Predictive Approaches in Immunotherapy: Scientists Discover Techniques to Forecast Treatment Results
In the battle against cancer, immunotherapy has emerged as a formidable new treatment option. Yet, it's not a silver bullet for every patient or cancer type. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have made a significant breakthrough by identifying a specific subset of tumor mutations that could potentially reveal a cancer tumor's susceptibility to immunotherapy.
According to recent findings published in Nature Medicine, these researchers believe their discovery could lead to more accurate patient selection for immunotherapy and better predictions of treatment outcomes.
So, what exactly is immunotherapy? It's a treatment method that leverages the body's immune system to combat cancer. Usually, cancer cells develop mutations that enable them to dodge the immune system. Immunotherapy boosts the immune system to help it locate and destroy cancer cells more effectively.
Immunotherapy is currently being used to treat various types of cancer, including breast cancer, melanoma, leukemia, and non-small cell lung cancer. Research is underway to explore its potential use for other forms of cancer such as prostate, brain, and ovarian cancer.
In the past, doctors used the total number of mutations in a tumor, known as tumor mutation burden (TMB), to guess how well a tumor might respond to immunotherapy. However, the Johns Hopkins team has identified a specific subset of mutations within the overall TMB—which they call "persistent mutations"—that persist as cancer evolves. This degree of persistence allows the cancer tumor to remain visible to the immune system, enhancing the body's response to immunotherapy.
In a nutshell, "persistent mutations render cancer cells continuously visible to the immune system, instigating an immune response that is amplified when combined with immune checkpoint blockade therapies," explains Dr. Valsamo Anagnostou, a senior author of the study and an associate professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins.
With the potential of persistent mutations to better predict immunotherapy response, clinicians could more accurately select patients for immunotherapy trials or predict treatment outcomes for standard-of-care immune checkpoint blockade.
These findings could redefine the future of cancer treatment by offering a powerful tool for choosing the best immunotherapy options for individual patients, thereby improving the chances of successful treatment.
- Scientists at Johns Hopkins University have identified a specific subset of tumor mutations, known as "persistent mutations," which could reveal a cancer tumor's susceptibility to immunotherapy.
- According to Dr. Valsamo Anagnostou, a senior author of the study, persistent mutations render cancer cells continuously visible to the immune system, instigating an immune response that is amplified when combined with immune checkpoint blockade therapies.
- The potential of persistent mutations to better predict immunotherapy response could allow clinicians to more accurately select patients for immunotherapy trials or predict treatment outcomes for standard-of-care immune checkpoint blockade.
- This discovery could redefine the future of cancer treatment by offering a powerful tool for choosing the best immunotherapy options for individual patients, thereby improving the chances of successful treatment.
