T-cell complexity and density are associated with sensitivity to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in patients with rectal cancer

Emerging evidence suggests that an increased density of pre-treatment CD8⁺ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) is associated with good response to chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. However, the significance of T-cell complexity in the clinical setting remains unknown. High-throughput T-cell receptor (TCR) β sequencing was applied to quantify the TCR repertoire of pre-treatment biopsies from 67 patients with advanced rectal cancer receiving preoperative CRT. Diversity index was used to represent the complexity of the TCR repertoire in a tumor. Pre-treatment CD8⁺ TIL densities were assessed by immunohistochemistry. Changes in TCR repertoire before and after CRT were also analysed in 23 patients. Diversity indices were significantly higher for good responders than for non-responders (P = 0.031). The multivariate analysis revealed that both CD8⁺ TIL density and TCR diversity index were independently associated with good response to CRT (P < 0.001 and P = 0.049, respectively). Patients who were high for both CD8⁺ TIL density and TCR diversity (double-high) had markedly better responses to CRT than double-low patients (84.2% vs 16.7%, P < 0.0001). Larger changes in TCR repertoires before and after CRT were correlated with better recurrence-free survival (P = 0.027). The complexity and dynamic change in the TCR repertoire might serve as a useful indicator of response to CRT in combination with CD8⁺ TIL density in patients with rectal cancer.