Wu Peng, Qin Guohui, Liu Jinyan, Zhao Qitai, Zhao Xueke, Song Xin, Wang Lidong, Yang Shengli, Zhang Yi
Biotherapy Center and Cancer Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention & Treatment and Henan Key Laboratory for Esophageal Cancer Research of The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2025 Jan 3;74(2):47. doi: 10.1007/s00262-024-03904-1.
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) are distinct histological subtypes of esophageal cancer. The tumor microenvironment of each subtype significantly influences the efficacy of immunotherapy. However, the characteristics of the tumor microenvironments of both subtypes, as well as their specific impacts on immunotherapy outcomes, still require further elucidation. Through the integration of gene expression profiles from ESCC and EAC obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas database, alongside tumor tissues derived from Chinese patients, we identified TNFSF10, CXCL10, IL17RB, and CSF2 as pivotal immune molecules with significant prognostic implications. Elevated expression levels of TNFSF10 correlated with adverse outcomes in individuals diagnosed with ESCC. In contrast to patients from other geographical regions, CXCL10, IL17RB, and CSF2 exhibited distinct prognostic implications in Chinese patients with esophageal cancer. The Cox risk scores derived from the molecules TNFSF10 and CXCL10 for ESCC and IL17RB and CSF2 for EAC were used to assess their predictive capacity for immunotherapy efficacy. The results indicate that patients with lower Cox risk scores demonstrated an enhanced response to immunotherapeutic interventions. This study revealed significant disparities in the expression and functionality of immune-related molecules between ESCC and EAC and highlighted the potential of Cox risk scores derived from immune-related molecules to predict the efficacy of immunotherapy in patients. The findings underscore the clinical relevance of these biomarkers and emphasize the necessity for developing ethnic-specific biomarkers to guide personalized immunotherapy strategies between ESCC and EAC.
食管鳞状细胞癌（ESCC）和食管腺癌（EAC）是食管癌不同的组织学亚型。每种亚型的肿瘤微环境对免疫治疗疗效有显著影响。然而，这两种亚型肿瘤微环境的特征及其对免疫治疗结果的具体影响仍需进一步阐明。通过整合从癌症基因组图谱数据库获得的ESCC和EAC的基因表达谱，以及来自中国患者的肿瘤组织，我们确定肿瘤坏死因子超家族成员10（TNFSF10）、CXC趋化因子配体10（CXCL10）、白细胞介素17受体B（IL17RB）和集落刺激因子2（CSF2）是具有显著预后意义的关键免疫分子。TNFSF10表达水平升高与ESCC患者的不良预后相关。与其他地理区域的患者不同，CXCL10、IL17RB和CSF2在中国食管癌患者中表现出不同的预后意义。分别由TNFSF10和CXCL10（针对ESCC）以及IL17RB和CSF2（针对EAC）得出的Cox风险评分用于评估它们对免疫治疗疗效的预测能力。结果表明，Cox风险评分较低的患者对免疫治疗干预的反应增强。这项研究揭示了ESCC和EAC之间免疫相关分子在表达和功能上的显著差异，并强调了由免疫相关分子得出的Cox风险评分预测患者免疫治疗疗效的潜力。这些发现强调了这些生物标志物的临床相关性，并强调了开发种族特异性生物标志物以指导ESCC和EAC之间个性化免疫治疗策略的必要性。
