# Deciphering Tumor-T cell Interactions in HIV-associated Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (Biospecimens/Biocohort)

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2022 · $70,198

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) is highly associated with HIV and the commonest cause of cancer
death among HIV-infected individuals. However, outcomes remain sub-optimal with multiagent chemotherapy.
Promising immunotherapies are available, but the tumor-host interactions in DLBCL are poorly understood,
even outside the HIV context. Addressing this gap in knowledge is necessary for patient selection, biomarker
discovery, and for development of new treatment strategies. However, human studies to date have been
limited by the lack available advanced technologies applied to appropriate patient cohorts. Our long-term
goal is to improve outcomes for HIV-associated DLBCL by deciphering the diversity, functional heterogeneity,
and spatial distribution of effector T-cells within the tumor microenvironment (TME). In this proposal, we utilize
DLBCL spontaneously arising in HIV-positive/antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naïve, HIV-positive/ART-
experienced, and HIV-negative patients as a comparative model system to investigate the anti-tumor T-cell
response on lymphomagenesis. With existing collaborations, our access to a clinically annotated DLBCL
sample biocohort from HIV- and ART treated and un-treated HIV+ patients, and advanced technologies, we
are in a unique position to characterize and map the T-cell response. To address our goal, we will use highly-
multiplexed imaging mass cytometry to characterize the topology of functional T-cell subsets within the TME of
DLBCL, perform immune sequencing to study the T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire characteristics in the TME
and peripheral blood, and identify neoantigenic targets using a novel bioinformatic pipeline. The goals of this
project are enabled by our existing work in Malawi, where, given the generalized HIV epidemic, comparisons
within specific tumor types based on HIV status are uniquely possible. The proposed work is necessary to
understand the biological factors underlying lymphomagenesis and improve survival for HIV-associated
DLBCL.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10618592
- **Project number:** 3P30CA016086-46S3
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** H. Shelton Earp
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $70,198
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 1997-06-01 → 2025-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10618592

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10618592, Deciphering Tumor-T cell Interactions in HIV-associated Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (Biospecimens/Biocohort) (3P30CA016086-46S3). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10618592. Licensed CC0.

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