Analysis of Serum Levels of Tumor Necrosis Factor Superfamily Member 4 (OX40L) in Naïve Patients of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Aliya I. Sani, Zil A. Rubab, Shumaila Usman, Syed Zaryab Ahmed, Mervyn Hosein, Syeda Tehreem Kanwal

Abstract

Oral squamous cell carcinoma is one of the most common cancers in Pakistan, with a dismal prognosis despite the availability of multiple treatment modalities. Newer therapeutics areas are being explored to target advanced and metastatic tumors, and immunotherapy is one of them. Therapeutic agents based on the costimulatory immune molecules OX40 ("Tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 4") and OX40L ("Tumor necrosis factor superfamily member") are studied in clinical trials for various cancers. However, scarce literature is available on the expression of OX40L in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), and no data is available on its serum levels in naïve OSCC patients. Therefore, it is important to explore these molecules to enhance the basic level of knowledge and aid in the better utilization of these future therapeutic agents. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to measure serum levels of OX40L in newly diagnosed OSCC patients who have not undergone any prior treatment. After informed consent, blood was taken under aseptic conditions from 10 healthy individuals and 78 newly diagnosed OSCC patients. Serum was separated, and its levels were measured via ELISA. The analysis of data was performed by using SPSS version 25. The median serum levels of OX40L in controls were 220.9 (68.15) pg/ml, while in cases, it was 196.85 (107.75) pg/ml (p = 0.161). OX40L serum levels in well-differentiated tumors were 173.50 (68.15) pg/ml, moderately differentiated tumors showed 204.90 (90.30) pg/ml, and poorly differentiated tumors showed serum levels of 273.90 pg/ml (p = 0.201). Serum OX40L levels in early-stage (Stage I and Stage II) and late-stage (Stage III and Stage IV) were 208.25 (114.9) pg/ml and 194.5 (111.2) pg/ml, respectively (p = 0.143). The serum OX40L levels were insignificantly related to age, gender, habits, tumor sites, clinical staging, and histological grading. It is the first study that evaluated serum OX40L levels in naïve OSCC patients providing a baseline for future studies.

 

Keywords: OX40L, OX40 ligand, immunotherapy, oral squamous cell carcinoma.

 


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