Multi-omic characterization of nasopharyngeal carcinoma delineates the subtype-specific landscape of response to induction chemotherapy.

Abstract

Gemcitabine and cisplatin (GP) serve as first-line induction chemotherapy (IC) for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), yet predictive markers are lacking. Here we performed multi-omics profiling, including proteomics, phosphoproteomics, genomics and transcriptomics, on 240 patients with NPC who were receiving GP-IC or concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) alone. Through multi-omic integration, we identified three proteomic subtypes with distinct therapeutic vulnerabilities. The S1 subtype showed a predominant interferon-γ response and had favorable outcomes with CCRT alone. The S2 subtype featured copy-number-driven cell cycle activation, deriving benefits from GP-IC. The immune-exhausted S3 subtype exhibited high IgA⁺ plasma cell infiltration and was resistant to GP-IC but responded to anti-PD-1 therapy. Single-cell RNA sequencing confirmed interaction between IgA⁺ plasma cells and CD8⁺ T cells in nonresponders. Validation from three phase III trials and spatial analyses demonstrated that high IgA⁺ plasma cell infiltration predicted GP-IC resistance but benefited from anti-PD-1 therapy. This study delineates a subtype-specific landscape of GP-IC response and may inform personalized treatment in NPC.