Prognostic Value of Molecular Intratumor Heterogeneity in Primary Oral Cancer and Its Lymph Node Metastases Assessed by Mass Spectrometry Imaging

Bibliographic Details
Title: Prognostic Value of Molecular Intratumor Heterogeneity in Primary Oral Cancer and Its Lymph Node Metastases Assessed by Mass Spectrometry Imaging
Authors: Agata Kurczyk, Marta Gawin, Piotr Paul, Ewa Chmielik, Tomasz Rutkowski, Monika Pietrowska, Piotr Widłak
Source: Molecules, Vol 27, Iss 17, p 5458 (2022)
Publisher Information: MDPI AG, 2022.
Publication Year: 2022
Collection: LCC:Organic chemistry
Subject Terms: cancer prognosis, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, intratumor heterogeneity, long-term outcome, mass spectrometry imaging, tumor microenvironment, Organic chemistry, QD241-441
More Details: Different aspects of intra-tumor heterogeneity (ITH), which are associated with the development of cancer and its response to treatment, have postulated prognostic value. Here we searched for potential association between phenotypic ITH analyzed by mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) and prognosis of head and neck cancer. The study involved tissue specimens resected from 77 patients with locally advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma, including 37 patients where matched samples of primary tumor and synchronous lymph node metastases were analyzed. A 3-year follow-up was available for all patients which enabled their separation into two groups: with no evidence of disease (NED, n = 41) and with progressive disease (PD, n = 36). After on-tissue trypsin digestion, peptide maps of all cancer regions were segmented using an unsupervised approach to reveal their intrinsic heterogeneity. We found that intra-tumor similarity of spectra was higher in the PD group and diversity of clusters identified during image segmentation was higher in the NED group, which indicated a higher level of ITH in patients with more favorable outcomes. Signature of molecular components that correlated with long-term outcomes could be associated with proteins involved in the immune functions. Furthermore, a positive correlation between ITH and histopathological lymphocytic host response was observed. Hence, we proposed that a higher level of ITH revealed by MSI in cancers with a better prognosis could reflect the presence of heterotypic components of tumor microenvironment such as infiltrating immune cells enhancing the response to the treatment.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 1420-3049
Relation: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/17/5458; https://doaj.org/toc/1420-3049
DOI: 10.3390/molecules27175458
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/ab9f0c9b1f02463988d26a73e6533b55
Accession Number: edsdoj.b9f0c9b1f02463988d26a73e6533b55
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
Full text is not displayed to guests.
More Details
ISSN:14203049
DOI:10.3390/molecules27175458
Published in:Molecules
Language:English