Single-cell immune mapping of adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) reveals potential therapeutic targets for the aggressive solid subtype.

Authors

Luana Guimaraes de Sousa

Luana Guimaraes de Sousa

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

Luana Guimaraes de Sousa , Felippe Lazar Neto , Daniel James McGrail , Kaiyi Li , Mario L. Marques-Piubelli , Sammy Ferri Borgogno , Hui Dai , Yoshitsugu Mitani , Shiaw-Yih Lin , Adel K. El-Naggar , Diana Bell , Jared Burks , Renata Ferrarotto

Organizations

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Instituto do Câncer do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

Research Funding

U.S. National Institutes of Health

Background: ACC is a common salivary gland malignancy for which there is no FDA approved therapies. Despite a quiet genome, ACC has significant tumoral heterogeneity, which may facilitate the metastatic relapse. Studies focusing on the deep profile of ACC tumor microenvironment (TME) are lacking. Here we explored the TME of ACC using imaging mass cytometry (IMC) and assessed TME attributes and its association with histology and clinical outcomes. Methods: Two tissue microarrays from 62 ACC patients (pts) were built and stained with 37 metal-tagged markers. IMC was performed with the Fluidigm Helios CyTOF instrument utilizing the Hyperion Imaging System Laser ablation. Tissue and cell segmentation and multiplex imaging analysis were performed with Visiopharm software using pre-trained artificial intelligence algorithms. Comparison of cell types and markers densities among histology sub-groups were analyzed with Wilcoxon signed-rank test and its association with overall survival (OS) with log-rank and Cox Proportional Hazards. Results: Of 62 pts, 37% (23/62) had solid histology, 19% (12/62) were metastatic at diagnosis, and 55% (30/54) had disease recurrence during follow-up. With a median follow-up of 7.9 y, the median OS was 9.3y (CI 95%, 7.8-NR). Pts with solid subtype had poorer OS than non-solid histology (5.2 vs 14.6 y, p = 0.004). The IMC final dataset comprised 507,524 single-cells. No significant differences were found in cell subpopulations density between solid and non-solid histology. The most represented cell population in the stroma were macrophages, followed by CD8+ T cells, and fibroblasts. A higher percentage of M2-macrophage was associated with poor survival (p = 0.001), whereas, a higher percentage of M1-macrophage (M1:M2 ratio) was associated with better prognosis. No other immune cell type, fibroblasts or immune cell functional markers (TIGIT, TIM3, granzyme B, and PD-L1) correlated with survival. Regarding tumor markers, a higher expression of BCL-2, B7-H4, and Ki67 in the tumor cells were associated with worst survival; and remained statistically associated after adjustment for histology and staging (all p < 0.001). Solid histology had a significantly higher density of tumor cells expressing B7-H4, BCL-2, and Ki67 compared to cribriform and tubular histology. A higher expression of myoepithelial marker (p63+) were associated with a better survival when compared with tumors with low p63 expression. Conclusions: ACC’s TME is composed mainly of macrophages. Despite having no significant differences in cellular composition, a higher density of tumor cells expressing BCL-2, B7-H4 and Ki67 were found in the solid histology and these markers were independent predictors of poor prognosis. The overexpression of BCL-2 and B7-H4 in the solid histology provides a scientific rationale for BCL-2 and/or B7-H4 targeting for the most aggressive ACC.

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Abstract Details

Meeting

2022 ASCO Annual Meeting

Session Type

Poster Session

Session Title

Head and Neck Cancer

Track

Head and Neck Cancer

Sub Track

Other Head and Neck Cancer (Salivary, Thyroid)

Citation

J Clin Oncol 40, 2022 (suppl 16; abstr 6090)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2022.40.16_suppl.6090

Abstract #

6090

Poster Bd #

81

Abstract Disclosures

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