| Objective: To explore the predictive value of immune cell infiltration characteristics in the tumor microenvironment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) for the efficacy and prognosis of cisplatin/5-FU concurrent chemoradiotherapy regimen, and to provide a theoretical basis for formulating individualized clinical treatment plans.?
Methods: A total of 160 ESCC patients who received cisplatin/5-FU concurrent chemoradiotherapy in our hospital from February 2020 to April 2022 were collected. The infiltration densities of CD3+T cells, CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, Tregs cells and CD163 macrophages in tumor tissues were detected by immunohistochemical staining. The efficacy was evaluated according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST version 1.1). The predictive value of immune cell infiltration characteristics for efficacy and prognosis was assessed by ROC curve, and survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier method.?
Results: Among the 160 patients, there were 28 cases of CR, 40 cases of PR, 50 cases of SD and 42 cases of PD, with an effective rate of 73.75%. The infiltration density of CD8+ cytotoxic T cells in the ineffective group was significantly lower than that in the effective group, while the infiltration densities of Tregs cells and CD163 macrophages in the ineffective group were significantly higher than those in the effective group (P<0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that the infiltration densities of CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, Tregs and CD163?M2-like macrophages could significantly distinguish the effective group from the ineffective group in terms of efficacy (P<0.001), with AUC values of 0.846, 0.898 and 0.877, respectively. Survival analysis showed that the survival rate of the high CD8+ infiltration group was significantly higher than that of the low infiltration group, and the survival rates of the low Tregs and low CD163 infiltration groups were significantly higher than those of the high infiltration groups (P<0.05). The infiltration densities of Tregs and CD163?M2-like macrophages had significant predictive value for prognosis (P<0.05), while CD8+ cytotoxic T cells did not (P>0.05).?
Conclusion: The infiltration characteristics of CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, Tregs cells and CD163 macrophages in the tumor microenvironment of ESCC can be used as predictive indicators for the efficacy and prognosis of cisplatin/5-FU concurrent chemoradiotherapy regimen, providing a reference for clinical individualized treatment.? |