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Updated: Jun 27, 2025

Orthotopic Transplantation of Breast Tumors as Preclinical Models for Breast Cancer
Published on: May 18, 2020
Predictability of B cell clonal persistence and immunosurveillance in breast cancer
Stephen-John Sammut1,2, Jacob D Galson3, Ralph Minter3
1Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK. stephen-john.sammut@icr.ac.uk.
Abstract:
B cells and T cells are important components of the adaptive immune system and mediate anticancer immunity. The T cell landscape in cancer is well characterized, but the contribution of B cells to anticancer immunosurveillance is less well explored. Here we show an integrative analysis of the B cell and T cell receptor repertoire from individuals with metastatic breast cancer and individuals with early breast cancer during neoadjuvant therapy. Using immune receptor, RNA and whole-exome sequencing, we show that both B cell and T cell responses seem to coevolve with the metastatic cancer genomes and mirror tumor mutational and neoantigen architecture. B cell clones associated with metastatic immunosurveillance and temporal persistence were more expanded and distinct from site-specific clones. B cell clonal immunosurveillance and temporal persistence are predictable from the clonal structure, with higher-centrality B cell antigen receptors more likely to be detected across multiple metastases or across time. This predictability was generalizable across other immune-mediated disorders. This work lays a foundation for prioritizing antibody sequences for therapeutic targeting in cancer.
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