Evidence that specific T lymphocytes may participate in the elimination of chronic myelogenous leukemia

Jeffrey J. Molldrem, Peter P. Lee, Changqing Wang, Kyrie Felio, Hagop M. Kantarjian, Richard E. Champlin, Mark M. Davis

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

603 Scopus citations

Abstract

Although the immune system has long been implicated in the control of cancer, evidence for specific and efficacious immune responses in human cancer has been lacking. In the case of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), either allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT) or interferon-α2b (IFN-α2b) therapy can result in complete remission, but the mechanism for prolonged disease control is unknown and may involve immune anti-leukemic responses. We previously demonstrated that PR1, a peptide derived from proteinase 3, is a potential target for CML-specific T cells. Here we studied 38 CML patients treated with allogeneic BMT, IFN-α2b or chemotherapy to look for PR1-specific T cells using PR1/HLA-A*0201 tetrameric complexes. There was a strong correlation between the presence of PR1-specific T cells and clinical responses after IFN-α and allogeneic BMT. This provides for the first time direct evidence of a role for T-cell immunity in clearing malignant cells.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1018-1023
Number of pages6
JournalNature medicine
Volume6
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2000

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

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