Use of Expression Profiles of HBV-DNA Integrated Into Genomes of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells to Select T Cells for Immunotherapy

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is often associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Cells of most HBV-related HCCs contain HBV-DNA fragments that do not encode entire HBV antigens. We investigated whether these integrated HBV-DNA fragments encode epitopes that are recognized by T cells and whether their presence in HCCs can be used to select HBV-specific T-cell receptors (TCRs) for immunotherapy.HCC cells negative for HBV antigens, based...