Multidimensional immune profiling uncovers biphasic peripheral T-cell dynamics after chemoradiation in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer.

Fiche publication

Date publication

décembre 2026

Journal

Oncoimmunology

Auteurs

Membres identifiés du Cancéropôle Est :
Pr ADOTEVI Olivier , Dr MIRJOLET Céline , Mme LAHEURTE Caroline , Dr VERNEREY Dewi , Dr VULQUIN Noémie , Dr BOUSTANI Jihane , Mr BOISSON Cyril , Mme MEURISSE Aurélia

Tous les auteurs :
Lecoester B, Xie Y, Sun X, Renaudin A, Ndao B, Boullerot L, Malfroy M, Arnier R, Boisson C, Laheurte C, Meurisse A, Chevalier C, Vulquin N, Thibouw D, Benhmida S, Pernot M, Vernerey D, Mirjolet C, Guo J, Boustani J, Adotevi O

Lien Pubmed

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/41749511

Résumé

Cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiation (CRT) remains the standard treatment for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LA-HNSCC), yet recurrence rates remain high. Attempts to combine immune checkpoint inhibitors with CRT have not improved outcomes, underscoring the need to better understand CRT-driven immunologic dynamics. Here, we performed longitudinal, multidimensional profiling of peripheral immunity in patients with LA-HNSCC at baseline (BSL), one month (CRT-1M), and three months (CRT-3M) after platinum-based CRT. CRT induced a transient reduction in tumor-reactive Th1 responses at CRT-1M, followed by marked expansion by CRT-3M. Consistently, genes involved in T-cell activation, polarization, and exhaustion exhibited a biphasic pattern with delayed upregulation at CRT-3M. Transcriptomic analyses of blood lymphocytes revealed an early shift from B-cell- to T-cell-mediated pathways over time during CRT. Integrated analyses including immunosuppressive cells and soluble mediators showed that the early decline in tumor-reactive T cells coincided with increased immunosuppressive cells, T-cell exhaustion, and elevated protumoral cytokines such as IL-8, IL-1β, and IL-10. In contrast, robust expansion of tumor-reactive T cells dominated the peripheral immune landscape at CRT-3M. Together, these data reveal the dynamic remodeling of peripheral immunity following platinum-based CRT and identify a delayed peripheral immune activation phase that may represent an optimal window for combining CRT with immune checkpoint blockade.