Profiling tumour-infiltrating immune cells in a large paediatric medulloblastoma cohort: a retrospective analysis

作者：Mingze Chen, Xiangjun Shi, Yi Wang, Jiao Zhang, Jirong Guo, X. Guan, Yu Sun, Wenhao Wu, Chunde Li, Yongji Tian, Yunwei Ou, Tian Li, Kai Jiang, Michael D. Taylor, Xuebin Liao, Liwei Zhang, Tao Sun · 发表于：EBioMedicine · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.ebiom.2025.106043 · 被引用次数：7 · 研究领域：Glioma Diagnosis and Treatment、Neuroblastoma Research and Treatments、Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers

Background Tumour-infiltrating immune cells exert both pro-tumour and anti-tumour effects on intracranial tumours. In this study, we investigated the prognostic value of various infiltrating immune cells in medulloblastoma (MB) within a large cohort. Methods We employed multiplex immunofluorescent (mIF) staining of tissue microarrays to assess the densities of T cells, B cells, NK cells, macrophages, and immune checkpoints in tumour samples from 249 primary paediatric patients with primary MB. Overall survival (OS) analysis, progression-free survival (PFS), and Cox regression analyses were utilised to explore potential relationships between immune cell densities and survival outcomes. Subsequently, multivariate Cox regression was validated using an external database. Findings Significant differences in the immune microenvironment among molecular groups of MB and their prognostic implications were observed. CD4+ T cell infiltration was positively correlated with improved OS prognosis (Hazard Ratio low vs high 2.19 [95% CI 1.197–4.016]), while M2 macrophages (HR low vs high 0.50 [95% CI 0.250–1.003]), NK cells (HR low vs high 0.40 [95% CI 0.207–0.792]), and B cells (HR low vs high 0.51 [95% CI 0.291–0.902]) were associated with poorer PFS prognosis. We detected the presence of early tertiary lymphoid structures in MB. The infiltration of B cells (HR low vs high 0.50 [95% CI 0.271–0.941]) correlated with poorer OS. The prognostic significance of B cells was further corroborated ...