Prognostic value of TIGIT in East Asian patients with solid cancers: A systematic review, meta-analysis and pancancer analysis

Sicong Li; Lanxing Li; Tianyan Pan; Xiaoqun Li; Yujia Tong; Yongdong Jin

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2022.977016

Prognostic value of TIGIT in East Asian patients with solid cancers: A systematic review, meta-analysis and pancancer analysis

Front Immunol. 2022 Sep 21:13:977016. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.977016. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Sicong Li¹, Lanxing Li², Tianyan Pan², Xiaoqun Li³, Yujia Tong⁴, Yongdong Jin⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Pharmacy, Peking University Health Science Centre, Beijing, China.
² School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
³ Center of Disease Prevention Treatment, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
⁴ Institute of Medical Information, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
⁵ Department of Medical Oncology, Sichuan Cancer Hospital and Institute, Sichuan Cancer Center, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.

Abstract

Background: T-cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains (TIGIT) participates in tumor immune escape by delivering inhibitory signals to T cells. The purpose of this article was to assess the prognostic value of TIGIT and its immunological function in solid cancers.

Methods: Three databases were searched for relevant articles. The main endpoints were overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and disease-free survival (DFS). Hazard ratios (HR) were pooled by using fixed-effects or random-effects models. Pancancer analysis of TIGIT was performed based on public online databases, mainly The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), and UCSC Xena. The possible relationships between TIGIT expression and the tumor microenvironment (TME), infiltration of immune cells, immune-related genes, tumor mutation burden (TMB), and microsatellite instability (MSI) were revealed in this article.

Results: Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria. High expression of TIGIT was associated with worse OS [HR= 1.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.50, 1.99], PFS (HR = 1.53, 95% CI [1.25, 1.88]), RFS (HR = 2.40, 95% CI [1.97, 2.93]), and DFS (HR= 6.57, 95% CI [0.73, 59.16]) in East Asian patients with solid cancers. TIGIT expression was positively correlated with immune infiltration scores and infiltration of CD8 T lymphocytes in all of the cancers included. TIGIT was found to be coexpressed with the genes encoding immunostimulators, immunoinhibitors, chemokines, chemokine receptors, and major histocompatibility complex (MHC), especially in gastroesophageal cancer. TMB and MSI were also associated with TIGIT upregulation in diverse kinds of cancers.

Conclusion: High expression of TIGIT is associated with poorer prognosis in East Asian patients with solid cancers. TIGIT is a novel prognostic biomarker and immunotherapeutic target for various solid cancers because of its activity in cancer immunity and tumorigenesis.

Keywords: TIGIT; meta-analysis; prognosis; solid cancer; systematic review.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Biomarkers, Tumor* / genetics
Biomarkers, Tumor* / metabolism
CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes
Carcinogenesis
Humans
Microsatellite Instability
Neoplasms* / genetics
Neoplasms* / immunology
Neoplasms* / metabolism
Prognosis
Receptors, Chemokine
Receptors, Immunologic* / genetics
Receptors, Immunologic* / metabolism
Tumor Microenvironment / genetics

Substances

Biomarkers, Tumor
Receptors, Chemokine
Receptors, Immunologic
TIGIT protein, human