Journal: NPJ precision oncology
This study examined whether exhausted T cells can serve as a prognostic marker in high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC), a disease that typically does not respond well to immunotherapy.
Key points:
- Population: 80 patients with stage III/IV HGSC.
- Main variables:
- Homologous recombination (HR) deficiency vs proficiency.
- Degree of T-cell infiltration.
- Presence of terminally exhausted CD8+ and conventional CD4+ T cells.
- Findings:
- Overall T-cell infiltration was similar between HR-deficient and HR-proficient tumors.
- HR-deficient tumors were specifically enriched for terminally exhausted CD8+ and conventional CD4+ T cells.
- In HR-deficient tumors, higher levels of these exhausted T-cell subsets were associated with improved progression-free survival.
- Interpretation:
- Rather than simply representing dysfunctional cells, terminally exhausted T cells in this context appear to be a marker of chronic, tumor-specific immune activation and ongoing endogenous tumor control.
- Exhausted T cells may therefore function as a favorable prognostic biomarker even in solid tumors that are largely resistant to immune checkpoint blockade.