Immunotherapy: The Revolutionary Fighter Against Cancer
Immunotherapy Outcome Prediction: Scientists Discover Techniques to Forecast Results
In the world of cancer research, the new kid on the block is immunotherapy. This revolutionary treatment option harnesses the power of our very own immune system to wage war against cancer cells. While it may have a doppelgänger in traditional chemotherapy and radiation, immunotherapy has a unique edge - it works smarter, not harder.
But not every cancer patient or every type of cancer is a match for immunotherapy. The journey to find the right candidates who will benefit from this treatment continues, and researchers from Johns Hopkins University think they might have stumbled upon the key.
Johns Hopkins researchers believe they have found a particular group of mutations within cancer tumors that suggests how receptive a tumor will be to immunotherapy. According to them, their findings will aid doctors in better selecting patients for immunotherapy and predicting treatment outcomes.
Their groundbreaking research has recently been published in the journal Nature Medicine. Let's dive into the details.
What is Immunotherapy?
Immunotherapy is a treatment strategy that empowers the immune system to combat cancer. It's a battle plan that takes advantage of the body's built-in detective system to track and destroy cancer cells.
Usually, cancer cells develop mutations that help them disguise themselves from the immune system. With immunotherapy, the body's immune system is given a boost, making it easier for it to find and neutralize cancer cells.
There are several types of immunotherapy, including:
- Checkpoint inhibitors
- Adoptive cell therapies (CAR-T cell therapy)
- Monoclonal antibodies
- Cancer vaccines
- Oncolytic viruses
Deciphering Mutations
Previously, doctors used the total number of mutations in a tumor (Tumor Mutation Burden - TMB) to make an educated guess about how much a tumor would respond to immunotherapy.
Dr. Valsamo Anagnostou, a senior author of the study and an associate professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins, explains that a high TMB makes cancer cells more distinguishable from normal cells, which in turn helps the immune system find and attack the tumor.
In this study, Anagnostou and her team identified a subset of mutations within the overall TMB, which they called "persistent mutations." These mutations remain present in the cancer cell and help the cancer tumor remain visible to the immune system. This visibility, in turn, leads to a better response to immunotherapy.
"Persistent mutations may 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," Anagnostou said.
This research marks a significant step in tailoring immunotherapy to individual patients and predicting responses to specific treatments, leading to a more personalized and effective approach.
In collaboration with Medical News Today, experts from the field shared their insights on the study and its potential impact on cancer treatment.
Dr. Kim Margolin, a medical oncologist and medical director of the Saint John's Cancer Institute Melanoma Program at Providence Saint John's Health Center in California, noted that the study demonstrates a "highly-respective collaborative group" working together to go beyond the traditional concept of TMB and define persistent mutations in a new light.
She adds, "Persistent mutations and mutation-associated neo-antigens that are efficiently presented by the patient's own compliment of class I and, probably, class II Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) molecules are likely the most important determinants of an effective anticancer immune response."
While further research is needed, the findings of this study could quite possibly change how doctors select cancer patients for immunotherapy in the future. As Margolin notes, "Ultimately, what starts out as mere prognostic indicators may be pushed to the point of becoming predictive factors that can interact with therapy and disease and even sites of metastasis, where the elements of the immune tumor environment are critical elements."
A Shift in Paradigm
In light of these discoveries, the concept of cancer treatment is likely to undergo a profound shift toward a more personalized, targeted, and informed approach. Although challenges remain, thanks to researchers like those at Johns Hopkins, we are one step closer to winning the war against cancer.
- Immunotherapy, a revolutionary treatment against cancer, relies on the immune system to wage war against cancer cells, setting it apart from traditional chemotherapy and radiation.
- Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have identified a particular group of mutations within cancer tumors, called "persistent mutations," which they believe will aid doctors in better selecting patients for immunotherapy and predicting treatment outcomes.
- According to Dr. Valsamo Anagnostou, persistent mutations help the cancer tumor remain visible to the immune system, leading to a better response to immunotherapy and potentially revolutionizing the way doctors select cancer patients for such treatments.
- With the discovery of persistent mutations, the paradigm of cancer treatment may shift towards a more personalized, targeted, and informed approach, bringing us one step closer to a victory over cancer.
