# Infiltrating B-cell subtypes and associated hub genes in nasopharyngeal carcinoma identified from integrated single-cell, bulk RNA-sequencing, and immunohistochemical data

## TL;DR

This study shows that B cells, especially naïve B cells, are important in predicting outcomes for nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients.

## Contribution

The study identifies specific B-cell subtypes and their hub genes in NPC using integrated multi-omics data.

## Key findings

- High CD20+ B-cell density correlates with better survival outcomes in NPC patients.
- Naïve B cells are the most prevalent and prognostically significant B-cell subtype in NPC.
- Hub genes associated with B-cell infiltration are linked to immune pathways and T/B cell markers.

## Abstract

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is associated with lymphocyte infiltration; however, the majority of research on NPC has focused on the role of T cells, with relatively little known about the roles of B cells and their subtypes. Therefore, we evaluated the prognostic value of CD20 + B cell density and B-cell subtypes along with their functional enrichment and hub genes in NPC.

The prognostic value of CD20 + B-cell density for distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), overall survival (OS), and progression-free survival (PFS) was explored by immunohistochemistry using multivariate analysis. Transcriptomic expression data from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets were analyzed to identify B-cell subtypes and their functional enrichment in NPC tissues. Pseudotime trajectory analysis was performed to evaluate the B-cell differentiation trajectory and hub genes were identified using Cytoscape software.

Patients with NPC exhibiting a high infiltrating density of CD20+ B cells showed significantly better 5-year DMFS, OS, and PFS compared to those of patients with a low infiltrating density. Naïve B cells, switched memory B cells, exhausted B cells, and plasma cells were identified as key B-cell subtypes infiltrating NPC tumors, with naïve B cells showing the highest infiltration levels associated with a better prognosis. Naïve B cells were closely associated with immune pathways and the hub genes were typical markers for T and B cells.

A high infiltrating density of B cells showed strong prognostic value in patients with NPC. Naïve B cells may play an important role in tumor immunity for NPC.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s41065-025-00414-7.