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Tumour-infiltrating immune cells in tonsillar cancer : no tissue-level signs of inflammageing in the elderly

Swoboda, Sabine LU orcid ; Vanagas, Robertas LU ; Altunbulakli, Can LU orcid ; Askmyr, David LU ; Lindstedt, Malin LU orcid and Greiff, Lennart LU (2025) In Acta Oto-Laryngologica 145(12). p.1218-1227
Abstract

Background: Age-related immunosenescence, also known as ‘inflammageing’, may impact the elderly’s ability to mount immune responses against cancers and compromise the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI). In this context, data on tonsillar cancer (TC), a subset of head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC), are lacking. Aims/objectives: To compare the presence/distribution and features of immune cells in TC, and of bulk RNA-seq in HNSCC, between the young and the elderly. Material and methods: TC tissue microarrays (TMAs) characterised by GeoMx digital spatial profiling were revisited and analysed, focusing on quantification and location of CD8+ and CD11c+ immune cells. De novo analyses of the TMAs... (More)

Background: Age-related immunosenescence, also known as ‘inflammageing’, may impact the elderly’s ability to mount immune responses against cancers and compromise the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI). In this context, data on tonsillar cancer (TC), a subset of head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC), are lacking. Aims/objectives: To compare the presence/distribution and features of immune cells in TC, and of bulk RNA-seq in HNSCC, between the young and the elderly. Material and methods: TC tissue microarrays (TMAs) characterised by GeoMx digital spatial profiling were revisited and analysed, focusing on quantification and location of CD8+ and CD11c+ immune cells. De novo analyses of the TMAs targeted CD68+/CD163+ macrophages. Bulk RNA-seq and clinical data from patients with HNSCC were sourced from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). For all data, patients were stratified into age groups. Results: Immune-cell characteristics in TC were similar across young and elderly individuals, although the elderly exhibited higher PD-1 levels. TCGA data revealed increased immune checkpoint molecules PD-L1 and LAG-3 in the elderly, alongside immunosuppression. Conclusion and significance: In the elderly, key immune cells are present in TC, and immune checkpoint molecules are overexpressed. This may be relevant to the stratification of patients for ICI.

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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Head and neck, oropharyngeal, tonsillar, tumour microenvironment
in
Acta Oto-Laryngologica
volume
145
issue
12
pages
10 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • pmid:41173228
  • scopus:105020696866
ISSN
0001-6489
DOI
10.1080/00016489.2025.2575865
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
id
28642e81-bcfd-4f1e-9117-a2c92af7c44a
date added to LUP
2026-01-14 10:55:34
date last changed
2026-01-15 03:05:21
@article{28642e81-bcfd-4f1e-9117-a2c92af7c44a,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: Age-related immunosenescence, also known as ‘inflammageing’, may impact the elderly’s ability to mount immune responses against cancers and compromise the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI). In this context, data on tonsillar cancer (TC), a subset of head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC), are lacking. Aims/objectives: To compare the presence/distribution and features of immune cells in TC, and of bulk RNA-seq in HNSCC, between the young and the elderly. Material and methods: TC tissue microarrays (TMAs) characterised by GeoMx digital spatial profiling were revisited and analysed, focusing on quantification and location of CD8<sup>+</sup> and CD11c<sup>+</sup> immune cells. De novo analyses of the TMAs targeted CD68<sup>+</sup>/CD163<sup>+</sup> macrophages. Bulk RNA-seq and clinical data from patients with HNSCC were sourced from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). For all data, patients were stratified into age groups. Results: Immune-cell characteristics in TC were similar across young and elderly individuals, although the elderly exhibited higher PD-1 levels. TCGA data revealed increased immune checkpoint molecules PD-L1 and LAG-3 in the elderly, alongside immunosuppression. Conclusion and significance: In the elderly, key immune cells are present in TC, and immune checkpoint molecules are overexpressed. This may be relevant to the stratification of patients for ICI.</p>}},
  author       = {{Swoboda, Sabine and Vanagas, Robertas and Altunbulakli, Can and Askmyr, David and Lindstedt, Malin and Greiff, Lennart}},
  issn         = {{0001-6489}},
  keywords     = {{Head and neck; oropharyngeal; tonsillar; tumour microenvironment}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{12}},
  pages        = {{1218--1227}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Acta Oto-Laryngologica}},
  title        = {{Tumour-infiltrating immune cells in tonsillar cancer : no tissue-level signs of inflammageing in the elderly}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00016489.2025.2575865}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/00016489.2025.2575865}},
  volume       = {{145}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}