Antitumor immunity and T-cell avidity

摘要

In this issue of Blood, Roex et al analyzed the frequency and functional capabilities of self-restricted tumor-associated antigen (TAA) specific T-cell clones isolated from peripheral blood of healthy donors.(1) They found that high-avidity T cells were not detectable, whereas a very limited number of intermediate avidity T cells, with the ability to recognize malignant cells, could be identified. In addition, most of the analyzed clones were nonfunctional and of low avidity, suggesting that a strong and meaningful immune response has to be elicited in cancer patients using a combination of complementary treatment options designed to increase T-cell responses and to enhance anti-tumor activity of vaccinations containing such TAAs.(2)