Mobilization with cyclophosphamide reduces the number of lymphocyte subpopulations in the leukapheresis product and delays their reconstitution after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with multiple myeloma

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is considered the standard of care for younger patients with multiple myeloma. Several mobilization regimens are currently used, most commonly growth factors alone or in combination with chemotherapy. The aim of our study was to investigate the differences in lymphocyte subpopulation counts between three different mobilization regimens on collection day, in the leukapheresis product and on day 15 after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Validation and characterisation of prognostically significant PD-L1+ immune cells in HPV+ oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

We previously showed in human papillomavirus positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPV+OPSCC) that the presence of intratumoral (IT) PD-L1 immune cells (ICs) or CD8 infiltrating ICs are of prognostic value. Here we report the prognostic significance of these immune biomarkers in an independent validation cohort of 177 HPV+OPSCC patients. IT and stromal (S) localisation of PD-L1 and CD8 ICs were scored. High abundance (≥5%) of PD-L1 IT ICs was found in 51/167 patients (30.5%) and was associated with improved overall survival (OS) (HR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.05–0.91; P = 0. 012) validating our previous results. High abundance (≥30%) of CD8 IT or S ICs, found in 77/167 patients (46.1%) provided a HR of 0.45 for OS however the confidence interval was wide (95% CI 0.16–1.25, p = 0.105). Multiplex immunohistochemistry revealed CD68 macrophages and CD3CD8 T cells to be the most common ICs expressing PD-L1. Gene expression analysis showed tumors with high abundance of PD-L1 IT ICs exhibit gene signatures associated with responses to PD1 or PD-L1 inhibitors pembrolizumab and atezolizumab. These data support the role of immune biomarkers such as PD-L1 ICs to identify subgroups of HPV+OPSCC patients with an excellent outcome that may be suitable for trials evaluating de-intensification of therapy