Tissue-based immune monitoring II: multiple tumor sites reveal immunologic homogeneity in serous ovarian carcinoma

Cancer Biol Ther. 2011 Aug 15;12(4):367-77. doi: 10.4161/cbt.12.4.16908. Epub 2011 Aug 15.

Abstract

The presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in epithelial ovarian cancer indicates a host antitumor response and is associated with improved survival. We wished to determine the extent to which TIL density differs from site to site within a given patient. We initially studied multiple paired metastases from serous ovarian carcinoma obtained at the time of primary debulking. The expression of genes in specific immune-related pathways was profiled on a pilot set of five patients. We then used immunohistochemistry and quantitative PCR to estimate the density of CD3+, CD8+, and FoxP3+ TILs in these same tumors. To extend the findings to a larger cohort, we semiquantitatively measured intraepithelial and stromal TILs in a tissue microarray (TMA) containing both primary tumors and metastases from 50 patients. In the pilot group, genes related to antimicrobial signaling and TGF-beta signaling showed between-site heterogeneity, whereas cytokines and antigen presentation transcripts were more homogeneous in any given patient. IHC and qPCR for T cell markers were concordant. In the TMA cohort, 2-way ANOVA showed that TIL heterogeneity between sites was present in some but not all patients. The stroma of extra-ovarian metastases showed significantly greater TIL infiltration than ovarian sites. A simulation showed that at clinically meaningful levels of precision, up to 3% of patients will be misclassified for intraepithelial TILs by a single biopsy. In conclusion, between-site heterogeneity exists in some patients with metastatic serous ovarian cancer. The predictive value of biopsies should be considered in clinical trial design.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • CD3 Complex / genetics
  • CD3 Complex / immunology
  • CD4 Antigens / genetics
  • CD4 Antigens / immunology
  • CD8 Antigens / genetics
  • CD8 Antigens / immunology
  • Cluster Analysis
  • Cohort Studies
  • Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous / genetics
  • Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous / immunology*
  • Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous / pathology
  • Epithelial Cells / immunology
  • Epithelial Cells / metabolism
  • Epithelial Cells / pathology
  • Female
  • Forkhead Transcription Factors / genetics
  • Forkhead Transcription Factors / immunology
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating / immunology
  • Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating / metabolism
  • Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating / pathology
  • Middle Aged
  • Monitoring, Immunologic / methods*
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / genetics
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / immunology
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / pathology
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Stromal Cells / immunology
  • Stromal Cells / metabolism
  • Stromal Cells / pathology
  • Tissue Array Analysis / methods*

Substances

  • CD3 Complex
  • CD4 Antigens
  • CD8 Antigens
  • FOXP3 protein, human
  • Forkhead Transcription Factors