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Human cytomegalovirus alters immune cell profile with potential implications for patient survival in head and neck cancer.

Human cytomegalovirus alters immune cell profile with potential implications for patient survival in head and neck cancer.

Authors :
Nelson HH
Contestabile E
Hunter-Schlichting D
Koestler D
Pawlita M
Waterboer T
Christensen BC
Petersen CL
Miller JS
Kelsey KT
Source :
Carcinogenesis [Carcinogenesis] 2022 Jun 04; Vol. 43 (5), pp. 430-436.
Publication Year :
2022

Abstract

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a highly prevalent human herpes virus that exerts a strong influence on immune repertoire which may influence cancer risk. We have tested whether CMV immunoglobulin G (IgG) serostatus is associated with immune cell proportions (n = 132 population controls), human papillomavirus (HPV) co-infection and head and neck cancer risk (n = 184 cancer cases and 188 controls) and patient survival. CMV status was not associated with the proportion of Natural Killer cells, B cells or the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio. However, CD8+ T cells increased with increasing categories of IgG titers (P =1.7 × 10-10), and titers were inversely associated with the CD4:CD8 ratio (P = 5.6 × 10-5). Despite these differences in T cell proportions, CMV was not associated with HPV16 co-infection. CMV seropositivity was similar in cases (52%) and controls (47%) and was not associated with patient survival (hazard ratio [HR] 1.14, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.70 to 1.86). However, those patients with the highest titers had the worst survival (HR 1.91, 95% CI: 1.13 to 3.23). Tumor-based data from The Cancer Genome Atlas demonstrated that the presence of CMV transcripts was associated with worse patient survival (HR 1.79, 95% CI: 0.96 to 2.78). These findings confirm that a history of CMV infection alters T cell proportions, but this does not translate to HPV16 co-infection or head and neck cancer risk. Our data suggest that high titers and active CMV virus in the tumor environment may confer worse survival.<br /> (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1460-2180
Volume :
43
Issue :
5
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Carcinogenesis
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
35259245
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1093/carcin/bgac021