Association between circulating CD39+CD8+ T cells pre-chemoradiotherapy and prognosis in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: The mortality rate among patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has improved significantly with the advent of chemoradiotherapy strategies. However, distant metastasis remains problematic. Tumor-specific reactivity in cancer patients has been detected exclusively in CD39+ T cells, particularly in CD39+CD103+ T cells.