Biomarkers in Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: The Literature Review

M2 Macrophage exosomal HOXC13-AS in laryngeal cancer immunity via targeting miR-485-5p/IGF2BP2/PD-L1

This study investigates the role of M2-exo-mediated HOXC13-AS in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) by examining its transmission to tumor microenvironment (TME) macrophages. Exosomes from M2 macrophages were isolated and characterized using transmission electron microscopy, nanoparticle tracer analysis and western blot. Expression of HOXC13-AS, miR-485-5p, IGF2BP2, and PD-L1 was analyzed. Different interventions on LSCC cell function and immune escape were detected using molecular biological techniques. The study found that elevated HOXC13-AS were present in LSCC, and M2-exo expression was significantly increased in LSCC cells. Silencing HOXC13-AS in M2-exo inhibited LSCC malignant progression and immune escape in vivo and in vitro. M2-exo-mediated HOXC13-AS also regulated IGF2BP2 expression, impacting cellular biological function and immune escape process. The study concludes that M2-exo-mediated HOXC13-AS promotes LSCC malignancy and immune escape.

Cancer and immune response: The role of PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint in laryngeal carcinoma. Preliminary results

PURPOSE

The overall survival of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) hasn't changed significantly in the last decades, leading to a negative prognosis in advanced stages. So, the immunotherapy takes space with the inhibition of PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint, involved in suppression of immune response.

METHODS

A prospective study was conducted on LSCC patients, selected according to strict criteria. The study was approved by the ethics committee of our Hospital. Parameters were: sex, age, smoking and alcohol habits, C-reactive protein (CRP) level in the serum, laryngeal subsite involved, differentiation-based histopathologic grading of tumor, neck node involvement, tumor stage, expression levels of PD-L1 (as Combined Positive Score - CPS). P-value < 0.05 was statistically significant.

RESULTS

58 patients were included: 31.03% were females, mean age 63.55±10.09. A statistically significant correlation between CPS and smoking habits and N stage was found. CRP resulted increased in 44.83% of patients with a statistically significant correlation with CPS. The most cases were glottic cancers (46.55%). 75.86% of tumors were moderately-differentiated, without correlation with CPS.

CONCLUSION

PD-L1 expression levels are variables independent of sex, age, alcohol consumption, differentiation degree of LSCC. A statistically significant correlation between PD-L1 expression levels and smoking habits, neck node status and CRP was found. This last finding demonstrates the involvement of PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint in immune response in case of cancer. However, these results need further studies to detect the best patients tailored for treatment with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 blocking antibodies.

Epigenetic mechanism of RBM15 in affecting cisplatin resistance in laryngeal carcinoma cells by regulating ferroptosis

Laryngeal carcinoma (LC) is a common cancer of the respiratory tract. This study aims to investigate the role of RNA-binding motif protein 15 (RBM15) in the cisplatin (DDP) resistance of LC cells. LC-DDP-resistant cells were constructed. RBM15, lysine-specific demethylase 5B (KDM5B), lncRNA Fer-1 like family member 4 (FER1L4), lncRNA KCNQ1 overlapping transcript 1 (KCNQ1OT1), glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), and Acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family (ACSL4) was examined. Cell viability, IC50, and proliferation were assessed after RBM15 downregulation. The enrichment of insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 3 (IGF2BP3) and N6-methyladenosine (m6A) on KDM5B was analyzed. KDM5B mRNA stability was measured after actinomycin D treatment. A tumor xenograft assay was conducted to verify the role of RBM15 in LC. Results showed that RBM15 was upregulated in LC and its knockdown decreased IC50, cell viability, proliferation, glutathione, and upregulated iron ion content, ROS, malondialdehyde, ACSL4, and ferroptosis. Mechanistically, RBM15 improved KDM5B stability in an IGF2BP3-dependent manner, resulting in FER1L4 downregulation and GPX4 upregulation. KDM5B increased KCNQ1OT1 and inhibited ACSL4. KDM5B/KCNQ1OT1 overexpression or FER1L4 knockdown promoted DDP resistance in LC by inhibiting ferroptosis. In conclusion, RBM15 promoted KDM5B expression, and KDM5B upregulation inhibited ferroptosis and promoted DDP resistance in LC by downregulating FER1L4 and upregulating GPX4, as well as by upregulating KCNQ1OT1 and inhibiting ACSL4. Silencing RBM15 inhibited tumor growth in vivo.

