Predicting treatment success in immunotherapy: Scientists uncover potential indicators for treatment efficacy
Fighting Cancer with a Boost from Immunotherapy: New Findings from Johns Hopkins
Imagine a world where your immune system is the ultimate weapon against cancer. That's the premise behind immunotherapy, one of the cutting-edge cancer treatments on the rise. But not every person and not every type of cancer is a match for this treatment. Scientists are on the hunt for answers as to why some cancers do not respond to immunotherapy.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland believe they may have found a breakthrough. They've discovered a specific subset of mutations in a cancer tumor that hints at how receptive it will be to immunotherapy. Their work, recently published in the journal Nature Medicine, could potentially help doctors more accurately select people for immunotherapy and predict outcomes from the treatment.
What is Immunotherapy?
Immunotherapy, or immune-boosting therapy, uses your body's immune system to fight off cancer cells. Normally, cancer cells develop mutations that help them avoid detection by the immune system. Immunotherapy gives your immune system a boost, making it easier for it to find and destroy cancer cells.
There are several types of immunotherapy, including checkpoint inhibitors, cancer vaccines, and CAR T-cell therapy.
The Power of Persistent Mutations
Currently, doctors estimate a cancer's receptiveness to immunotherapy based on the total number of mutations in a tumor, known as tumor mutation burden (TMB).
However, the Johns Hopkins team found a specific subset of mutations they called "persistent mutations" that are less likely to disappear as the cancer evolves. These persistent mutations keep the cancer tumor visible to the immune system, making it more responsive to immunotherapy.
"Persistent mutations render the cancer cells continuously visible to the immune system, eliciting an immune response that is augmented with immunotherapy," said Dr. Valsamo Anagnostou, a senior author of the study. "These persistent mutations can help doctors accurately select patients for immunotherapy and predict their clinical outcomes."
A Brighter Future for Immunotherapy
Dr. Kim Margolin, a medical oncologist, called the study refreshing and groundbreaking. She highlighted that persistent mutations could be crucial determinants of an effective anti-cancer immune response.
In the near future, doctors may use high-throughput, next-generation sequencing techniques to study patients' mutational spectrum and categorize them based on their likelihood of response to immunotherapy. This could revolutionize cancer treatment, making it more personalized and effective.
In essence, the research by Johns Hopkins has opened up promising avenues for improving immunotherapy. By focusing on persistent mutations and the immune cell dynamics they trigger, doctors can make more accurate predictions about which patients will respond well to immunotherapy, potentially saving more lives in the fight against cancer.
- Immunotherapy, also known as immune-boosting therapy, is a medical-condition treatment that utilizes the body's immune system to combat cancer cells.
- The discovery by Johns Hopkins University researchers of specific persistent mutations in cancer tumors might aid doctors in more accurately selecting patients for immunotherapy and predicting treatment outcomes.
- These persistent mutations, less likely to disappear as the cancer evolves, keep cancer tumors visible to the immune system, making them more receptive to immunotherapies and therapies-and-treatments.
- Future cancer treatment could potentially become more personalized and effective by using high-throughput, next-generation sequencing techniques to analyze patients' mutational spectrum and categorize them based on their likelihood of responding to immunotherapy within the realm of health-and-wellness.
