Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common head and neck malignancy with a high mortality rate and poor prognosis. The exploration and understanding of biomarkers will help to further improve the diagnosis and treatment of OSCC.
Methods: Tumor tissue samples from 319 OSCC patients were retrospectively collected, along with their clinical information. In combination with bioinformatics tools and multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC) analyses, we evaluated NUP62CL protein expression and its relationship to tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) and immune checkpoints in the tumor microenvironment (TME), as well as its association with clinical features and prognosis of OSCC.
Results: We identified high-NUP62CL expression in OSCC tissues, and high-NUP62CL protein expression was associated with large tumor size, advanced clinical stage and poor prognosis. In addition, NUP62CL protein expression was positively associated with the abundance of CD3+CD4+ T cells (P < 0.01), CD3+CD8+ T cells (P < 0.01), CD56+ NK cells (P < 0.05), CD68+CD86+ macrophages (P < 0.01) and CD68+CD163+ macrophages (P < 0.01), as well as the immune checkpoints, including PD-1 (P < 0.001), PD-L1 (P < 0.001), and CTLA-4 (P < 0.001) protein expression.
Conclusion: In conclusion, NUP62CL could be an effective prognostic and immunological biomarker for OSCC patients.
Keywords: oral squamous cell carcinoma, NUP62CL, mIHC, prognosis, tumor-infiltrating immune cells, biomarker