Mutually Exclusive Expression of COL11A1 by CAFs and Tumour Cells in a Large panCancer and a Salivary Gland Carcinoma Cohort

We report that colon, breast and salivary duct carcinomas are highly infiltrated byCOL11A1 positive CAFs (CAFsCOL11A1) and might thus be promising candidates for antidesmoplastic orCOL11A1-targeted therapies. The amount of CAFsCOL11A1 correlated significantly with tumour grade, tumour stage and nodal spread in the panCancer cohort. Significant associations between CAFsCOL11A1 and vascular invasion, perineural spread and nodal spread were observed in the SGC cohort. Also, we discovered that tumour cells of intercalated duct derived SGC and CAFs produceCOL11A1 in a mutually exclusive manner. Our findings represent a novel mode of extracellular matrix production in carcinomas and could be highly relevant in the future. Our findings elucidate the mode ofCOL11A1 expression in very different carcinoma types and may aid to categorise tumours in the setting of possible futureCOL11A1-related therapies.
Source: Head and Neck Pathology - Category: Pathology Source Type: research