Association of Biological Age with Tumor Microenvironment in Patients with Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Biological age-related adaptations have been shown to modulate the non-malignant cells comprising the tumor microenvironment (TME). In the current work, we studied the association between biological age and TME characteristics in patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma. We comparatively assessed intratumoral histologic stroma quantity, tumor immune cell infiltrate, and blood leukocyte and thrombocyte count in 72 patients stratified in 3 strata of biological age (younger <70 years, fit older ≥70 years, and frail older adults ≥70 years), as defined by a geriatric assessment. Frailty in older adults was predictive of decreased intratumoral stroma quantity (B = -14.66% stroma,P= 0.022) relative to tumors in chronological-age-matched fit older adults. Moreover, in comparison to younger adults, frail older adults (P= 0.032), but not fit older adults (P= 0.302), demonstrated a lower blood thrombocyte count at the time of diagnosis. Lastly, we found an increased proportion of tumors with a histologic desert TME phenotype in frail older adults. Our findings provide a biological underpinning for the clinical relevance of assessing frailty in patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma, further justifying the need for standardized geriatric assessment in geriatric cancer patients.