Immunotherapy Prognosis: Scientists Discover Strategies to Forecast Response Success
Annual advancements in cancer research lead to the development of cutting-edge treatment methods, one such option being immunotherapy. But, it's important to note that not every person or cancer type can benefit from this innovative approach.
Recently, scientists from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland have identified a specific set of mutations within cancer tumors that could indicate how receptive a tumor might be to immunotherapy. These findings could revolutionize the way doctors choose patients for immunotherapy and predict treatment outcomes.
Discovering the Perfect Match
Doctors currently rely on the tumor mutation burden (TMB) to understand how a tumor will respond to immunotherapy. The TMB is the total number of changes in the genetic material and particularly the DNA sequence of cancer cells, known as mutations.
However, researchers led by Dr. Valsamo Anagnostou from Johns Hopkins have identified a subset of mutations, which they refer to as "persistent mutations," that remain constant in evolving cancer cells. These persistent mutations help maintain the visibility of tumors to a person's immune system, enhancing the body's ability to attack and eliminate cancer cells.
Embracing the Future of Immunotherapy
The research suggests that focusing solely on the overall TMB might not provide an accurate understanding of how well a tumor will respond to immunotherapy. On the other hand, measuring the number of persistent mutations could more effectively identify tumors likely to respond to immune checkpoint blockade. This approach may lead to better patient selection for clinical trials of novel immunotherapies as well as improved predictions of patient outcomes with standard-of-care immune checkpoint blockade.
It's worth noting that persistent mutations are associated with genomic instability, including mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR) and mutations in DNA polymerases like POLE and POLD1. These mutations lead to a high TMB, increased neoantigen production, and an abundance of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), making tumors more responsive to immunotherapy.
When asked about the implications of their findings, Dr. Kim Margolin, a medical oncologist specializing in melanoma, stated, "Persistent mutations and mutation-associated neo-antigens that are efficiently presented by the patient's own complement of class I - and probably class II - and recognized by the patient's own complement of T cells are likely the most important determinants of an effective anticancer immune response."
In summary, the research by Johns Hopkins University scientists will pave the way for more accurate patient selection for immunotherapy and revolutionize the way doctors predict outcomes from this treatment. As the understanding of persistent mutations continues to grow, so too will the potential for tailored, effective cancer treatments.
- Scientists at Johns Hopkins University have identified specific persistent mutations in cancer tumors that could determine a tumor's receptiveness to immunotherapy.
- These persistent mutations maintain the visibility of tumors to a person's immune system, increasing the body's ability to attack and eliminate cancer cells.
- Focusing on the overall tumor mutation burden (TMB) might not provide an accurate understanding of a tumor's response to immunotherapy.
- Instead, measuring the number of persistent mutations could more effectively identify tumors likely to respond to immune checkpoint blockade.
- Persistent mutations are associated with genomic instability and increased neoantigen production, making tumors more responsive to immunotherapy.
- Understanding persistent mutations will help revolutionize the way doctors predict outcomes from immunotherapy, potentially leading to more effective, personalized cancer treatments in the future of health-and-wellness and medical-conditions, particularly cancer.
