Predicting Immunotherapy Results: Scientists Discover Methods to Forecast Success Rates
Every year, cancer researchers strive to uncover new treatment options, one of which is immunotherapy. This innovative treatment leverages the immune system to combat the disease, but its efficacy is not universal – not all people or all cancer types respond to immunotherapy.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University have made a promising breakthrough in evaluating the receptiveness of cancer tumors to immunotherapy. They identified a specific subset of cancer tumor mutations, which they call "persistent mutations," that suggest a tumor's responsiveness to treatment.
These persistent mutations remain in cancer cells, making them continuously detectable by the immune system. This increased visibility, combined with immunotherapy treatment, can result in the sustained elimination of cancer cells and enhanced survival chances.
Dr. Valsamo Anagnostou, a senior author of the study and an associate professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins, explains that tumor mutation burden (TMB) – the total number of mutations in a tumor – has previously been used to gauge a tumor's response to immunotherapy. However, persistent mutations offer a more accurate assessment.
According to the study, persistent mutations are less likely to vanish as cancer progresses, maintaining the tumor's visibility to the immune system. This heightened visibility promises a better response to immunotherapy and a more accurate selection of patients for immunotherapy trials or predicting outcomes from the treatment.
The team's findings could potentially reshape the landscape of cancer patient selection for immunotherapy. Dr. Kim Margolin, a medical oncologist from Saint John's Cancer Institute Melanoma Program, suggests that advanced genetic analysis technologies could categorize patients based on their likelihood of response to immunotherapy.
Overall, the study by Johns Hopkins researchers underscores the critical importance of persistent mutations in enhancing the predictive value of TMB for cancer immunotherapy. Immunogenic "quality" mutation-associated neoantigens also play a crucial role in bolstering the immune system's response to cancer, ultimately contributing to the effectiveness of immunotherapy treatments.
- The Johns Hopkins University researchers found that persistent mutations, a specific subset of cancer tumor mutations, could offer a more accurate assessment of a tumor's response to immunotherapy.
- These persistent mutations, which remain in cancer cells and are continuously detectable by the immune system, promise a better response to immunotherapy and a more accurate selection of patients for such treatment trials.
- As a result of the study, advanced genetic analysis technologies could potentially categorize patients based on their likelihood of response to immunotherapy, reshaping the landscape of cancer patient selection for such treatments.
