Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38618958›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of clinical investigation2024

T antigen-specific CD8+ T cells associate with PD-1 blockade response in virus-positive Merkel cell carcinoma.

Ulla Kring Hansen, Candice D Church, Ana Micaela Carnaz Simões, Marcus Svensson Frej, Amalie Kai Bentzen, Siri A Tvingsholm, Jürgen C Becker, Steven P Fling, Nirasha Ramchurren, Suzanne L Topalian and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of clinical investigation, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
4.2field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
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  5. CIMT 2025: Report on the 22Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 7 institutions in 3 countries.

Ulla Kring HansenSection of Experimental and Translational Immunology, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
Candice D ChurchDepartment of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Ana Micaela Carnaz SimõesPokeAcell Aps, BioInnovation Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Marcus Svensson FrejSection of Experimental and Translational Immunology, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
Amalie Kai BentzenSection of Experimental and Translational Immunology, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
Siri A TvingsholmSection of Experimental and Translational Immunology, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
Jürgen C BeckerDepartment of Translational Skin Cancer Research, University Hospital Essen and German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Essen, Germany.
Steven P FlingFred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Nirasha RamchurrenFred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Suzanne L TopalianDepartment of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Paul T NghiemDepartment of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Sine Reker HadrupSection of Experimental and Translational Immunology, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
Technical University of Denmark · DKBioInnovation Institute · DKFred Hutch Cancer Center · USGerman Cancer Research Center · DEJohns Hopkins University · USSeattle University · USUniversity of Washington · US

Funding

Translational Bioimaging Core Shared ResourceP30CA015704 · NCI · FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER · PI Eric Collisson · 1985 to 2026
$296.4M
Understand & overcome resistance to PD-1P01CA225517 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI Cecilia C Yeung · 2019 to 2026
$22.7M
Cancer Immunotherapy Trials Network Central Operations and Statistical CenterUM1CA154967 · NCI · FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER · PI DAVIDSON, NANCY ELLEN · 2017 to 2022
$20.7M
NCI NIH HHS P01 CA225517NCI NIH HHS P30 CA015704NCI NIH HHS UM1 CA154967
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a highly immunogenic skin cancer primarily induced by Merkel cell polyomavirus, which is driven by the expression of the oncogenic T antigens (T-Ags). Blockade of the programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) pathway has shown remarkable response rates, but evidence for therapy-associated T-Ag-specific immune response and therapeutic strategies for the nonresponding fraction are both limited. We tracked T-Ag-reactive CD8+ T cells in peripheral blood of 26 MCC patients under anti-PD1 therapy, using DNA-barcoded pMHC multimers, displaying all peptides from the predicted HLA ligandome of the oncoproteins, covering 33 class I haplotypes. We observed a broad T cell recognition of T-Ags, including identification of 20 T-Ag-derived epitopes we believe to be novel. Broadening of the T-Ag recognition profile and increased T cell frequencies during therapy were strongly associated with clinical response and prolonged progression-free survival. T-Ag-specific T cells could be further boosted and expanded directly from peripheral blood using artificial antigen-presenting scaffolds, even in patients with no detectable T-Ag-specific T cells. These T cells provided strong tumor-rejection capacity while retaining a favorable phenotype for adoptive cell transfer. These findings demonstrate that T-Ag-specific T cells are associated with the clinical outcome to PD-1 blockade and that Ag-presenting scaffolds can be used to boost such responses.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Merkel CellSkin NeoplasmsAntigens, Viral, TumorCD8-Positive T-LymphocytesHumansProgrammed Cell Death 1 ReceptorAntigens, Viral, TumorProgrammed Cell Death 1 ReceptorCancer immunotherapyImmunologyOncologySkin cancerT cells

Identifiers

PMID38618958
PMCPMC11014655
OpenAlexW4394792397

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.