Expansion of Candidate HPV-Specific T Cells in the Tumor Microenvironment during Chemoradiotherapy Is Prognostic in HPV16
+ Cancers.
Cancer Immunol Res 2022;
10:259-271. [PMID:
35045973 DOI:
10.1158/2326-6066.cir-21-0119]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection causes 600,000 new cancers worldwide each year. HPV-related cancers express the oncogenic proteins E6 and E7, which could serve as tumor-specific antigens. It is not known whether immunity to E6 and E7 evolves during chemoradiotherapy or affects survival. Using T cells from 2 HPV16+ patients, we conducted functional T-cell assays to identify candidate HPV-specific T cells and common T-cell receptor motifs, which we then analyzed across 86 patients with HPV-related cancers. The HPV-specific clones and E7-related T-cell receptor motifs expanded in the tumor microenvironment over the course of treatment, whereas non-HPV-specific T cells did not. In HPV16+ patients, improved recurrence-free survival was associated with HPV-responsive T-cell expansion during chemoradiotherapy.
Collapse