University of Coimbra

AI-Assisted Immune Profiling Reveals Novel Lymphocyte Signatures in Soft Tissue Sarcoma

- Researchers used AI-assisted flow cytometry analysis to identify eight distinct lymphocyte populations in soft tissue sarcoma patients, revealing significant reductions in NK cells and CD161+ CD8+ T cells compared to healthy controls. - The study found that higher frequencies of CD8+ γδ T cells and CD4+ NKT-like cells were associated with reduced survival, while CD8+ NKT-like cells showed a trend toward improved outcomes. - Tumor samples contained rare CD8+ γδ NKT-like cells that were nearly absent in peripheral blood, suggesting selective enrichment within the tumor microenvironment. - The AI-driven approach successfully stratified patients into immune profiles that correlated with clinical outcomes, demonstrating the potential for peripheral blood immune profiling in cancer prognosis.