Independent validation of tumour volume, cancer stem cell markers and hypoxia-associated gene expressions for HNSCC after primary radiochemotherapy

Objective: To independently validate the impact of tumour volume, p16 status, cancer stem cell (CSC) marker expression and hypoxia-associated gene signatures as potential prognostic biomarkers for patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), who underwent primary radiotherapy or radiochemotherapy (RCTx). These markers have previously been reported in a study of the German Cancer Consortium Radiation Oncology Group (DKTK-ROG) (Linge et al., 2016).
Materials and methods: In this retrospective monocentric study, 92 patients with locally advanced HNSCC were included. Univariable and multivariable logistic regressions and Cox models presented in the study of the DKTK-ROG were validated using the area under the curve (AUC) and the concordance index (ci), respectively. The primary endpoint of this study was loco-regional tumour control (LRC) after primary RCTx.
Results: Although both cohorts significantly differed in the proportion of the tumour subsites, the parameters tumour volume, p16 status and N stage could be validated regarding LRC and overall survival (OS) using multivariable Cox regression (LRC ci: 0.59, OS ci: 0.63). These models were slightly improved by combination with the putative CSC marker CD44 (LRC ci: 0.61, OS ci: 0.69). The logistic regression model for 2-year LRC based on tumour volume, p16 status and CD44 protein was validated with an AUC of 0.64. The patient stratification based on hypoxia-associated gene signatures status was similar to the original study but without significant differences in LRC and OS.
Conclusions: In this validation study, the inclusion of the putative CSC marker CD44 slightly improved the prognostic performance of the baseline parameters tumour volume, p16 status and N stage. No improvement was observed when including expressions of the hypoxia-associated gene signatures. Prospective validation on a larger cohort is warranted to assess the clinical relevance of these markers.