Tumor immune microenvironment analysis of non-small cell lung cancer development through multiplex immunofluorescence

作者：Jiaping Zhao, Yucheng Lu, Zhaofeng Wang, Haiying Wang, Ding Zhang, Jinping Cai, Bei Zhang, Junling Zhang, Mengli Huang, Andreas Pircher, K Patel, Honggang Ke, Yong Song · 发表于：Translational Lung Cancer Research · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.21037/tlcr-24-379 · 被引用次数：9 · 研究领域：Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers、Immunotherapy and Immune Responses、Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics

Background: Emerging evidence has underscored the crucial role of infiltrating immune cells in the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) development and progression. With the implementation of screening programs, the incidence of early-stage NSCLC is rising. However, the high risk of recurrence and poor survival rates associated with this disease necessitate a deeper understanding of the TIME and its relationship with driver alterations. The aim of this study was to provide an in-depth analysis of immune changes in early-stage NSCLC, highlighting the significant transitions in immune response during disease progression. Methods: Tumor tissues were collected from 105 patients with precancerous lesions or stage I–III NSCLC. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) was used to detect cancer driver alterations. Multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF) was performed to evaluate immune cell density, percentage, and spatial proximity to cancer cells in the TIME. Next Among these patients, 64 had NGS results, including three with adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS), 10 with minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA), and 51 with stage I invasive cancers. Additionally, three patients underwent neoadjuvant immuno-chemotherapy and tumor tissue specimens before and after treatment were obtained. Results: Patients with stage I invasive cancer had significantly higher density (P=0.01) and percentage (P=0.02) of CD8+ T cells and higher percentages of M1 macrophages (P=0.04) and...