Intratumoral CXCR5<sup>+</sup>CD8<sup>+</sup>T associates with favorable clinical outcomes and immunogenic contexture in gastric cancer.

Wang, Jieti; Li, Ruochen; Cao, Yifan; Gu, Yun; Fang, Hanji; Fei, Yuchao; Lv, Kunpeng; He, Xudong et al. · Nat Commun · 2021

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Abstract

Studies that examined an association between CD8<sup>+</sup>T and prognosis in gastric cancer are inconsistent, and a distinct population of CXCR5<sup>+</sup>CD8<sup>+</sup>T associated with better overall survival has been reported among various malignancies. Here, we show that the abundance of intratumoral CXCR5<sup>+</sup>CD8<sup>+</sup>T cells is associated with better overall survival in patients with gastric cancer. Patients with TNM II + III gastric cancer with higher intratumoral CXCR5<sup>+</sup>CD8<sup>+</sup>T cell infiltration are more likely to benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. Microsatellite-unstable and Epstein-Barr virus positive tumors are enriched with CXCR5<sup>+</sup>CD8<sup>+</sup>T cells. Gastric cancer infiltrating CXCR5<sup>+</sup>CD8<sup>+</sup>T cells represent a specific subtype of stem-like CD8<sup>+</sup>T with effector memory feature. Identification of the clinical significance and phenotype of gastric cancer infiltrating CXCR5<sup>+</sup>CD8<sup>+</sup>T provides a roadmap for patient stratification and trials of targeted therapies.

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