Immunotherapy Prediction Strategies: Scientists Reveal Key Factors for Forecasting Therapy Success
The seemingly endless war against cancer is continually evolving, and the latest weapon in our arsenal is immunotherapy. But, not everyone and every form of cancer can be vanquished with this groundbreaking approach.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University have identified a distinct set of mutations in a cancer tumor that may hint at its receptiveness to immunotherapy, offering a glimmer of hope in the relentless fight against this devastating disease.
What is immunotherapy?
Immunotherapy harnesses the power of our immune system to combat the disease. Normally, cancer cells mutate, rendering them invisible to the body's defenses. Immunotherapy gives a boost to our immune system, enabling it to find and destroy the elusive cancer cells.
There are multiple types of immunotherapy, including:
- Checkpoint inhibitors
- CAR T-cell therapy
- Oncolytic viruses
- Vaccines
The key to a winning strategy
Currently, doctors analyze the total number of mutations in a tumor, known as the Tumor Mutation Burden (TMB), to predict a tumor's response to immunotherapy. However, the researchers from Johns Hopkins took this a step further. They focused on a specific subset of mutations within this TMB, which they called "persistent mutations." These mutations remain even as cancer evolves, keeping the cancer tumor visible to the immune system and, in turn, more susceptible to immunotherapy.
"Persistent mutations may render the cancer cells continuously visible to the immune system, leading to a stronger immune response that is energized and amplified by immunotherapeutic agents," explained Dr. Valsamo Anagnostou, a senior author of the study and an associate professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins.
This study may pave the way for doctors to more accurately choose patients for immunotherapy and better predict treatment outcomes for these patients. The researchers' findings have been published in the journal Nature Medicine.
Looking ahead
Dr. Kim Margolin, a medical oncologist and medical director of the Saint John's Cancer Institute Melanoma Program at Providence Saint John's Health Center in California, shared her thoughts on the study:
"The collaborative research team has gone beyond the simple concept of tumor mutation burden to define persistent mutations and their significance in a new light."
With the identification of these persistent mutations, we are one step closer to developing a more precise and effective treatment strategy in our never-ending battle against cancer.
Enrichment Insight
Several genetic and mutational features have been studied as potential indicators of a cancer tumor's receptiveness to immunotherapy, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), but the picture remains nuanced, depending on both the cancer type and the underlying biological context. Key persistent mutations and indicators include:
- Tumor Mutation Burden (TMB) and Mismatch Repair Status
- Microenvironmental and Immune Features
- Dynamic Immune Biomarkers
TMB-H, dMMR/MSI-H, PD-L1 expression, HLA/antigen presentation, BCR diversity, and cancer-immunity cycle involvement are factors that can affect a tumor's immunogenicity and potentially predict its response to immunotherapy. While static mutations like TMB and dMMR/MSI-H are the most established predictive biomarkers in clinical practice, dynamic immune biomarkers, such as BCR repertoire changes, are emerging but require further validation.
- Immunotherapy, a game-changer in the medical-conditions like cancer, leverages the power of our immune system to combat the disease, making cancer cells visible and thus vulnerable to attack.
- In a recent study published in the journal Nature Medicine, researchers from Johns Hopkins University identified a specific set of persistent mutations in a cancer tumor, which may help doctors better choose patients for immunotherapy and predict treatment outcomes.
- The science of immunotherapy continues to progress, with several genetic and mutational features, such as Tumor Mutation Burden (TMB), microenvironmental and immune features, and dynamic immune biomarkers, being investigated as potential indicators of a cancer tumor's receptiveness to immunotherapy.
