Role of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes and the Tumor Microenvironment in the Survival of Malignant Parotid Gland Tumors: A Two-Centre Retrospective Analysis of 107 Patients

Overview

Journal J Clin Med

Specialty General Medicine

Date 2024 Jun 27

PMID 38930103

Authors

Pietro De Luca

Arianna Di Stadio

Gerardo Petruzzi

Francesco Mazzola

Milena Fior

Luca de Campora

Matteo Simone

Pasquale Viola

Giovanni Salzano

Chiara Moscatelli

Filippo Ricciardiello

Alfonso Scarpa

Francesco Antonio Salzano

Raul Pellini

Marco Radici

Angelo Camaioni

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

This study aims to retrospectively investigate the prognostic significance of the tumor microenvironment, with a focus on TILs (tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes), in relation to survival in a large cohort of patients with parotid gland cancer, and it uses the method proposed by the International TILs Working Group in breast cancer. We included a cohort of consecutive patients with biopsy-proven parotid cancer who underwent surgery between January 2010 and September 2023. A retrospective review of medical records, including surgical, pathological and follow-up reports, was performed. The density of TILs was determined according to the recommendations of the International TILs Working Group for breast cancer. A weak negative correlation ( = 0.3) between TILs and time of survival and a weak positive correlation ( = 0.05) between TILs and months of survival (high TILs were correlated with longer survival in months) were identified. High TILs were weakly negatively, but not statistically significantly (0.7), correlated with the grading of tumor; this means that high TILs were associated with low-grade tumors. Contrary to previous preliminary reports, this retrospective work found no statistically significant prognostic role of TILs in parotid gland malignancies. This case series represents the largest cohort ever reported in the literature and includes all malignant histological types. Future larger molecular studies may be useful in this regard.

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