Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
T cells in canine oral melanoma and links to tumor features
By Yasumaru, Cassia C et al.·Published in Veterinary pathology·2021·28133University of Sã, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Intratumoral T-Lymphocyte Subsets in Canine Oral Melanoma and Their Association With Clinical and Histopathological Parameters.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at 45 dogs with oral melanoma, a serious type of mouth tumor, to see how certain immune cells called T-lymphocytes (TILs) were present in the tumors. They found that tumors with a lot of CD8 T-cells, which help fight cancer, were linked to better survival rates. In fact, 58% of the tumors showed a strong presence of these immune cells, which seemed to indicate a less aggressive form of the cancer. This research suggests that checking for these immune cells in oral melanoma could help predict how the disease will progress and how well a dog might respond to treatment.
People also search for: dog oral melanoma treatment · canine melanoma prognosis · T-cells in dog cancer
Abstract
Canine oral melanoma is a common, aggressive tumor with limited treatment options. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are important in antitumor immunity. This study used histopathology and immunophenotyping by flow cytometry to evaluate the presence and distribution of TILs in canine oral melanoma, including the frequency of CD8T cells, CD4T cells, and regulatory T cells. Fifty samples of oral melanoma from 45 dogs that did not receive treatment prior to surgery were included in the study. The distribution of TILs in the tissue (brisk, nonbrisk, and absent) was evaluated in 48 samples. Twenty-eight (58%) samples had a brisk distribution pattern, 10 (21%) samples had a nonbrisk pattern, and 10 (21%) samples had an absent TIL pattern. Comparing the histological evaluation and the immunophenotyping data, it was observed that samples with a brisk TIL pattern had a higher frequency of CD8T lymphocytes (= .05) and a lower frequency of CD4/CD25/FoxP3Tregs (= .03), compared to the samples with nonbrisk and absent infiltrate patterns. Patients with a higher survival rate had higher TIL scores (= .002), a brisk or nonbrisk TIL pattern (= .001), and an increased frequency of CD8T lymphocytes infiltrating the tumor (= .003). Our analysis suggests that the evaluation of TILs in canine oral melanoma is relevant to predict tumor aggressiveness and patient prognosis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33764216/