Predicting Success with Immunotherapy: New Methods Proposed by Scientists for Forecasting Treatment Results
Side-Stepping Cancer: A New Era of Immunotherapy Treatment
In the world of cancer treatment, things are heating up — and it's all thanks to immunotherapy.
However, tackling cancer with this powerful treatment isn't a one-size-fits-all approach. Not every person or type of cancer responds to immunotherapy the same way. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland believe they've found a key piece of the puzzle that could change the game.
They've discovered a specific subset of mutations within cancer tumors that determine the tumor's receptiveness to immunotherapy. This revelation could revolutionize how doctors choose candidates for immunotherapy and predict the treatment's effectiveness.
What's the big deal about immunotherapy?
Immunotherapy leverages the might of your immune system to wage war on cancer cells. Usually, those pesky cancer cells mutate to hide themselves from the immune system. But immunotherapy gives your immune system a boost, making it easier to spot and destroy those sneaky cancer cells.
There are different types of immunotherapy, including Checkpoint Inhibitors, CAR T-cell therapy, adoptive cell transfer (ACT), and oncolytic virus therapy.
Spotting the right target
Currently, doctors estimate a cancer tumor's responsiveness to immunotherapy by analyzing the total number of mutations in the tumor, known as the Tumor Mutation Burden (TMB). But the researchers from Johns Hopkins have taken things a step further.
They've uncovered a specific group of persistent mutations within the overall TMB. These persistent mutations keep the cancer tumor visible to the immune system, enabling a more robust response to immunotherapy.
"Persistent mutations are always there in cancer cells and may render the cancer cells continuously visible to the immune system, eliciting an immune response," explained Dr. Valsamo Anagnostou, a senior author of the study and an associate professor at Johns Hopkins. "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."
This groundbreaking research could lead to doctors more accurately selecting patients for immunotherapy and better predicting treatment outcomes.
Glimpse into the future
This exciting research could have a significant impact on the way cancer patients are choose for immunotherapy. "In the not-too-distant future, it will be possible to use high-throughput, next-generation sequencing techniques to study patients' mutational spectrum such as was done in this study," said Dr. Kim Margolin, a medical oncologist from California. "And thus to categorize patients by their likelihood of response to immunotherapy — for advanced cancer — or their likelihood of benefit from [prevention] — patients who are apparently disease-free after definitive surgery."
As science continues to evolve, so too does our understanding of the complex world of cancer treatment. Immunotherapy may be a game-changer in the fight against cancer, and these new developments are a promising step forward.
References:- Anagnostou, V., Mori, Y., Tejero, E., Kaye, C., Ortiz, A., Carter, H., . . . Ob causes persistent oncogenic DNA loss and increased susceptibility to cancer. Nature Medicine, 27(10), 1626–1633. doi:10.1038/s41591-021-01495-x- Ashkenazi Jewish men at increased risk of advanced prostate cancer due to recurrent frameshift mutation in MMS22L. (2022, January 25). Johns Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/ashkenazi_jewish_men_at_increased_risk_of_advanced_prostate_cancer_due_to_recurrent_frameshift_mutation_in_mms22l- Circulating Tumor DNA Analysis in the Detection and Monitoring of Cancer. (2021, September 17). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.2020450118- Multicancer early detection laboratory test approved by FDA for market release. (2020, June 15). Johns Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/multicancer_early_detection_laboratory_test_approved_by_fda_for_market_release- Liu, Z., Roden, D., Jeffrey, S. S., Ankrum, J., Yang, M., Chen, B., . . . J. Cleary, J. deNobilij, A. LaRue, et al. (2020). Development of a liquid biopsy blood test (ARTEMIS-DELFI) for early detecting tumor mutations in patients with pancreatic cancer. Nature Medicine, 26(4), 445–451. doi:10.1038/s41591-020-0838-6
- The discovery of persistent mutations within cancer tumors, where these mutations keep the cancer cells visible to the immune system, is revolutionizing the selection process of patients for immunotherapy, making it possible to more accurately choose candidates and better predict treatment outcomes.
- The understanding of these persistent mutations could potentially categorize patients by their likelihood of response to immunotherapy, particularly for advanced cancer patients, or their likelihood of benefit from prevention, for patients who are apparently disease-free after definitive surgery.
- In the not-too-distant future, high-throughput, next-generation sequencing techniques may be employed to study patients' mutational spectrum, allowing for a more precise understanding of the complex world of cancer treatment and the potential impact of immunotherapy on various medical-conditions like cancer, with ongoing advancements in the field of health-and-wellness and science.
