1. Homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) is associated with better prognosis and possibly causes a non-inflamed tumour microenvironment in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
- Author
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Zhou X, Ying H, Sun Y, Zhang W, Luo P, Zhu S, and Zhang J
- Subjects
- Humans, Male, Female, Prognosis, Middle Aged, BRCA2 Protein genetics, Mutation, Adult, Homologous Recombination genetics, Biomarkers, Tumor genetics, Neoplasm Recurrence, Local pathology, Neoplasm Recurrence, Local genetics, Genomic Instability, Tumor Microenvironment, Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma genetics, Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma pathology, Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma mortality, Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma therapy, Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma immunology, Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms genetics, Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms pathology, Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms mortality, Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms therapy, Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms immunology, BRCA1 Protein genetics
- Abstract
Homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) score is a reliable indicator of genomic instability. The significance of HRD in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), particularly its influence on prognosis and the immune microenvironment, has yet to be adequately explored. Understanding HRD status comprehensively can offer valuable insights for guiding precision treatment. We utilised three cohorts to investigate HRD status in NPC: the Zhujiang cohort from local collection and the Hong Kong (SRA288429) and Singapore (SRP035573) cohorts from public datasets. The GATK (genome analysis toolkit) best practice process was employed to investigate germline and somatic BRCA1/2 mutations and various bioinformatics tools and algorithms to examine the association between HRD status and clinical molecular characteristics. We found that individuals with a negative HRD status (no-HRD) exhibited a higher risk of recurrence [hazard ratio (HR), 1.43; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.03-333.76; p = 0.012] in the Zhujiang cohort, whereas, in the Singapore cohort, they experienced a higher risk of mortality (HR, 26.04; 95% CI, 1.43-34.21; p = 0.016) compared with those in the HRD group. In vitro experiments demonstrated that NPC cells with BRCA1 knockdown exhibit heightened sensitivity to chemoradiotherapy. Furthermore, the HRD group showed significantly higher tumour mutational burden and tumour neoantigen burden levels than the no-HRD group. Immune infiltration analysis indicated that HRD tissues tend to have a non-inflamed tumour microenvironment. In conclusion, patients with HRD exhibit a comparatively favourable prognosis in NPC, possibly associated with a non-inflammatory immune microenvironment. These findings have positive implications for treatment stratification, enabling the selection of more precise and effective therapeutic approaches and aiding in the prediction of treatment response and prognosis to a certain extent., (© 2024 The Author(s). The Journal of Pathology: Clinical Research published by The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
- Published
- 2024
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