Neoadjuvant chemotherapy enhances tumor-specific T cell immunity in patients with HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer

Authors

• Christian Samaniego, Head and Neck Section, Surgical Oncology Program, Center for cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
• Jay Friedman, Head and Neck Section, Surgical Oncology Program, Center for cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
• Xinping Yang, Head and Neck Section, Surgical Oncology Program, Center for cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
• Christopher Badger, Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
• Timothy Shaver, Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
• Shabnam Samankan, Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
• Punam Thakkar, Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
• Joseph Goodman, Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
• Arjun Joshi, Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
• Clint T. Allen, Head and Neck Section, Surgical Oncology Program, Center for cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

7-21-2023

Journal

Head & neck

DOI

10.1002/hed.27463

Keywords

HPV; antigen-specific T cell responses; neoadjuvant chemotherapy; oropharyngeal cancer; pathologic response

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Treatment of patients with newly diagnosed HPV-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) results in a high rate of 5-year recurrence free survival with few patients requiring adjuvant treatment. We hypothesized that NAC enhances primary tumor HPV-specific T cell responses. METHODS: HPV-specific responses in tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) before and after NAC were determined using autologous co-culture assays. RESULTS: Greater HPV16-specific TIL responses, sometimes polyclonal, were observed after NAC compared to before in 8 of 10 patients (80%) with PCR-verified HPV16-positive tumors. A significant association was observed between net-negative change in HPV-specific TIL response and disease relapse (p = 0.04, Mann-Whitney test), whereas pathologic complete response at time of surgery did not correlate with recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: NAC induces HPV-specific tumor T cell responses in patients with newly diagnosed HPV-associated OPSCC; whereas lack of an increase following NAC may associate with risk of relapse.

APA Citation

Samaniego, Christian; Friedman, Jay; Yang, Xinping; Badger, Christopher; Shaver, Timothy; Samankan, Shabnam; Thakkar, Punam; Goodman, Joseph; Joshi, Arjun; and Allen, Clint T., "Neoadjuvant chemotherapy enhances tumor-specific T cell immunity in patients with HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer" (2023). GW Authored Works. Paper 3047.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/3047

Department

Surgery