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Human papilloma virus status of penile squamous cell carcinoma is associated with differences in tumour-infiltrating T lymphocytes

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Abstract

Meta-analyses show that approximately half of all squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) of the penis are associated with a human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. As data about the tumour microenvironment of HPV-positive and HPV-negative penile carcinomas is scarce and conflicting, we examined tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte populations in such cases. The HPV status of 28 penile SCCs was determined by polymerase chain reaction, while the number and distribution of different lymphocyte populations were analysed by immunohistochemistry on whole sections of paraffin-embedded tumour specimens. The average number of tumour-infiltrating T cells in HPV-associated SCC was higher than in HPV-negative SCC, and their phenotype showed strong polarization towards a T helper 1 and cytotoxic immune response. In addition, we identified more tumour-infiltrating regulatory T cells in HPV-positive carcinomas, which might represent a mechanism of immune evasion. The present study provides further evidence that the tumour microenvironment of HPV-positive carcinomas differs from that of HPV-negative carcinomas.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank F. Gocht, V. Arnemann and U. Schiller for their excellent technical assistance.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Pathology, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany

    Philipp Lohneis, Sengül Boral, Annika Lehmann, Christiane Schewe, Manfred Dietel, Ioannis Anagnostopoulos & Korinna Jöhrens

  2. Clinic for Gynecology, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany

    Andreas M. Kaufmann

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  1. Philipp Lohneis
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Lohneis, P., Boral, S., Kaufmann, A.M. et al. Human papilloma virus status of penile squamous cell carcinoma is associated with differences in tumour-infiltrating T lymphocytes. Virchows Arch 466, 323–331 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-014-1713-4

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