ArticleOncoimmunology2025
Spatial characterization of tertiary lymphoid structures as predictive biomarkers for immune checkpoint blockade in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Article in Oncoimmunology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The Prognostic Significance of Tertiary Lymphoid Structures in Head and Neck Cancers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of oral pathology & medicine : official publication of the International Association of Oral Pathologists and the American Academy of Oral Pathology · 2026Pooled it
- Radiotherapy and tertiary lymphoid structures: balancing immune activation and immune damage in cancer immunotherapy.Molecular cancer · 2026Review
- Quantitative imaging of schwannoma captures heterogeneity and accelerates preclinical testing, revealing distinct impacts of targeted therapies.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Precision immunotherapy for head and neck cancer: therapeutic combinations, biomarker strategies, and translational challenges.Molecular cancer · 2026Review
- Immune checkpoint blockade in cancer: current insights and future horizons.Discover oncology · 2026Review
- Regulatory B cell-related gene signature predicts prognosis and immune landscape in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- From TLS architecture to functional immune niches: division of labor among CAFs, HEVs, and antigen-presenting cells in cancer immunotherapy.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- The immune microenvironment of HPV-associated cancers: from viral oncogenesis to immunotherapy response.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Tertiary lymphoid structure topotypes in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: spatial immunity, checkpoint-response associations, and therapeutic reprogramming.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Tertiary lymphoid structures in neoadjuvant and perioperative cancer immunotherapy: a review and proposed framework for biomarker interpretation and validation.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Tertiary lymphoid structure can be a potential therapeutic target for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (Review).Molecular and clinical oncology · 2026Review
- Tertiary lymphoid structures in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps: spatial organization, pathological functions, and implications for surgical strategy and biologic therapy.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) is the standard of care for recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), yet efficacy remains low. The combined positive score (CPS) for PD-L1 is the only biomarker approved to predict response to ICB and has limited performance. Tertiary Lymphoid Structures (TLS) have shown promising potential for predicting response to ICB. However, their exact composition, size, and spatial biology in HNSCC remain understudied. To elucidate the impact of TLS spatial biology in response to ICB, we utilized pre-ICB tumor tissue sections from 9 responders (complete response, partial response, or stable disease) and 11 non-responders (progressive disease) classified via RECISTv1.1. A custom multi-immunofluorescence (mIF) staining assay was applied to characterize tumor cells (pan-cytokeratin), T cells (CD4, CD8), B cells (CD19, CD20), myeloid cells (CD16, CD56, CD163), dendritic cells (LAMP3), fibroblasts (α Smooth Muscle Actin), proliferative status (Ki67) and immunoregulatory molecules (PD1). A machine learning model was employed to measure the effect of spatial metrics on achieving a response to ICB. A higher density of B cells (CD20+) was found in responders compared to non-responders to ICB (
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