AUTHOR=Xu Qing-Qing , Li Qing-Jie , Huang Cheng-Long , Cai Mu-Yan , Zhang Mei-Fang , Yin Shao-Han , Lu Li-Xia , Chen Lei 

TITLE=Prognostic Value of an Immunohistochemical Signature in Patients With Head and Neck Mucosal Melanoma

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.708293

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2021.708293

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=Purpose: We aimed to develop a prognostic immunohistochemistry (IHC) signature for patients with head and neck mucosal melanoma (MMHN).
Methods: In total, 190 patients with nonmetastatic MMHN with complete clinical and pathological data before treatment were included in our retrospective study.
Results: We extracted five IHC markers associated with overall survival (OS) and then constructed a signature in the training set (n=116) with the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression model. The validation set (n=74) was further built to confirm the prognostic significance of this classifier. We then divided patients into high- and low-risk groups according to the IHC score. In the training set, the 5-year OS rate was 22.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 11.2%- 43.2%) for the high-risk group and 54.1% (95% CI: 41.8%-69.9%) for the low-risk group (P<0.001), and in the validation set, the 5-year OS rate was 38.1% (95% CI: 17.9%-81.1%) for the high-risk group and 43.1% (95% CI: 30.0%-61.9%) for the low-risk group (P=0.26). Multivariable analysis revealed that IHC score, T stage, and primary tumor site were independent variables for predicting OS (all P＜0.05). We developed a nomogram incorporating clinicopathological risk factors (primary site and T stage) and the IHC score to predict 3-, 5-, and 10-year OS.
Conclusions: A nomogram was generated and confirmed to be of clinical value. Our IHC classifier integrating five IHC markers could help clinicians make decisions and determine optimal treatments for patients with MMHN.