Cell genomics and immunosuppressive biomarker expression influence PD-L1 immunotherapy treatment responses in HNSCC—a computational study

Objectives Programmed death–ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression is correlated with objective response rates to PD-1 and PD-L1 immunotherapies. However, both immunotherapies have only demonstrated 12%-24.8% objective response rates in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), demonstrating a need for a more accurate method to identify those who will respond before their therapy. Immunohistochemistry to detect PD-L1 reactivity in tumors can be challenging, and additional methods are needed to predict and confirm PD-L1 expression. Here, we hypothesized that HNSCC tumor cell genomics influences cell signaling and downstream effects on immunosuppressive biomarkers and that these profiles can predict patient clinical responses. Study Design We identified deleterious gene mutations in SCC4, SCC15, and SCC25 and created cell line–specific predictive computational simulation models. The expression of 24 immunosuppressive biomarkers were then predicted and used to sort cell lines into those that would respond to PD-L1 immunotherapy and those that would not. Results SCC15 and SCC25 were identified as cell lines that would respond to PD-L1 immunotherapy treatment and SCC4 was identified as a cell line that would not likely respond to PD-L1 immunotherapy treatment. Conclusions This approach, when applied to HNSCC cells, has the ability to predict PD-L1 expression and predict PD-1- or PD-L1-targeted treatment responses in these patients.