title: Telltale tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) in oral, head & neck cancer.
abstract: Evidence gleaned from recent studies on the role of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) suggests that cancer is not only a genetic disease but also an immunologic disease. Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) has been a significant model to study cancer cell-immune cell interactions. First, immune cell infiltration is an important feature of these tumors. Second, HNSCC frequently develops resistance to immunogenic cytotoxicity, which provides a window to decipher how tumors engage the immune system to establish immune tolerance. Finally, chemoradiation therapy, as a central modality for HNSCC treatment, has been shown to elicit immune activation. The presence of effector immune cells in the tumor microenvironment is often associated with superior clinical response to adjuvant therapy. On the other hand, an activated immune system, in addition to limiting tumor initiation and progression, could also exert selective pressure to promote the growth of less immunogenic tumors, as a pivotal immunoediting process. But it remains unclear how cancer cell signaling regulates tumor immunogenicity and how to mitigate HNSCC-potentiated TIL suppression. In this review, we will revisit the prognostic role of TILs in HNSCC, and collectively discuss how cancer cell machinery impacts upon the plasticity of TILs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan, School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Michigan, School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Translational Oncology Program, U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Graduate Program in Immunology, University of Michigan, School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States. Electronic address: leiyuleo@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Department of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824, United States.
authors.forename: Yuying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan, School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Translational Oncology Program, U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States.
authors.forename: Yee Sun
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Michigan, School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States.
authors.forename: Mark E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Prince
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Michigan, School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States.
authors.forename: Jeffrey S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Moyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Michigan, School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Translational Oncology Program, U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Department of Cariology, Restorative Sciences, and Endodontics, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States.
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nör
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Michigan, School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States; Translational Oncology Program, U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States. Electronic address: gregwolf@med.umich.edu.
authors.forename: Gregory T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Wolf
mesh_terms: D001343:Autophagy; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D016246:Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating / Q000276:immunology*; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology
keywords: Anti-tumor immunity; Autophagy; Head and neck cancer; Immunogenicity; Immunotherapy; Innate immunity; Oral cancer; Prognosis; Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL); Type 1 interferon