S100-positive dendritic cells in squamous cell laryngeal cancer

Dendritic cells (DC) are the most potent antigen-presenting cells, and induce antigen-specific immune responses. DC are believed to evolve into tumor-antigen pulsed cells and then to migrate to local lymph nodes, where they activate anti-tumor immune responses. This theory is supported by studies showing that high DC densities are associated with favorable prognosis in some tumor types. In the present study, we evaluated 40 primary and metastatic laryngeal carcinomas for the presence of DC, using immunohistochemistry with the anti-S100 protein antibody. We analyzed the relationship between the degree of infiltration by S100-positive (S100+) DC and prognostic factors, including histological subtype, histological grade, peritumor inflammatory infiltration, and stromal desmoplasia. The results show that in all evaluated laryngeal cancers S100-positive cells were significantly more frequent in the tumor stroma. Primary tumors with nodal metastases showed more significant differences in intraepithelial and stromal DC distribution than tumors without nodal metastases. A significant higher S100+ DC was also noticed in the desmoplasic stroma of lymph nodes. The subtype with keratinization had a significant higher S100-positive cells infiltration than the adenoid/transitional subtype. The infiltration rate of intraepithelial S100+ DC was much higher in well-differentiated (G1) tumors. No significant correlation between S100-positive cells and peritumoral inflammatory infiltration and stromal desmoplasia was found. In conclusion, dendritic cells need multiple, much more complex investigations. This work should be regarded as a preliminary investigation.