Immunotherapy Outcome Predictions: Scientists Discover Strategies to Forecast Results
Every year, scientists strive to develop novel treatment options for cancer, and immunotherapy is one of the latest additions to this arsenal. However, it isn't a universal solution, as not all cancer cases respond positively to immunotherapy treatments. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University have made a significant breakthrough, identifying a specific subset of mutations that could help predict a tumor's receptivity to immunotherapy.
Their findings, published in the journal Nature Medicine, revolve around the concept of persistent mutations within cancer tumors. These mutations, less likely to disappear as cancer evolves, keep the tumor visible to the immune system, which results in a better response to immunotherapy.
Doctors currently assess the total number of mutations in a tumor to determine its response to immunotherapy. This total is referred to as tumor mutation burden (TMB). According to Dr. Valsamo Anagnostou, a senior author of the study and an associate professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins, these mutations make cancer cells 'foreign' to the immune system, offering more opportunities for it to distinguish and attack the tumor. High TMB generally correlates with longer clinical outcomes with immunotherapy.
In this study, Anagnostou and her team zeroed in on a specific subset of mutations within the overall TMB. These persistent mutations are present throughout the cancer cells' lifespan and make the tumor increasingly visible to the immune system. This sustained visibility increases the immune system's ability to eliminate cancer cells, resulting in sustained immunologic tumor control and long survival.
Persistent mutation load could help clinicians more accurately select patients for clinical trials of novel immunotherapies or predict a patient’s clinical outcome with standard-of-care immune checkpoint blockade. The study offers promising insights into the future of cancer treatment, potentially enabling more accurate patient selections for immunotherapy and better prediction of treatment outcomes.
Dr. Kim Margolin, a medical oncologist, commended the collaborative study, pointing out that persistent mutations and mutation-associated neo-antigens are likely the most critical determinants of an effective anticancer immune response. She suggested that high-throughput, next-generation sequencing techniques could soon be used to study patients' mutational spectrum, categorizing them by their likelihood of response to immunotherapy or benefit from early detection strategies in the not-too-distant future.
Scientists at Johns Hopkins University found that persistent mutations within cancer tumors make them more visible to the immune system, leading to a better response to immunotherapy. These mutations, present throughout the tumor's lifespan, increase the immune system's ability to eliminate cancer cells, potentially enabling more accurate patient selections for immunotherapy and better prediction of treatment outcomes. The study also suggests that high-throughput, next-generation sequencing techniques could soon be used to study patients' mutational spectrum, categorizing them by their likelihood of response to immunotherapy or benefit from early detection strategies.