A practical online prediction platform to predict the survival status of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma after 5 years

OBJECTIVE

Currently, there are few practical tools for predicting the prognosis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). This study aims to establish a model and a convenient online prediction platform to predict whether LSCC patients will survive 5 years after diagnosis, providing a reference for further evaluation of patient prognosis.

METHODS

This is a retrospective study based on data collected from two centers. Center 1 included 117 LSCC patients with survival prognosis data, and center 2 included 33 patients, totaling 150 patients. All data were divided into independent training sets (60 %) and testing sets (40 %). Eight machine learning (ML) algorithms were used to establish models with 11 clinical parameters as input features. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) of the testing set were used to evaluate the models, and the best model was selected. The model was then developed into a website-based 5-year survival status prediction platform for LSCC. In addition, we also used the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) tool to conduct interpretability analysis on the parameters of the model.

RESULTS

The LSCC 5-year survival status prediction model using the support vector machine (SVM) algorithm achieved the best results, with accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 85.0 %, 87.5 %, 75.0 %, and 81.2 % respectively. The online platform for predicting the 5-year survival status of LSCC based on this model was successfully established. The SHAP analysis shows that the clinical stage is the most important feature of the model.

CONCLUSION

This study successfully established a ML model and a practical online prediction platform to predict the survival status of laryngeal cancer patients after 5 years, which may help clinicians to better evaluate the prognosis of LSCC.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3

A Group of Highly Secretory miRNAs Correlates with Lymph Node Metastasis and Poor Prognosis in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC)-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) play a pivotal role in modulating intercellular communications between tumor cells and other cells in the microenvironment, thereby influencing tumor progression and the efficacy of therapeutic interventions. However, a comprehensive inventory of these secretory miRNAs in sEVs and their biological and clinical implications remains elusive. This study aims to profile the miRNA content of OSCC cell line sEVs and computationally elucidate their biological and clinical relevance. We conducted miRNA sequencing to compare the miRNA profiles of OSCC cells and their corresponding sEVs. Our motif enrichment analysis identified specific sorting motifs that are implicated in either cellular retention or preferential sEV secretion. Target cell analysis suggested that the sEV miRNAs potentially interact with various immune cell types, including natural killer cells and dendritic cells. Additionally, we explored the clinical relevance of these miRNAs by correlating their expression levels with TNM stages and patient survival outcomes. Intriguingly, our findings revealed that a distinct sEV miRNA signature is associated with lymph node metastasis and poorer survival in patients in TCGA-HNSC dataset. Collectively, this research furthers our understanding of the miRNA sorting mechanisms in OSCC and underscores their clinical implications.

Tumor Neurobiology in the Pathogenesis and Therapy of Head and Neck Cancer

The neurobiology of tumors has attracted considerable interest from clinicians and scientists and has become a multidisciplinary area of research. Neural components not only interact with tumor cells but also influence other elements within the TME, such as immune cells and vascular components, forming a polygonal relationship to synergistically facilitate tumor growth and progression. This review comprehensively summarizes the current state of the knowledge on nerve-tumor crosstalk in head and neck cancer and discusses the potential underlying mechanisms. Several mechanisms facilitating nerve-tumor crosstalk are covered, such as perineural invasion, axonogenesis, neurogenesis, neural reprogramming, and transdifferentiation, and the reciprocal interactions between the nervous and immune systems in the TME are also discussed in this review. Further understanding of the nerve-tumor crosstalk in the TME of head and neck cancer may provide new nerve-targeted treatment options and help improve clinical outcomes for patients.