Non-Terminally Exhausted Tumor-Resident Memory HBV-specific T Cell Responses Correlate with Relapse-Free Survival in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) often develops following chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and responds poorly to immune checkpoint blockade. Here we examined the antigen specificities of HCC-infiltrating T cells and their relevance to tumor control. Using highly multiplexed peptide-MHC tetramer staining of unexpanded cells from blood, liver and tumor tissues from 46 HCC patients, we detected 91 different antigen-specific CD8+ T cell populations targeting HBV, neoantigen, tumor-associated and disease-unrelated antigens. Parallel high-dimensional analysis delineated five distinct antigen-specific tissue-resident memory T (Trm) cell populations. Intratumoral and intrahepatic HBV-specific T cells were enriched for two Trm cell subsets that were PD-1-low and TOX-low, despite being clonally expanded. High frequencies of intratumoral terminally exhausted T cells was uncommon. Patients with tumor-infiltrating HBV-specific CD8+ Trm cells exhibited longer-term relapse-free survival. Thus, non-terminally exhausted HBV-specific CD8+ Trm cells show hallmarks of active involvement and effective antitumor response, implying that these cells could be harnessed for therapeutic purposes. Broad analysis of CD8 T cell antigen specificity in HBV-HCC patient blood/liver/tumor. *** Raw data is to be made available through EGA due to privacy concerns ***