inflammatory microenvironments.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- HPV status shapes T-cell immunoprofiles in oesophageal adenocarcinoma: high regulatory T cell infiltration predicts poor prognosis.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
- Construction and validation of an anoikis-related long non-coding RNA-based prognostic model for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.Translational cancer research · 2025Article
- Spatial Transcriptome Analysis of B7-H4 in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Novel Therapeutic Target for Anti-Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.Head and neck pathology · 2025Article
- Spatial Distribution and Prognostic Value of T Cell Subtypes and Immune Biomarkers in p16-Negative HNSCC.Cells · 2025Article
- LFA-1/ICAM-1 Interactions Between CD8Cells · 2025Article
- Effects of different nutritional support methods on nutritional status and immune function in patients undergoing radiotherapy for head and neck cancer.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2025Article
- Prognostic value of changes in pre- and postoperative inflammatory blood markers in HPV-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.Acta otorhinolaryngologica Italica : organo ufficiale della Societa italiana di otorinolaringologia e chirurgia cervico-facciale · 2025Article
23 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveIt has been suggested that the presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in the tumor microenvironment is associated with a better prognosis in different types of cancer. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we investigated the prognostic role of CD4+ and CD8+ TILs in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
methodsPubMed, Cochrane, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched up to September 2020. This study was conducted following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) checklist. Risk ratios from individual studies were displayed in forest plots and the pooled hazard ratios (HR) of death and corresponding confidence intervals (CI) were calculated according to random-effects models. Risk of bias of the included studies was assessed through the Newcastle-Ottawa scale.
results28 studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies conducted on HNSCC subsites combined reported a significant reduction in the risk of death for both high CD4+ (HR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.65-0.93) and high CD8+ TILs (HR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.47-0.88). High CD4+ TILs were associated with significantly better overall survival among oropharyngeal HNSCC (HR: 0.52; 95% CI: 0.31-0.89), as well as high CD8+ TILS in Human papillomavirus -ve and +ve cancers (HR: 0.39; 95% CI: 0.16-0.93 and HR: 0.40; 95% CI 0.21-0.76 respectively). CD8+ TILs were also associated with improved survival in hypopharyngeal cancers (HR = 0.43 CI: 0.30-0.63). No significant association emerged for patients with cancer of the oral cavity or larynx.
conclusionsThe findings from this meta-analysis demonstrate the prognostic significance of CD8+ and CD4+ TILs in HNSCC and variation in tumor subsite warrants further focused investigation. We highlight how TILs may serve as predictive biomarkers to risk stratify patients into treatment groups, with applications in immune-checkpoint inhibitors notable areas for further research.
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Registered trials
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.