Neutrophils Dominate the Immune Cell Composition in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Overview

Journal Nat Commun

Specialty Biology

Date 2017 Feb 2

PMID 28146145

Citations 237

Authors

Julia Kargl

Stephanie E Busch

Grace H Y Yang

Kyoung-Hee Kim

Mark L Hanke

Heather E Metz

Jesse J Hubbard

Sylvia M Lee

David K Madtes

Martin W McIntosh

A McGarry Houghton

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The response rate to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is just 20%. To improve this figure, several early phase clinical trials combining novel immunotherapeutics with immune checkpoint blockade have been initiated. Unfortunately, these trials have been designed without a strong foundational knowledge of the immune landscape present in NSCLC. Here, we use a flow cytometry panel capable of measuring 51 immune cell populations to comprehensively identify the immune cell composition and function in NSCLC. The results show that the immune cell composition is fundamentally different in lung adenocarcinoma as compared with lung squamous cell carcinoma, and that neutrophils are the most prevalent immune cell type. Using T-cell receptor-β sequencing and tumour reactivity assays, we predict that tumour reactive T cells are frequently present in NSCLC. These results should help to guide the design of clinical trials and the direction of future research in this area.

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