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Updated: Jan 14, 2026

Tumor Transplantation for Assessing the Dynamics of Tumor-Infiltrating CD8+ T Cells in Mice
Published on: June 12, 2021
Circulating Neoantigen- and Viral Oncoprotein-Specific CD8+ T Cells Share a Transcriptional Signature
Saumya Jani1,2, Tomas Bencomo1,3, Carolyn Shasha4
1Department of Dermatology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
Researchers identified a 98-gene signature, the Signature of Peripheral Tumor-specific CD8+ T cells (SPoTT), to detect tumor-specific CD8+ T cells in blood. This signature effectively identifies T cells targeting viral oncoproteins and neoantigens across various cancers.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Oncology
- Genomics
Background:
- Tumor-specific CD8+ T cells in peripheral blood are crucial for anti-PD-1 therapy response.
- Identifying these cells is challenging due to the patient-unique nature of most tumor antigens.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize polyomavirus-specific CD8+ T cells in Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) patients.
- To develop a gene signature for identifying circulating tumor-specific CD8+ T cells.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of polyomavirus-specific CD8+ T cells from 17 MCC patients.
- Development and validation of a 98-gene signature (SPoTT).
- Comparison with a 151-gene signature (NeoTCRPBL) in validation cohorts.
Main Results:
- A 98-gene signature (SPoTT) was identified, distinguishing tumor-specific CD8+ T cells from others.
- SPoTT achieved >75% sensitivity and specificity in identifying viral and neoantigen-specific CD8+ T cells.
- NeoTCRPBL showed 66% sensitivity and 88% specificity for MCC-specific T cells.
Conclusions:
- Circulating tumor-specific CD8+ T cells share common features across different tumor antigen types.
- Findings from virus-driven cancers offer insights applicable to mutation-driven cancers.
- The SPoTT signature provides a method for identifying tumor-specific T cells in blood.
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