Immunotherapy Outcomes Prediction: Scientists Discover Strategies for Anticipating Treatment Results
ującdance, cancer is a challenging beast we're still learning to tame. One of the latest treatment options put forth to banish it is immunotherapy, using our own immune system to kick cancer's ass.
But not everyone or every type of cancer can reap the benefits of immunotherapy. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have been digging around, searching for the keys to unlock immunotherapy's potential.
In their recent endeavor, they found certain mutations in cancer tumors that seem to hint at how receptive a tumor will be to immunotherapy. The researchers believe these findings could help doctors better select patients for immunotherapy and predict treatment outcomes.
Published in the journal Nature Medicine, this study could advance our understanding of immunotherapy's effectiveness against cancer.
What's the deal with immunotherapy?
Immunotherapy enlists our immune system to fight the disease, especially cancer cells. When cancer cells mutate, they manage to hide from our immune system. Immunotherapy gives our immune system a boost, making it easier to sniff out and destroy those sneaky cancer cells.
There are multiple forms of immunotherapy, such as
- Checkpoint inhibitors
- CAR-T cell therapy
- Cancer vaccines
- Oncolytic viruses
- Adoptive T-cell transfer
Immunotherapy has shown promise for treating cancers like breast cancer, melanoma, leukemia, and non-small cell lung cancer. Researchers are investigating immunotherapy as a potential treatment for other types of cancer too, such as prostate cancer, brain cancer, and ovarian cancer.
The secrets of mutations
Currently, doctors measure the number of mutations in a tumor, known as the tumor mutation burden (TMB), to try and guess how well a tumor will respond to immunotherapy.
"Measuring how many errors are present in the genome of a cancer cell gives us a sense of the foreignness of the cancer cell to our immune system," explained Dr. Valsamo Anagnostou, a senior author of the study and an associate professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins. "Cancer cells with a high TMB are less likely to hide from our immune system, making them more susceptible to immunotherapy."
However, researchers haven't been able to pinpoint the exact mutations that contribute to a tumor's receptiveness to immunotherapy up until now. That's where Johns Hopkins stepped in.
Persistent mutations and their unwavering reign
In this study, Anagnostou and her team identified a specific subset of mutations within the overall TMB, which they called "persistent mutations." These persistent mutations remain in cancer cells as the tumor evolves, making the tumor more visible to our immune system and increasing the chances of a positive response to immunotherapy.
"Persistent mutations continually display themselves on the surface of the cancer cells, making the immune system easier to recognize the cells as foreign and attack them," Anagnostou said. "This helps the immune system eliminate cancer cells with these persistent mutations over time, resulting in sustained control of the cancer and improved survival rates."
Anagnostou believes that measuring persistent mutations could help doctors more accurately predict which patients would benefit most from immunotherapy. This could lead to better patient selection and improved treatment outcomes, aswell as potentially opening up new opportunities for the development of targeted therapies.
Hinting at the future
It appears we're closer than ever to understanding the intricacies of cancer and immunotherapy. Dr. Kim Margolin, a medical oncologist, expressed her enthusiasm for the study:
"This research presents exciting new insights into the complex relationship between cancer, our immune system, and immunotherapy," Margolin said. "By focusing on persistent mutations and the immune response they generate, we're maturing our understanding of how immunotherapy works and identifying ways to optimize its effectiveness."
As useful as persistent mutations appear, there's still much to learn about cancer and immunotherapy. Researchers will continue to explore the possibilities, bringing us one step closer to eradicating cancer for good.
See ya later, cancer!
- In their recent study, researchers at Johns Hopkins University found specific mutations in cancer tumors, referred to as "persistent mutations," that seem to show cancer cells are more susceptible to immunotherapy.
- These persistent mutations remain in cancer cells as the tumor evolves, making the cancer cells more visible to our immune system, leading to a better response to immunotherapy and improved survival rates for patients.
- By focusing on persistent mutations, doctors may be able to more accurately predict which patients will benefit most from immunotherapy, potentially opening new opportunities for the development of targeted therapies against cancers like breast cancer, melanoma, leukemia, and non-small cell lung cancer.
