Authors:
Eric Tran, Simon Turcotte, Alena Gros, Paul F. Robbins, Yong-Chen Lu, Mark E. Dudley, John R. Wunderlich, Robert P. Somerville, Katherine Hogan, Christian S. Hinrichs, Maria R. Parkhurst, James C. Yang, & Steven A. Rosenberg
Summary:
Limited evidence exists that humans mount a mutation-specific T cell response to epithelial cancers. We used a whole-exomic-sequencing-based approach to demonstrate that tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) from a patient with metastatic cholangiocarcinoma contained CD4+ T helper 1 (TH1) cells recognizing a mutation in erbb2 interacting protein (ERBB2IP) expressed by the cancer. After adoptive transfer of TIL containing about 25% mutation-specific polyfunctional TH1 cells, the patient achieved a decrease in target lesions with prolonged stabilization of disease. Upon disease progression, the patient was retreated with a >95% pure population of mutation-reactive TH1 cells and again experienced tumor regression. These results provide evidence that a CD4+ T cell response against a mutated antigen can be harnessed to mediate regression of a metastatic epithelial cancer.
Source:
Science; Vol. 344, No. 6184, 641-645 (05/09/14)