Tumor antigen-specific T cells (TASTs) are the mainstay of the body's specific recognition of cancer cells and can be used as biomarkers for efficacy prediction of immunotherapy/chemoimmunotherapy combinations.[1]Although these T cells can specifically recognize tumor antigens, not all TASTs have cytotoxic functions. Specific recognition of tumor antigens is structural specificity, whereas the ability to kill tumor cells containing such antigens after recognition is functional specificity.[2]
Based on structural and functional specificity, TASTs were categorized into three groups:
Effector Tumor Antigen-Specific T Cells (ETASTs) are both specifically recognize tumor antigens and specifically kill tumor cells containing the corresponding antigen after recognition of the tumor antigen.
Regulatory tumor antigen-specific T cells (RTASTs) can only specifically recognize tumor antigens, but instead of killing cancer cells after recognition, they inhibit the function of ETASTs.[3]
Anergy tumor antigen-specific T cells (ATASTs) can only specifically recognize tumor antigens, but do not have the function of killing tumor cells after recognition.[4]
Recent studies have shown a positive correlation between the levels of ETASTs in vivo or in peripheral blood and the efficacy and prognosis of combined immunotherapy/chemoimmunotherapy in cancer patients after combined immunotherapy/chemoimmunotherapy. ETASTs are the mainstay of the body's specific recognition and specific killing of cancer cells, and are the real players in immunotherapy. Successful immunotherapy relies on reactivating or increasing the levels of ETASTs. Detection of ETASTs in the peripheral blood of cancer patients may be an ideal biomarker to predict the efficacy and prognosis of combined immunotherapy/chemoimmunotherapy.[5]
