Tertiary lymphoid structures correlate with reduced recurrence risk and enhanced antitumor immunity in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma with pathologic non-complete response to neoadjuvant chemoimmu
5 hours ago
- #Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
- #Tertiary lymphoid structures
- #Immunotherapy
- Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) are linked to lower recurrence risk and better survival in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients with non-complete response to neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy.
- TLS(+) patients showed enriched immune cell subsets responsive to immunotherapy, with high activation and low exhaustion states.
- Tumor-reactive T cells were found colocalized with B cells and antigen-presenting cells in TLS, indicating strong interaction potential.
- TLS presence correlates with enhanced immune cell synergy, activation, and maturation, suggesting a role in antitumor immunity.
- TLS status is an independent predictor of postoperative recurrence in non-pCR ESCC patients.