Abstract 647: CXCL17 as a prognostic biomarker for aggressive cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma

Cutaneous squamous cell cancer (cSCC) is one of the most rapidly increasing cancers in the USA, striking 200,000 Americans annually. cSCC is most often observed in the sun-exposed areas such as the head and neck region. Although most patients have an improved prognosis after surgical treatment, a subset carries an increased risk of local recurrence, nodal metastasis, and disease-specific death. CXCL17 (C-X-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 17) is the latest chemokine family member, and our preliminary studies identified a causative role of CXCL17 in skin tumorigenesis. Accordingly, we aimed to investigate the correlation between CXCL17 and clinicopathological factors associated with recurrence, metastasis, and disease-specific death in cSCC. A retrospective chart review was conducted to identify patients with cSCC at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport (LSUHSC-S) and Overton Brooks Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Tissue samples were immunostained for human CXCL17/VCC-1. Risk factors such as the depth of invasion, perineural invasion, tumor diameter, location, and differentiation were obtained from chart review/clinical databases and correlated with the expression of CXCL17. Among 42 subjects included in the analysis, the Histo-score of CXCL17 expression in cytoplasm and nucleus was higher in the malignant group compared to the normal skin group (p=0.01 and p=0.03, respectively). Interestingly, the Histo-score of CXCL17 expression was associated with perineural invasion (p=0.01) suggesting a role for CXCL17 in disease aggressiveness. Our results indicate a positive correlation between CXCL17 and cSCC aggressiveness. Increased expression of CXCL17 was associated with perineural invasion, a principal risk factor for recurrence, metastasis, and disease-specific death in cSCC patients. These results suggest that CXCL17 plays a role as a prognostic marker and warrants further exploration as a potential target for treatment in aggressive cSCC. Citation Format: Janmaris Marin Fermin, Maksudul MD Alam, Xin Gu, Ameya Asarkar, Cherie-Ann Nathan, Alok R. Khandelwal. CXCL17 as a prognostic biomarker for aggressive cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 647.