Penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) is an aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) can support antitumour immunity, yet TLS maturation and maturation-associated stromal determinants in PSCC remain unclear. Here, we integrated hematoxylin and eosin (H mIHC further confirmed dense CCL21+ACTA2+ CAFs near CD20+ aggregates. Along an inferred iTLS-to-mTLS continuum, the abundance of CCL21+ CAFs increased, and the expression of chemokines increased. Spatial and transcriptomic analyses further linked B-cell chemotaxis- and activation-related signatures to the CCL21-CCR7 axis, accompanied by germinal centre-like B-cell features. Clinically, higher CCL21 expression, elevated CCL21+ CAF signature scores, and stronger CCL21-CCR7 signatures in B cells were associated with favourable outcomes. Together, these data suggest that CCL21+ CAFs or CCL21 are potential prognostic biomarkers for risk stratification and immune microenvironment profiling and highlight the CCL21-CCR7 axis as a candidate pathway for therapeutic modulation of TLS maturity in PSCC.
Li et al. (2026) studied this question.