Tracking CD8⁺ T Cells & Macrophages in CC during CCRT

The study suggests that during concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in cervical cancer (CC) patients, the infiltration of tumor CD8⁺ T cells and macrophages, defined as CD68⁺ cells, exhibits dynamic and heterogeneous changes that correlate with short-term tumor response.

Kang Huang and the team aimed to develop a CT image-based radiomics signature capable of capturing and quantifying these dynamic alterations.

They conducted an inclusive analysis involving 30 patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CESC) undergoing concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) followed by brachytherapy. Pre-therapeutic CT images were obtained, and tumor biopsies with immunohistochemistry were performed at baseline (0 fraction (F)) and after 10 F.

Utilizing Matlab, radiomics features were extracted from the region of interest (ROI) of CT images. The LASSO regression model with 10-fold cross-validation was employed to select features and construct an immunomarker classifier and a radiomics signature. Performance evaluation was based on the area under the curve (AUC).

The study utilized changes in tumor-infiltrating CD8⁺ T cells and macrophages after 10F radiotherapy compared to baseline to generate the immunomarker classifier (AUC=0.842, 95% CI:0.680-1.000). Additionally, a radiomics signature was developed using 4 key radiomics features to predict the immunomarker classifier (AUC=0.875, 95% CI:0.753-0.997). Patients stratified based on this signature exhibited significant differences in treatment response (P = 0.004).

The study concluded that the radiomics signature holds promise as a potential predictor for the CCRT-induced dynamic alterations of CD8⁺ T cells and macrophages in CC. This non-invasive approach offers a viable alternative to tissue biopsy for appraising tumor immune status during CCRT.

This study was funded by the Clinical Research Project of the Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province of China; the Innovative Research Group Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Shantou Science and Technology Plan Medical and Health Category Project, the Shantou University Medical College Clinical Research Enhancement Initiative, the Science and Technology Special Fund of Guangdong Province of China,  the Strategic and Special Fund for Science and Technology Innovation of Guangdong Province of China, the Science and Technology Bureau of Shantou.

Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38654284/

Huang K, Huang X, Zeng C, et al. (2024). “Radiomics signature for dynamic changes of tumor-infiltrating CD8⁺ T cells and macrophages in cervical cancer during chemoradiotherapy.” Cancer Imaging. 2024 Apr 23;24(1):54. doi: 10.1186/s40644-024-00680-0. PMID: 38654284; PMCID: PMC11036574.