Effects of Tobacco Smoking on the Tumor Immune Microenvironment in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.
Janis V de la IglesiaRobbert J C SlebosLaura Martin-GomezXuefeng WangJamie K TeerAik Choon TanTravis A GerkeGarrick Aden-BuieTessa van VeenJude MasannatRitu ChaudharyFeifei SongMichelle FournierErin M SiegelMatthew B SchabathJ Trad WadsworthJimmy CaudellLouis HarrisonBruce M WenigJose Conejo-GarciaJuan C Hernandez-PreraChristine H ChungPublished in: Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (2019)
These results suggest active tobacco use in HNSCC has an immunosuppressive effect through inhibition of tumor infiltration of cytotoxic T cells, likely as a result of suppression of IFN response pathways. Our study highlights the importance of understanding the interaction between smoking and TIM in light of emerging immune modulators for cancer management.