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  3. Persistently elevated soluble MHC class I polypeptide-related sequence A and transforming growth factor-β1 levels are poor prognostic factors in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma after definitive chemoradiotherapy

Persistently elevated soluble MHC class I polypeptide-related sequence A and transforming growth factor-β1 levels are poor prognostic factors in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma after definitive chemoradiotherapy

  • PLoS One. 2018 Aug 10;13(8):e0202224. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202224.
Jenny Ling-Yu Chen 1 2 3,  Chien-Chung Chang 4,  Yu-Sen Huang 2 5,  Hung-Yang Kuo 1,  Tzu-Yu Chen 6,  Chun-Wei Wang 1,  Sung-Hsin Kuo 1,  Yu-Li Lin 6
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Division of Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
  • 2 Institute of Biomedical Engineering, College of Medicine and College of Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
  • 3 Department of Oncology, National Taiwan University Hospital Yun-Lin Branch, Yun-Lin, Taiwan.
  • 4 Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Tsing-Hua University, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan.
  • 5 Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
  • 6 Department of Medical Research, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
PMID: 30096190 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202224
Abstract

We evaluated the prognostic significance of immunologic inhibitory biomarkers in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients undergoing definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Thirty patients were prospectively enrolled. Plasma levels of soluble MHC class I polypeptide-related sequence A (sMICA) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) were measured before and 2 weeks after CRT. The median follow-up was 32.9 months (range: 12.4-40.6 months). The pre-treatment sMICA (p < 0.001) and TGF-β1 (p < 0.001) levels were significantly increased in HNSCC patients, compared to healthy controls. In HNSCC patients, the median pre-CRT and post-CRT sMICA levels were 43.1 pg/mL and 65.3 pg/mL, respectively, while the median pre-CRT and post-CRT TGF-β1 levels were 57.7 ng/mL and 36.0 ng/mL, respectively. After CRT, 19 patients (63.3%) exhibited persistently elevated sMICA, six patients (20.0%) exhibited persistently elevated TGF-β1, and five patients (16.7%) exhibited persistently elevated sMICA and TGF-β1. Patients with persistently elevated sMICA and TGF-β1 after CRT experienced an earlier tumor progression (p = 0.030), and poor overall survival (p = 0.010). Our results suggest that HNSCC patients who exhibit persistently elevated sMICA and TGF-β1 levels after CRT are at higher risk of tumor progression or death.

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