Tumor Immune Microenvironment Landscape in Glioma Identifies a Prognostic and Immunotherapeutic Signature

The tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) has been recognized to be associated with sensitivity to immunotherapy and patient prognosis. Recent research demonstrates that assessing the TIME patterns on large-scale samples will expand insights into TIME and will provide guidance to formulate immunotherapy strategies for tumors. However, until now, thorough research has not yet been reported on the immune infiltration landscape of glioma. Herein, the CIBERSORT algorithm was used to unveil the TIME landscape of 1,975 glioma observations. Three TIME subtypes were established, and the TIMEscore was calculated by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO)-Cox analysis. The high TIMEscore was distinguished by an elevated tumor mutation burden (TMB) and activation of immune-related biological process, such as IL6-JAK-STAT3 signaling and interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) response, which may demonstrate that the patients with high TIMEscore were more sensitive to immunotherapy. Multivariate analysis revealed that the TIMEscore could strongly and independently predict the prognosis of gliomas [Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) cohort: hazard ratio (HR): 2.134, p < 0.001; Gravendeel cohort: HR: 1.872, p < 0.001; Kamoun cohort: HR: 1.705, p < 0.001; The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort: HR: 2.033, p < 0.001; the combined cohort: HR: 1.626, p < 0.001], and survival advantage was evident among those who received chemotherapy. Finally, we validated the performance of the signature in human tissues from Wuhan University (WHU) dataset (HR: 15.090, p = 0.008). Our research suggested that the TIMEscore could be applied as an effective predictor for adjuvant therapy and prognosis assessment.

Automated summary

Analyzing the tumor immune microenvironment of gliomas can predict the sensitivity to immunotherapy and patient prognosis. Higher TIMEscores were associated with increased tumor mutation burden and activation of immune-related biological processes, indicating potential sensitivity to immunotherapy. The TIMEscore was found to be a strong independent predictor of glioma prognosis and could guide adjuvant therapy decisions.