Consensus nomenclature for CD8+ T cell phenotypes in cancer.
Apetoh L., Smyth MJ., Drake CG., Abastado J-P., Apte RN., Ayyoub M., Blay J-Y., Bonneville M., Butterfield LH., Caignard A., Castelli C., Cavallo F., Celis E., Chen L., Colombo MP., Comin-Anduix B., Coukos G., Dhodapkar MV., Dranoff G., Frazer IH., Fridman W-H., Gabrilovich DI., Gilboa E., Gnjatic S., Jäger D., Kalinski P., Kaufman HL., Kiessling R., Kirkwood J., Knuth A., Liblau R., Lotze MT., Lugli E., Marincola F., Melero I., Melief CJ., Mempel TR., Mittendorf EA., Odun K., Overwijk WW., Palucka AK., Parmiani G., Ribas A., Romero P., Schreiber RD., Schuler G., Srivastava PK., Tartour E., Valmori D., van der Burg SH., van der Bruggen P., van den Eynde BJ., Wang E., Zou W., Whiteside TL., Speiser DE., Pardoll DM., Restifo NP., Anderson AC.
Whereas preclinical investigations and clinical studies have established that CD8+ T cells can profoundly affect cancer progression, the underlying mechanisms are still elusive. Challenging the prevalent view that the beneficial effect of CD8+ T cells in cancer is solely attributable to their cytotoxic activity, several reports have indicated that the ability of CD8+ T cells to promote tumor regression is dependent on their cytokine secretion profile and their ability to self-renew. Evidence has also shown that the tumor microenvironment can disarm CD8+ T cell immunity, leading to the emergence of dysfunctional CD8+ T cells. The existence of different types of CD8+ T cells in cancer calls for a more precise definition of the CD8+ T cell immune phenotypes in cancer and the abandonment of the generic terms "pro-tumor" and "antitumor." Based on recent studies investigating the functions of CD8+ T cells in cancer, we here propose some guidelines to precisely define the functional states of CD8+ T cells in cancer.