Host’s immune response to primary tumours and concomitant brain metastases in the central nervous system

Alexandra Papadaki; George Zarkavelis; Melina Yerolatsite; Nanteznta Torounidou; Anna-Lea Amylidi; Antonia Charchanti; Davide Mauri; Anna Batistatou; Anna Gousia

doi:10.5114/wo.2026.159847

eISSN: 1897-4309
ISSN: 1428-2526

Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia

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1/2026
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abstract:

Original paper

Host’s immune response to primary tumours and concomitant brain metastases in the central nervous system

Alexandra Papadaki

^{1, 2}

,

George Zarkavelis

^{1, 2}

,

Melina Yerolatsite

,

Nanteznta Torounidou

¹

,

Anna-Lea Amylidi

¹

,

Antonia V Charchanti

³

,

Davide Mauri

¹

,

Anna Batistatou

⁴

,

Anna Gousia

⁴

Department of Medical Oncology, University Hospital of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
Society for Study of Clonal Heterogeneity of Neoplasia (EMEKEN), Ioannina, Greece
Department of Anatomy-Histology-Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
Department of Pathology, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece

Contemp Oncol (Pozn) 2026; 30 (1): 23–32

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/wo.2026.159847

Online publish date: 2026/03/10

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AMA

Papadaki A, Zarkavelis G, Yerolatsite M, et al. Host’s immune response to primary tumours and concomitant brain metastases in the central nervous system. Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia. 2026;30(1):23-32. doi:10.5114/wo.2026.159847.

APA

Papadaki, A., Zarkavelis, G., Yerolatsite, M., Torounidou, N., Amylidi, A.,  & Charchanti, A. V. et al. (2026). Host’s immune response to primary tumours and concomitant brain metastases in the central nervous system. Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia, 30(1), 23-32. https://doi.org/10.5114/wo.2026.159847

Chicago

Papadaki, Alexandra, George Zarkavelis, Melina Yerolatsite, Nanteznta Torounidou, Anna-Lea Amylidi, Antonia V Charchanti,  and Davide Mauri et al. 2026. "Host’s immune response to primary tumours and concomitant brain metastases in the central nervous system". Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia 30 (1): 23-32. doi:10.5114/wo.2026.159847.

Harvard

Papadaki, A., Zarkavelis, G., Yerolatsite, M., Torounidou, N., Amylidi, A., Charchanti, A., Mauri, D., Batistatou, A.,  and Gousia, A. (2026). Host’s immune response to primary tumours and concomitant brain metastases in the central nervous system. Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia, 30(1), pp.23-32. https://doi.org/10.5114/wo.2026.159847

MLA

Papadaki, Alexandra et al. "Host’s immune response to primary tumours and concomitant brain metastases in the central nervous system." Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia, vol. 30, no. 1, 2026, pp. 23-32. doi:10.5114/wo.2026.159847.

Vancouver

Papadaki A, Zarkavelis G, Yerolatsite M, Torounidou N, Amylidi A, Charchanti A et al. Host’s immune response to primary tumours and concomitant brain metastases in the central nervous system. Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia. 2026;30(1):23-32. doi:10.5114/wo.2026.159847.

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Introduction
Brain metastases from solid tumours are the most common intracranial neoplasms and significantly impact patients’ quality of life and overall survival (OS). Despite advances in oncological therapies, these patients have often been excluded from clinical trials, limiting our understanding of the efficacy of new treatments, such as immunotherapy, in this population. Investigating the tumour microenvironment (TME) of brain metastases is challenging, particularly in determining whether immunotherapy is effective for these lesions. The aim of this study is to investigate the host’s immune response to primary tumours and concomitant brain metastases in the central nervous system from various malignancies.

Material and methods
A retrospective study was conducted to examine tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) and the expression of programmed cell death 1 and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) in tissue samples from 72 patients with predominant solid tumours and synchronous or metachronous brain metastases. Correlations with different parameters were analysed to evaluate the prognosis of these patients.

Results
All metastatic tumour samples exhibited decreased intraepithelial CD3 and CD8 levels compared to primary tumours, with variable FOXP3 levels and no consistent difference in PD-L1 levels in tumour cells. Programmed death ligand 1 expression in immune cells was generally lower in metastatic lesions compared to primary tumours. The median OS from diagnosis (OS1) was 19.1 months (95% CI: 13.6–35.1), and the median OS from the diagnosis of brain metastases (OS2) was 11.35 months.

Conclusions
The brain TME demonstrates varying levels of TIL and immune checkpoint expression, highlighting the need for further research to develop effective therapies for intracranial metastases.

keywords:

brain metastasis, central nervous system (CNS), tumour microenvironment (TME), tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL), PD-1, PD-L1, overall survival (OS), quality of life (QoL)

Host’s immune response to primary tumours and concomitant brain metastases in the central nervous system

Alexandra Papadaki 1, 2 , George Zarkavelis 1, 2 , Melina Yerolatsite , Nanteznta Torounidou 1 , Anna-Lea Amylidi 1 , Antonia V Charchanti 3 , Davide Mauri 1 , Anna Batistatou 4 , Anna Gousia 4

brain metastasis, central nervous system (CNS), tumour microenvironment (TME), tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL), PD-1, PD-L1, overall survival (OS), quality of life (QoL)

Alexandra Papadaki

^{1, 2}

,

George Zarkavelis

^{1, 2}

,

Melina Yerolatsite

,

Nanteznta Torounidou

¹

,

Anna-Lea Amylidi

¹

,

Antonia V Charchanti

³

,

Davide Mauri

¹

,

Anna Batistatou

⁴

,

Anna Gousia

⁴