ArticleHead and neck pathology2025
Spatial Transcriptome Analysis of B7-H4 in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Novel Therapeutic Target for Anti-Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.
Article in Head and neck pathology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Elevated TMC8 expression correlates with CD8Translational cancer research · 2026Article
- B7-H4-targeted radiotheranostics enable precise imaging and potent therapy across solid tumor models.Science advances · 2026Article
- Spatial transcriptomics and artificial intelligence: a scoping review of emerging applications in head and neck pathology.Head and neck pathology · 2026Article
- A high density of T-cell lymphocytes and Tregs subset correlate to a worse survival in major salivary gland carcinomas.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- B7-H4: a multifaceted immune checkpoint and oncoprotein in cancer biology and immunotherapy.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Analysis of peripheral blood T-cell levels for predicting immunotherapy response sensitivity in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2026Article
- A Hypoxia Associated STC2 High Endothelial Subpopulation is Linked to Lipid Metabolic Reprogramming, Pathological Angiogenesis, and Immune Remodeling in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.International journal of general medicine · 2026Article
- Response to the Letter by Kumaran and Sharma Regarding "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
- Letter: 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
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3 authors.
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Abstract
purposeA significant proportion of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are ineligible for immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) because of low programmed cell death protein-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression. The therapeutic potential of B7-H4 (VTCN1) was investigated using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and spatial transcriptomics (ST).
methodsIHC analysis of B7-H4, PD-L1, CD3, CD4, and CD8 was performed using a tissue microarray [94 HNSCC, 94 adjacent squamous intraepithelial neoplasia (SIN), and 69 adjacent normal oral mucosa (NOM) samples]. B7-H4 and PD-L1 expression levels were assessed using tumor cell score (TC; positive, TC > 1%), immune cell score, and combined positive score. ST was performed on six HNSCCs with paired SINs and NOMs to confirm the expression and distribution of B7-H4 (CTVN1), PD-L1 (CD274), CD4 (DC4A), and CD8 (CD8).
resultsIn HNSCCs, TCs revealed a mutually exclusive B7-H4/PD-L1 expression pattern in 55% of samples (p < 0.05). B7-H4 positive TCs were more frequent in HNSCCs (79%) than in SINs (10%) and NOMs (2%). ST analysis confirmed mutually exclusive VTCN1/CD274 upregulation in 83% of samples (n = 6) and demonstrated co-localization of B7-H4 protein and VTCN1 in IHC-positive areas. B7-H4 was significantly correlated with low-CD8
conclusionB7-H4 is a promising antibody-drug conjugate target in ICI-resistant HNSCC. IHC combined with TCs enabled the reliable assessment of B7-H4, given its co-localization with VTCN1 in IHC-positive areas and association with low-CD8
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