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Distinct immune microenvironments in ovarian cancer subtypes indicate potential for immunotherapies

Meldgaard Frank, Asger LU orcid ; Carlsson, Elias LU ; Ouyang, Huaqiang LU ; Olsson, Lina M LU ; Mateiou, Claudia ; Ek, Sara LU orcid ; Sundfeldt, Karin and Sandström Gerdtsson, Anna LU (2026) In Journal of Translational Medicine 24(1).
Abstract
Background
To enable immunotherapy for ovarian cancers, precision targets for immune priming as well as patient stratification approaches are required. The tumor microenvironment in particularly the rare subtypes of low-grade serous, mucinous, clear cell and endometrioid ovarian cancer, remains poorly characterized, and these tumors have been largely ignored in the immuno-oncology setting.

Methods
We performed spatially resolved molecular profiling of 78 tumor and immune protein markers in defined tissue regions from 254 ovarian cancer patients of mixed histologies, using GeoMx. Network graph analysis was applied to compute spatial statistics from multiplex immunofluorescence images. GeoMx-compatible softwares were... (More)
Background
To enable immunotherapy for ovarian cancers, precision targets for immune priming as well as patient stratification approaches are required. The tumor microenvironment in particularly the rare subtypes of low-grade serous, mucinous, clear cell and endometrioid ovarian cancer, remains poorly characterized, and these tumors have been largely ignored in the immuno-oncology setting.

Methods
We performed spatially resolved molecular profiling of 78 tumor and immune protein markers in defined tissue regions from 254 ovarian cancer patients of mixed histologies, using GeoMx. Network graph analysis was applied to compute spatial statistics from multiplex immunofluorescence images. GeoMx-compatible softwares were developed for data processing and analysis, based on linear mixed effect modelling, survival analysis and machine learning.

Results
Immune-regulatory targets associated with specific subtypes included STING in low-grade serous; CTLA-4 and PD-L1 in mucinous; CD40, IDO1 and VISTA in clear cell; and B7-H3 in endometrioid ovarian carcinomas. In high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas, intra-tumoral expression of SMA and PD-L1 emerged as strong prognostic indicators. Proximity of CD8 + T-cells to tumor cells as measured by group degree centrality was a marker of improved prognosis and of infiltration of all T cell subtypes, dendritic cells, and tumor-associated macrophages, along with elevated expression of PD-L1, IDO1, Tim-3, and CD40. In contrast, tumors with low CD8-tumor proximity were enriched in CD20 and CD25.

Conclusions
Our findings highlight the potential for differential targeted treatment related to histotyping, tumor-immune spatial scoring and intra-tumoral expression of key prognostic markers. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of Translational Medicine
volume
24
issue
1
article number
337
pages
15 pages
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • pmid:41723536
  • scopus:105033297454
ISSN
1479-5876
DOI
10.1186/s12967-026-07879-8
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
2efa2ca1-9307-4145-a901-9fdfb5633d33
date added to LUP
2026-03-04 10:51:14
date last changed
2026-04-20 13:09:28
@article{2efa2ca1-9307-4145-a901-9fdfb5633d33,
  abstract     = {{Background<br/>To enable immunotherapy for ovarian cancers, precision targets for immune priming as well as patient stratification approaches are required. The tumor microenvironment in particularly the rare subtypes of low-grade serous, mucinous, clear cell and endometrioid ovarian cancer, remains poorly characterized, and these tumors have been largely ignored in the immuno-oncology setting.<br/><br/>Methods<br/>We performed spatially resolved molecular profiling of 78 tumor and immune protein markers in defined tissue regions from 254 ovarian cancer patients of mixed histologies, using GeoMx. Network graph analysis was applied to compute spatial statistics from multiplex immunofluorescence images. GeoMx-compatible softwares were developed for data processing and analysis, based on linear mixed effect modelling, survival analysis and machine learning.<br/><br/>Results<br/>Immune-regulatory targets associated with specific subtypes included STING in low-grade serous; CTLA-4 and PD-L1 in mucinous; CD40, IDO1 and VISTA in clear cell; and B7-H3 in endometrioid ovarian carcinomas. In high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas, intra-tumoral expression of SMA and PD-L1 emerged as strong prognostic indicators. Proximity of CD8 + T-cells to tumor cells as measured by group degree centrality was a marker of improved prognosis and of infiltration of all T cell subtypes, dendritic cells, and tumor-associated macrophages, along with elevated expression of PD-L1, IDO1, Tim-3, and CD40. In contrast, tumors with low CD8-tumor proximity were enriched in CD20 and CD25.<br/><br/>Conclusions<br/>Our findings highlight the potential for differential targeted treatment related to histotyping, tumor-immune spatial scoring and intra-tumoral expression of key prognostic markers.}},
  author       = {{Meldgaard Frank, Asger and Carlsson, Elias and Ouyang, Huaqiang and Olsson, Lina M and Mateiou, Claudia and Ek, Sara and Sundfeldt, Karin and Sandström Gerdtsson, Anna}},
  issn         = {{1479-5876}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{02}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{Journal of Translational Medicine}},
  title        = {{Distinct immune microenvironments in ovarian cancer subtypes indicate potential for immunotherapies}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12967-026-07879-8}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s12967-026-07879-8}},
  volume       = {{24}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}