1. Complete response to PD-1 blockade following EBV-specific T-cell therapy in metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma
- Author
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Benedict Panizza, Michelle A Neller, Pauline Crooks, Sandro V. Porceddu, Laetitia Le Texier, Katherine K. Matthews, Corey Smith, Margaret McGrath, and Rajiv Khanna
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Cancer Research ,T cell ,Cell ,Case Report ,Cancer immunotherapy ,Disease ,Virus ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,medicine ,Tumour virus infections ,RC254-282 ,Tumor microenvironment ,Effector ,business.industry ,Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology. Including cancer and carcinogens ,medicine.disease ,Blockade ,030104 developmental biology ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Oncology ,Nasopharyngeal carcinoma ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Cancer research ,business - Abstract
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-associated heterogeneous disease and is characterized by peritumoral immune infiltrate. Adoptive T-cell therapy (ACT) has emerged as a potential therapeutic strategy for NPC. However, the tumor microenvironment remains a major roadblock for the successful implementation of ACT in clinical settings. Expression of checkpoint molecules by malignant cells can inhibit the effector function of adoptively transferred EBV-specific T cells. Here we present a novel case report of a patient with metastatic NPC who was successfully treated with a combination of EBV-specific ACT and programmed cell death-1 blockade therapy. Following combination immunotherapy, the patient showed complete resolution of metastatic disease with no evidence of disease relapse for 22 months. Follow-up immunological analysis revealed dramatic restructuring of the global T-cell repertoire that was coincident with the clinical response. This case report provides an important platform for translating these findings to a larger cohort of NPC patients.
- Published
- 2021