Immunotherapy Outcomes Prediction: Scientists Discover Strategies to Analyze Response Success
Modern science is always on the hunt for exciting, revolutionary treatments against the scourge of cancer. One such novel approach is immunotherapy, a treatment option that harnesses our immune system to combat this disease.
Currently, not everyone or every type of cancer can be treated with immunotherapy, and researchers are continuously searching for the answers as to why this is the case. Recent findings by scientists from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland could hold the key. They've discovered a specific subset of mutations within cancer tumors that hints at how receptive a tumor will be to immunotherapy.
These researchers believe their findings will empower doctors to more accurately select people for immunotherapy and better predict treatment outcomes. Their work was recently published in the prestigious journal Nature Medicine.
But what exactly is immunotherapy?
Immunotherapy is a treatment that enlists the body's immune system to fight off disease. Typically, cancer cells develop mutations that help them evade our immune system's detection. Immunotherapy provides a boost to our immune system, making it easier for it to detect and destroy these cancer cells.
There are different types of immunotherapy, some of which include checkpoint inhibitors and CAR-T cell therapy. Currently, immunotherapy is being used to treat various cancers, such as breast cancer, melanoma, leukemia, and non-small cell lung cancer. Research continues on using immunotherapy to treat other types of cancer, like prostate, brain, and ovarian cancer.
The elusive tumor mutation puzzle
Doctors currently use the number of mutations within a tumor—called the tumor mutation burden (TMB)—to try to deduce how the tumor will respond to immunotherapy. A high number of mutations in a cancer cell means the cancer cells are less like normal cells and more foreign to the immune system, making them more vulnerable.
However, our researchers took things a step further. They identified persistent mutations within the overall TMB, mutations that are less likely to disappear as cancer evolves. This allows the cancer tumor to remain visible to our immune system, creating a better response to immunotherapy.
According to the researchers, the number of persistent mutations is a better predictor of a tumor's responsiveness to immunotherapy compared to the overall TMB. They believe this could aid doctors in more accurately selecting patients for immunotherapy clinical trials and predicting treatment outcomes.
The study's findings hold immense promise, perhaps paving the way for a more targeted and personalized approach to immunotherapy. In the future, it may even be possible to use high-throughput, next-generation sequencing techniques to study patients' mutational spectrum, categorizing them by their likelihood of response to immunotherapy and refining treatment strategies accordingly.
- The discovery by Johns Hopkins University researchers could potentially revolutionize immunotherapy treatment, as they've identified persistent mutations within cancer tumors that suggest a tumor's receptivity to immunotherapy.
- These persistent mutations, part of the tumor mutation burden (TMB), are less likely to disappear as cancer evolves, making the tumor more visible to the immune system and leading to a better response to immunotherapy treatments.
- By focusing on the number of persistent mutations instead of the overall TMB, doctors may be able to more accurately select patients for immunotherapy clinical trials and better predict treatment outcomes, ultimately moving towards a more targeted and personalized approach to immunotherapy in the future.
