Abstract
Immune infiltrates have been increasingly recognized as robust prognostic factors for human cancer. Here, we developed and validated a seven-immune-feature-based prognostic score (7IFBPS) for patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) after curative resection. Fourteen immune features regarding detailed locations and densities of seven types of tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIIs) were characterized in clinical samples from 269 eligible patients in three independent cohorts by immunohistochemistry coupled with digital quantitation. Optimal cutoff values for individual immune features were yielded using X-tile software. The 7IFBPS was constructed by Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression model in training cohort and verified in testing, validation and combined cohorts. Concordance index (C-index), receiver operating characteristics and calibration curves were employed to define the performance of 7IFBPS in prognostic prediction. High CD3 IM (invasive margin), CD3 CT (center of tumor), CD8 CT, CD45RO IM, CD45RO CT, FOXP3 IM and FOXP3 CT significantly associated with improved survival. The 7IFBPS score was calculated using the formula: 1.041 × CD3 IM + 1.24 × CD3 CT + 1.701 × CD8 CT + 1.127 × CD45RO IM + 1.348 × CD45RO CT + 1.089 × FOXP3 IM + 1.483 FOXP3 CT. High 7IFBPS significantly associated with improved survival in all cohorts and served as an independent prognostic predictor. The C-index of 7IFBPS for predicting survival was 0.668 (95% CI, 0.609-0.726). Calibration curves for survival probability showed good agreement between prediction by 7IFBPS and actual observation. Collectively, our findings established the 7IFBPS as a novel powerful prognostic classifier for resectable OSCC. It holds potentials to be incorporated into current prognostic regime to better patient stratification.