- Affara, Nesrine I;
- Ruffell, Brian;
- Medler, Terry R;
- Gunderson, Andrew J;
- Johansson, Magnus;
- Bornstein, Sophia;
- Bergsland, Emily;
- Steinhoff, Martin;
- Li, Yijin;
- Gong, Qian;
- Ma, Yan;
- Wiesen, Jane F;
- Wong, Melissa H;
- Kulesz-Martin, Molly;
- Irving, Bryan;
- Coussens, Lisa M
B cells foster squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) development through deposition of immunoglobulin-containing immune complexes in premalignant tissue and Fcγ receptor-dependent activation of myeloid cells. Because human SCCs of the vulva and head and neck exhibited hallmarks of B cell infiltration, we examined B cell-deficient mice and found reduced support for SCC growth. Although ineffective as a single agent, treatment of mice bearing preexisting SCCs with B cell-depleting αCD20 monoclonal antibodies improved response to platinum- and Taxol-based chemotherapy. Improved chemoresponsiveness was dependent on altered chemokine expression by macrophages that promoted tumor infiltration of activated CD8(+) lymphocytes via CCR5-dependent mechanisms. These data reveal that B cells, and the downstream myeloid-based pathways they regulate, represent tractable targets for anticancer therapy in select tumors.