The number of intratumoral CD8+ and Foxp3+ T-lymphocytes, next to HLA class I (HLA-A, HLA-B/C and 尾2-m) and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) expression was determined by immunohistochemistry in a consecutively selected cohort of 286 vulvar squamous carcinoma patients, all treated in the University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands. Associations between immunohistochemistry expression and the influence on survival were determined.
The number of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T-lymphocytes was significantly lower in tumors with loss of HLA-A (p = 0.004), HLA-B/C (p = 0.024) or 尾2-m (p = 0.025) expression compared with tumors with expression of HLA class I. No association was found between the number of intratumoral CD8+ T-lymphocytes and Foxp3+ T-lymphocytes, HLA class I and IDO expression and survival of vulvar squamous carcinoma patients.
Our results indicate that the immune system does not seem to have a major influence on prognosis of patients with vulvar squamous carcinoma.