Intratumoral CXCR5+CD8+T associates with favorable clinical outcomes and immunogenic contexture in gastric cancer
Jieti Wang, Ruochen Li, Yifan Cao, Yun Gu, Hanji Fang, Yuchao Fei, Kunpeng Lv, Xudong He, Chao Lin, Hao Liu, Heng Zhang, He Li, Hongyong He, Jiejie Xu, Hua Huang
Abstract
Abstract Studies that examined an association between CD8 + T and prognosis in gastric cancer are inconsistent, and a distinct population of CXCR5 + CD8 + T associated with better overall survival has been reported among various malignancies. Here, we show that the abundance of intratumoral CXCR5 + CD8 + T cells is associated with better overall survival in patients with gastric cancer. Patients with TNM II + III gastric cancer with higher intratumoral CXCR5 + CD8 + T cell infiltration are more likely to benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. Microsatellite-unstable and Epstein–Barr virus positive tumors are enriched with CXCR5 + CD8 + T cells. Gastric cancer infiltrating CXCR5 + CD8 + T cells represent a specific subtype of stem-like CD8 + T with effector memory feature. Identification of the clinical significance and phenotype of gastric cancer infiltrating CXCR5 + CD8 + T provides a roadmap for patient stratification and trials of targeted therapies.