Figure 2 from Spatial Analysis of the Tumor Microenvironment in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma Reveals Clinically Relevant Cell Interactions and Recurrent Cellular Neighborhoods

Cellular interactions in DLBCL NOS estimated using a permutation test (1,000 permutations and using a radius of 20 µm) to define interacting cells. A, A heatmap depicting the attraction and avoidance of identified cell types in DLBCL NOS. The studied cell phenotypes are depicted on the y-axis, and the neighboring cell phenotypes on the x-axis. Red color means that the neighboring cell type is attracted to the studied cell type, and blue color that the neighboring cell type is avoiding the studied cell type. B, Unsupervised hierarchical clustering (Euclidean distance and Ward linkage) of different T cell–B cell interactions in lymphoma samples in patients with DLBCL NOS (n = 98). Interactions are depicted on the y-axis and patients on the x-axis. Red color indicates attraction and blue color indicates avoidance between the studied cell types. CD4+ T cell, CD8+ T cell, and B cell indicate cells not expressing PD-1 or PD-L1. One sample lacked interactions between T cells and B cells and was excluded from the analysis. C, Representative images from mIF-stained TMA cores in which B cells are attracted to as well as avoiding PD-1+ T cells, respectively. Scale bar, 50 µm. D and E, Kaplan–Meier (log-rank test) survival plots depict PFS (D) and OS (E) in R-CHOP–treated patients with DLBCL in whose lymphomas B cells are avoiding and attracted to PD-1+ T cells based on the clustering in (B). NA, not applicable; R-CHOP, rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone.