Predictive Factors for Immunotherapy Success: Scientists Uncover Key Indicators for Treatment Results
Fighting cancer just got a boost with immunotherapy, the newest treatment option on the block. But, not everyone's cancer or immune system responds to this innovative therapy, leaving researchers scratching their heads. A team from Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, might have found the answer: a specific set of tumor mutations that suggest how receptive a tumor will be to immunotherapy.
The researchers believe their findings will help doctors make more precise decisions about who should receive immunotherapy and what outcomes they might expect. Their work was published in the journal Nature Medicine.
What's this immunotherapy thing anyway?
In simple terms, immunotherapy uses the body's immune system to fight disease. Normally, cancer cells develop mutations to hide from the immune system. Immunotherapy gives the immune system a boost, making it easier to find and destroy cancer cells.
There are different types of immunotherapy, including checkpoint inhibitors, cancer vaccines, and cytokine therapy. Immunotherapy is currently being used to treat breast cancer, melanoma, leukemia, and non-small cell lung cancer. Researchers are also exploring its potential for other types of cancer, such as prostate, brain, and ovarian.
Looking at mutations more closely
Doctors currently use the total number of mutations in a tumor, known as the tumor mutation burden (TMB), to estimate how well a tumor will respond to immunotherapy. But, with this study, Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a sub-group of these mutations, which they call "persistent mutations."
These persistent mutations stay in the cancer cells and make the tumor visible to the immune system, enhancing the body's ability to fight the cancer. This is particularly beneficial when combined with immune checkpoint blockade, a type of immunotherapy.
"Persistent mutations are always there in cancer cells and these mutations may render the cancer cells continuously visible to the immune system, eliciting a reaction," said Dr. Valsamo Anagnostou, a senior author of the study. "This response is augmented in the context of immune checkpoint blockade, and the immune system continues to eliminate cancer cells harboring these persistent mutations over time, resulting in sustained immunologic tumor control and long survival."
Their research not only suggests that persistent mutations can help clinicians better select patients for immunotherapy trials but also predict a patient's clinical outcome with standard-of-care immune checkpoint blockade.
Indicating the future
Dr. Kim Margolin, a medical oncologist, praised the study, stating that it provides a new perspective on the role of persistent mutations and mutation-associated neo-antigens in the immune response to cancer. She believes that high-throughput, next-generation sequencing techniques could soon be used to categorize patients by their likelihood of response to immunotherapy, potentially leading to more personalized cancer care in the future.
In the not-too-distant future, researchers hope to push these prognostic indicators towards predictive factors that can interact with therapy and disease, revolutionizing the way cancer patients are selected for immunotherapy.
- The innovative treatment option, immunotherapy, leverages the body's immune system to combat diseases like cancer, but its response varies across individuals due to mutations in cancer cells.
- A team from Johns Hopkins University has identified a specific set of persistent mutations in tumors, which they believe can help doctors make more precise decisions about who should receive immunotherapy.
- These persistent mutations make cancer cells continuously visible to the immune system, enhancing the body's ability to fight cancer, particularly when combined with immune checkpoint blockade.
- The researchers' findings, published in Nature Medicine, suggest that persistent mutations can help clinicians better select patients for immunotherapy trials and predict a patient's clinical outcome.
- High-throughput, next-generation sequencing techniques could soon be used to categorize patients based on their likelihood of response to immunotherapy, potentially leading to more personalized cancer care in the future.
- In the future, researchers aim to push these prognostic indicators towards predictive factors that can interact with therapy and disease, revolutionizing the way cancer patients are selected for immunotherapy.
