mRNA based T cell engineering for HBV-related Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)

Dr. Tan’s presents the development of an mRNA-engineered TCR T-cell therapy targeting hepatitis B virus (HBV) antigens for patients with HBV-related liver cancer (HCC). Unlike viral vector–based approaches, this strategy uses mRNA electroporation to transiently express HBV-specific TCRs, providing a safer, “hit-and-run” immune effect while still inducing tumor regression and immune alterations such as chemokine release and epitope spreading. Early clinical results showed tumor shrinkage and restoration of HBV-specific T-cell responses in some patients, even after short-lived T-cell infusions. A key enabler of this work was ProImmune’s Pro5® MHC Class I Pentamers, which allowed precise enumeration of HBV-specific T-cell, to explore the possibility to deploy a dose-escalation infusion strategy.