A radiomics model to predict γδ T‐cell abundance and overall survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Abstractγδ T cells are becoming increasingly popular because of their attractive potential for antitumor immunotherapy. However, the role and assessment of γδ T cells in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are not well understood. We aimed to explore the prognostic value of γδ T cell and predict its abundance using a radiomics model. Computer tomography images with corresponding gene expression data and clinicopathological data were obtained from online databases. After outlining the volumes of interest manually, the radiomic features were screened using maximum melevance minimum redundancy and recursive feature elimination algorithms. A radiomics model was developed to predict γδ T‐cell abundance using gradient boosting machine. Kaplan–Meier survival curves and univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used for the survival analysis. In this study, we confirmed that γδ T‐cell abundance was an independent predictor of favorable overall survival (OS) in patients with HNSCC. Moreover, a radiomics model was built to predict the γδ T‐cell abundance level (the areas under the operating characteristic curves of 0.847 and 0.798 in the training and validation sets, respectively). The calibration and decision curves analysis demonstrated the fitness of the model. The high radiomic score was an independent protective factor for OS. Our results indicated that γδ T‐cell abundance was a promising prognostic predictor in HNSCC, and the radiomics model could discriminate its abundance levels and predict OS. The noninvasive radiomics model provided a potentially powerful prediction tool to aid clinical judgment and antitumor immunotherapy.

Identification of immune-related tumor antigens and immune subtypes in osteosarcoma

“…Based on our analysis and research results, we speculated that IS1 subtype might exhibit an immune “hot” phenotype, associated with active immune cells, while IS2 subtype might represent an immune “cold” phenotype, characterized by fewer active immune cells. In the immune “hot” IS1 phenotype, there might be more anti-tumor immune cells, such as CD56 bright natural killer cells, central memory CD8 + T cells, and gamma-delta T cells, which typically exert a positive effect against tumor growth [ [41] , [42] , [43] ]. Conversely, the immune “cold” IS2 phenotype might be more inclined to contain immune cells that promote tumor development, such as Th17 cells [ 44 ].…”