Skip to main content

Inflammatory cells as prognostic markers

Analysis of tissue sections

The most common way to evaluate tissue sections is to count the number of specifically stained cells and to relate the cells to the area or to the number of existing tumor cells. In addition to this procedure, we have also taken the spatial distribution into account. We investigate whether the cells are randomly distributed, or whether they deviate from a random distribution, e.g. due to cell clusters. In addition, we use double staining to examine the distances between different cell types and can thus determine the interactions between the cell types. Using both methods, we believe that we can determine the functional activity and make statements about how the tumor has suppressed an immune response.

Image analysis

For the analysis of immunohistochemically stained tissue sections we usually use double staining, e.g. cytotoxic T cells (CD8+) and regulatory T cells (FoxP3+). The entire sections are then scanned and analysed with the image analysis system Biomas, which we have developed. This enables the automatic recognition of the epithelial and stromal parts of the tumor as well as the semi-automatic recognition of the inflammatory cells. The position of the different cells in relation to each other is also calculated in this system.

Publications on the topic:

Veröffentlichungen
Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation: Macrophage Polarisation Shift Classification Identifies High-Risk Tumours in Early Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer (2020) Sören Schnellhardt, Ramona Erber, Maike Büttner-Herold, Marie-Charlotte Rosahl, Oliver J. Ott, Vratislav Strnad, Matthias W. Beckmann, Lillian King, Arndt Hartmann, Rainer Fietkau and Luitpold Distel. Cancers, 12, 446; doi:10.3390/cancers12020446
Regulatory T cells and cytotoxic T cells close to the epithelial–stromal interface are associated with a favorable prognosis (2020) Julian Rudolf, Maike Büttner-Herold, Katharina Erlenbach-Wünsch, Rebecca Posselt, Jonas Jessberger, Marlen Haderlein, Markus Hecht, Arndt Hartmann, Rainer Fietkau, and Luitpold Distel ONCOIMMUNOLOGY 9, e1746149 doi.org/10.1080/2162402X.2020.1746149
Cytotoxic and immunosuppressive inflammatory cells predict regression and prognosis following neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy of oesophageal adenocarcinoma (2020) Holger H. Göbel, Maike J. Büttner-Herold, Nicole Fuhrich, Thomas Aigner, Gerhard G. Grabenbauer, Luitpold V.R. Distel. Radiotherapy and Oncology 146 (2020) 151–160; 10.1016/j.radonc.2020.02.003
CD8+ and Regulatory T cells Differentiate Tumor Immune Phenotypes and Predict Survival in Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer (2019) Alessia Echarti, Markus Hecht, Maike Büttner-Herold, Marlen Haderlein, Arndt Hartmann, Rainer Fietkau and Luitpold Distel. Cancers 11, 1398; 10.3390/cancers11091398
Combination of growth pattern and tumor regression identifies a high-risk group in neoadjuvant treated rectal cancer patients (2017) Jonas Jessberger, Erlenbach-Wünsch, Rebecca Posselt, Haderlein M, Agaimy A, Fietkau R, Hartmann A, Distel L. J Dig Dis. 18, 283-291.
Spatial distribution of FoxP3+ and CD8+ tumour infiltrating T cells reflects their functional activity (2016) Rebecca Posselt, Katharina Erlenbach-Wünsch, Matthias Haas, Jonas Jeßberger, Maike Büttner-Herold, Marlen Haderlein, Markus Hecht, Arndt Hartmann, Rainer Fietkau, Luitpold Distel 10.18632/oncotarget.11039
Cell-to-cell distances between tumour infiltrating inflammatory cells have the potential to distinguish functionally active from suppressed inflammatory cells (2016) S. Nagl, M. Haas, G. Lahmer, M. Büttner-Herold, G. G. Grabenbauer, R. Fietkau; L. V. Distel Oncoimmunology 5
PD-L1 is upregulated by radiochemotherapy in rectal adenocarcinoma patients and associated with a favourable prognosis. (2016) Markus Hecht, Büttner-Herold M, Erlenbach-Wünsch K, Haderlein M, Croner R, Grützmann R, Hartmann A, Fietkau R, Distel LV. Eur J Cancer. 65 52-60
CD163+ M2c-like macrophages predominate in renal biopsies from patients with lupus nephritis. (2016) Olmes G, Büttner-Herold M, Ferrazzi F, Distel L, Amann K, Daniel C. Arthritis Res Ther. 18 90
Critical role of spatial interaction between CD8+ and Foxp3+ cells in human gastric cancer: the distance matters (2014) Anita Feichtenbeiner, Matthias Haas, Maike Büttner, Gerhard G. Grabenbauer, Rainer Fietkau, Luitpold V. Distel Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy 63 111–119