PRF1 is a prognostic marker and correlated with immune infiltration in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

• Published in: Translational oncology Vol. 14; no. 4; p. 101042
• Main Authors: Fan, Cui, Hu, Haixia, Shen, Yilin, Wang, Quan, Mao, Yufeng, Ye, Bin, Xiang, Mingliang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-04-2021; Neoplasia Press; Elsevier
• Subjects: head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; HPV; Original Research; PRF1; prognosis; tumor immune infiltration; tumor immune infiltration; PRF1; prognosis; head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; HPV
• ISSN: 1936-5233; 1936-5233
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tranon.2021.101042

•The cytotoxic protein PRF1 is essentially involved in anti-tumour immunity.•PRF1 is overexpressed in advanced HPV+ HNSCC and correlates with better OS.•PRF1 expression correlates with tumour infiltrating CD8+ t cells and dendritic cells in HPV+ HNSCC.•PRF1 expression correlates with gene markers of t cell exhaustion in HNSCC.
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a highly invasive malignancy with poor survival. Perforin (PRF1) plays essential roles in host immunity. Our research intended to identify the correlations of PRF1 with clinical prognosis and tumor immune infiltration in HNSCC.
We explored PRF1 expression and its associations with the clinical features of HNSCC via the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER), Oncomine and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases. The prognostic value of PRF1 for HNSCC was further explored by Kaplan–Meier plotter and TIMER. Finally, the relation between PRF1 and immune infiltration in HNSCC was estimated via CIBERSORT and TIMER.
PRF1 expression was remarkably elevated in HNSCC and associated with clinical stage and HPV infection. High PRF1 expression predicted favorable outcomes in HNSCC, especially in HPV+ HNSCC. Moreover, higher infiltration of CD8+ T cells and CD4+ T cells were found in the PRF1high group of HNSCC. PRF1 expression in HNSCC was strongly correlated with infiltrating CD8+ T cells and dendritic cells (DCs), with higher relevance in HPV+ HNSCC.
Our findings suggested that PRF1 could be a novel prognostic biomarker in HNSCC and that its expression was related to immune cell infiltration, which was impacted by HPV status.