T-cell diversification reflects antigen selection in the blood of patients on immune checkpoint inhibition and may be exploited as liquid biopsy biomarker.

Cancer immunotherapy with antibodies targeting immune checkpoints, such as programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), shows encouraging results, but reliable biomarkers predicting response to this costly and potentially toxic treatment approach are still lacking. To explore an immune signature predictive for response, we performed liquid biopsy immunoprofiling in 18 cancer patients undergoing PD-1 inhibition before and shortly after initiation of treatment by multicolor flow cytometry and next-generation T- and B-cell immunosequencing (TCRß/IGH). Findings were correlated with clinical outcomes. We found almost complete saturation of surface PD-1 on all T-cell subsets after the first dose of the antibody. Both T- and B-cell compartments quantitatively expanded during treatment. These expansions were mainly driven by an increase in the activated T-cell compartments, as well as of naïve B- and plasma cells. Deep immunosequencing revealed a clear diversification pattern of the clonal T-cell space indicative of antigenic selection in 47% of patients, while the remaining patients showed stable repertoires. 43% of the patients with a diversification pattern showed disease control in response to the PD-1 inhibitor. No disease stabilizations were observed without clonal T-cell space diversification. Our data show for the first time a clear impact of PD-1 targeting not only on circulating T-cells, but also on B-lineage cells, shedding light on the complexity of the anti-tumor immune response. Liquid biopsy T-cell next-generation immunosequencing should be prospectively evaluated as part of a composite response prediction biomarker panel in the context of clinical studies.

Monitoring multiple myeloma by next-generation sequencing of V(D)J rearrangements from circulating myeloma cells and cell-free myeloma DNA.

Recent studies suggest that circulating tumor cells and cell-free DNA may represent powerful non-invasive tools for monitoring disease in patients with solid and hematologic malignancies. Here, we conducted a pilot study in 27 myeloma patients to explore the clonotypic V(D)J rearrangement for monitoring circulating myeloma cells and cell-free myeloma DNA. Next-generation sequencing was used to define the myeloma V(D)J rearrangement and for subsequent peripheral blood tracking after treatment initiation. Positivity for circulating myeloma cells/cell-free myeloma was associated with conventional remission status (P<0.001) and 91% of non-responders/progressors versus 41% of responders had evidence of persistent circulating myeloma cells/cell-free myeloma DNA (P<0.001). About half of the partial responders showed complete clearance of circulating myeloma cells/cell-free myeloma DNA despite persistent M-protein, suggesting that these markers are less inert than the M-protein, rely more on cell turnover and, therefore, decline more rapidly after initiation of effective treatment. Positivity for circulating myeloma cells and for cell-free myeloma DNA were associated with each other (P=0.042), but discordant in 30% of cases. This indicates that cell-free myeloma DNA may not be generated entirely by circulating myeloma cells and may reflect overall tumor burden. Prospective studies need to define the predictive potential of high-sensitivity determination of circulating myeloma cells and DNA in the monitoring of multiple myeloma.