T Cells Retain Pivotal Antitumoral Functions under Tumor-Treating Electric Fields

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Biophysics

Background:

• Tumor-treating fields (TTFields) are an antitumoral therapy.
• Combining TTFields with immunotherapy is a promising strategy.
• The impact of TTFields on T cell functionality is unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the compatibility of TTFields with T cell functionality.
• To evaluate the effect of TTFields on T cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity.

Main Methods:

• Culturing PBMCs and glioblastoma cells under TTFields.
• Assessing T cell functions via flow cytometry and CAR-T assays.
• Analyzing patient tumor samples using immunohistochemistry and RNA sequencing.

Main Results:

• TTFields reduced proliferating T cell viability but not non-proliferating T cells.
• T cell functionality, including IFN-γ secretion and cytotoxicity, was retained under TTFields.
• TTFields treatment shifted glioblastoma immune signatures towards an anti-tumoral profile.
• T cell infiltration remained unchanged in TTFields-treated patient samples.

Conclusions:

• TTFields preserve key T cell anti-tumoral functions.
• TTFields demonstrate compatibility with T cell-mediated immunity.
• This provides a rationale for combining TTFields with immunotherapy in clinical trials.