Autologous CD34+ stem cell humanization in head and neck cancer modeling: The translational importance of T cell maturation

Abstract

• Pre-clinical head and neck models for identifying mechanisms of resistance to immunotherapy are needed. • This study identifies a critical limitation of PDX models developed from autologously engrafted human stem cells. • Aberrant immune versus tumor response was observed in PDX models generated from autologous patient bone marrow. • This study highlights an important limitation of autologous humanized models developed from bone marrow stem cells and demonstrates the necessity for using mature patient T cells to model T cell response in pre-clinical models.