Neoantigen Quantity and Quality in Relation to Pancreatic Cancer Survival

IntroductionFactors underlying antitumor immunity in pancreatic cancer (PC) are poorly understood. We hypothesized that not neoantigen quantity, but quality, is related to immune cell infiltration and survival. MethodologyWe performed genomic and transcriptomic profiling of paired normal, tumor tissue of 13 patients with PC with distinct survival times. Additionally, neoantigens prediction and immunological profiling were performed. ResultsThe proportion of neoantigens with a low similarity-to-self score was higher in short-term survivors (p < 0.0001), while mutational load and burden, similarity-to-known-pathogens, and immunogenicity of neoantigens were not associated with immune cell infiltration or survival. DiscussionNo tumor mutational load or neoantigen quantity, but low similarity-to-self score, was associated with immune cell infiltration and survival.