TCR CDR3-CMV Antigen Chemical Complementaries Are Associated with a Worse Outcome for Renal Cell Carcinoma

Background/Aim: Due to still unresolved questions regarding viruses as either a primary cause or a comorbidity in cancer, we examined a potential immune response to cytomegalovirus (CMV) in the renal cell carcinoma (RCC) setting using genomics and bioinformatics approaches. Materials and Methods: Specifically, we assessed chemical complementarity scores (CSs) for solid determining region 3 (CDR3s) and CMV antigens and determined whether higher or lower CS groups were associated with a higher or lower survival probability. Results: This was indeed the case, with all such analyses consistently indicating a lower overall and progression-free survival for the cases representing the higher TCR CDR3CMV antigen chemical CSs. This basic result was obtained for two separate RCC datasets and multiple CMV antigens. Conclusion: The results raise the question, to what extent a systemic CMV infection may represent an important comorbidity for RCC.