Two noteworthy biomarker studies identified assessment of T cell infiltrate and clonality as a predictor of subsequent metastasis in early stage disease, and early changes in T cell subsets and clonality as a predictor of response to immunotherapy in advanced disease.

Molecular analysis of primary melanoma T cells identifies patients at risk for metastatic recurrence

Abstract

Primary melanomas >1 mm thickness are potentially curable by resection, but can recur metastatically. We assessed the prognostic value of the T-cell fraction (TCFr) and repertoire T-cell clonality, measured by high-throughput sequencing of the T-cell receptor β-chain in T2–T4 primary melanomas (n = 199). TCFr accurately predicted progression-free survival and was independent of thickness, ulceration, mitotic rate and age. TCFr was second only to tumor thickness in its predictive value, using a gradient-boosted model. For accurate progression-free survival prediction, adding TCFr to tumor thickness was superior to adding any other histopathological variable. Furthermore, a TCFr >20% was protective regardless of tumor ulceration status, mitotic rate or presence of nodal disease. TCFr is a quantitative molecular assessment that predicts metastatic recurrence in primary melanoma patients whose disease has been resected surgically. The present study suggests that a successful T-cell-mediated, antitumour response can be present in primary melanomas.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43018-019-0019-5

Immune awakening revealed by peripheral T cell dynamics after one cycle of immunotherapy

Abstract

Abstract Our understanding of how checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) affect T cell evolution is incomplete, limiting our ability to achieve full clinical benefit from these drugs. Here, we analyzed peripheral T cell populations after one cycle of CPI treatment and identified a dynamic awakening of the immune system, as revealed by T cell evolution in response to treatment. We sequenced T cell receptors in plasma cell-free DNA and peripheral blood mononuclear cells and performed phenotypic analysis of peripheral T cell subsets from patients with metastatic melanoma treated with CPIs. We found that early peripheral T cell turnover and T cell receptor repertoire dynamics identified which patients would respond to treatment. Additionally, the expansion of a subset of immune effector peripheral T cells we call TIE cells correlated with response. These events are prognostic and occur within 3 weeks of starting immunotherapy, raising the potential for monitoring patients’ responses by using minimally invasive liquid biopsies.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43018-019-0022-x

Subscribe to Directory
Write an Article

Recent News

El diagnóstico genético neonatal mejor...

Un estudio con datos de los últimos 35 años, ind...

Más de 1.500 cambios epigenéticos en e...

Un equipo de investigadores de la Universidad Juli...

Tuneable reverse photochromes in the sol...

A new technique allows the design of solid materia...

Highlight

Eosinófilos. ¿Qué significa tener val...

by Labo'Life

​En nuestro post hablamos sobre este interesante tipo de célula del...

Un estudio de INCLIVA muestra el efecto ...

by INCLIVA

Han desarrollado un estudio para evaluar la correlación entre el teji...

Photos Stream