PERITUMORAL CD1A-POSITIVE DENDRITIC CELLS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED SURVIVAL IN PATIENTS WITH TONGUE CARCINOMA

Objectives: To determine if survival and recurrence rates for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue correlate with the degree of dendritic cell (DC) infiltration of the primary tumor or adjacent t ongue tissue and if there is an association between tumor or nodal sta ge and DC infiltration. Design: Hospital and office medical records we re reviewed to obtain 5-year follow-up data. Original pathology specim ens were recur and stained for the cell surface markers S100 and CD1a. The number of DCs present in the specimens was quantified microscopic ally and compared statistically with patient outcome and staging. Sett ing: A university hospital. Patients: All patients who underwent resec tion of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue from January 1, 1987, through December 31, 1990, for whom 5-year follow-up data and or iginal pathology specimens were available (N=43). Main Outcome Measure s: Time to recurrence, death, or both. Results: Patients who had great er numbers of CD1a positive DCs adjacent to tumor had improved surviva l (P = .02) and decreased recurrence rates (P = .06). The other subpop ulations of DCs examined were not associated with survival or recurren ce. In addition, the number of CD1a-positive DCs in peritumoral epithe lium decreased as the tumor stage increased (P = .01) and if nodal met astases were present (P = .05). Conclusions: Dendritic cells are antig en-presenting cells that are thought to play a major role in the antit umor immune response. The CD1a surface antigen has been shown to media te T-cell interactions. The association between CD1a-positive peritumo ral DCs and patient outcome suggests an important function for this ce ll population.