T CELL REPERTOIRE IN COMBINATION WITH T CELL DENSITY PREDICTS CLINICAL OUTCOMES IN PATIENTS WITH MERKEL CELL CARCINOMA.

Abstract The integrity of the immune system represents a pivotal risk factor and prognostic biomarker for Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). Higher density of tumor-associated T cells correlates with improved MCC-specific survival, but the prognostic importance of the T cell infiltrate reactivity is unknown. We evaluated the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire associated with 72 primary MCCs and correlated metrics of the TCR repertoire with clinicopathologic characteristics and patient outcomes.