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DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1740764
Intraepithelial TIRC7+ immune cells are positive prognosticators in cholangiocarcinoma and represent a potential target for immunotherapy
Cholangiocarcinoma is a heterogeneous malignancy with a detrimental prognosis. Therapeutic options are largely limited to surgery and conventional chemotherapy has very limited prospects of success. As immunotherapy has proven highly effective in various cancer types, we here assessed the quantity of immune cells expressing the T‑cell immune response cDNA 7 (TIRC7), an emerging immunoinhibitory receptor, in a cohort of 135 cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) patients. Immunohistochemical staining of TIRC7 was correlated with clinicopathological criteria and patient survival. TIRC7+ immune cells were present in both the tumor epithelia and stroma in the majority of CCA cases with the highest levels found in intrahepatic CCA. While intraepithelial density of TIRC7+ immune cells was decreased compared to matched non-neoplastic bile ducts, stromal quantity was higher in the tumor samples. Tumors exhibiting signet ring cell or adenosquamous morphology were exclusively associated with an intraepithelial TIRC7+ phenotype. Survival analysis showed intraepithelial TIRC7+ immune cell density to be a highly significant favorable prognosticator in intrahepatic, but not proximal or distal CCA. Furthermore, intraepithelial TIRC7+ immune cell density correlated with the number of intraepithelial CD8+ and with the total number of CD4+ immune cells. Our results cofirm the presence of TIRC7+ immune cells in CCA and highlight TIRC7 as a potential new target for CCA immunotherapy.
Publication History
Article published online:
26 January 2022
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