Sinonasal mucosal melanoma (SNMM) is a rare aggressive malignancy that presents with dismal outcomes and a high metastatic propensity. The prognostic factors as well as therapeutic regimens remain largely unknown due to the rarity of SNMM. This study aimed to assess the characteristics of SNMM patients associated with a better prognosis.
Methods
We performed an observational cross-sectional study to investigate the prognostic significance of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and anti-programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) therapy in 12 SNNM patients who were diagnosed at our institution and treated with anti-PD-L1 from 2011 to 2021.
Results
Of the 12 cases, 5 (41.7%) patients displayed brisk TIL activity, while 7 patients (58.3%) had non-brisk TIL activity. The BRAF V600E mutation was not identified in any of the 12 cases by mutational analysis. The expression of PD-L1 was identified in 5 out of 10 SNMM cases (50%). Through analyzing the correlation between TILs and prognosis in 12 SNMM patients, we found that brisk TILs might be associated with a better prognosis compared with non-brisk TILs (p = 0.036).
Conclusions
Our study suggests that brisk TILs might serve as a potential prognostic factor in SNMM patients and that anti-PD-L1 therapy may be used as a potential therapeutic strategy in SNMM patients. Due to the limited number of patients included in the current study, further investigations regarding the prognostic significance of TILs and anti-PD-L1 therapy are warranted in prospective studies with a larger sample size.
https://www.xiahepublishing.com/2771-165X/JCTP-2023-00018
The study was recently published in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Pathology.
Journal of Clinical and Translational Pathology (JCTP) is the official scientific journal of the Chinese American Pathologists Association (CAPA). It publishes high quality peer-reviewed original research, reviews, perspectives, commentaries, and letters that are pertinent to clinical and translational pathology, including but not limited to anatomic pathology and clinical pathology. Basic scientific research on pathogenesis of diseases as well as application of pathology-related diagnostic techniques or methodologies also fit the scope of the JCTP.
