Peripheral Blood T-cell Biomarkers as Predictors of Immunotherapeutic Outcomes in Melanoma
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Date
2019-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Immunotherapy, the science of enhancing the immune system to better identify and eliminate tumors, is an exciting, developing field in the battle against cancer. In the treatment of melanoma, immunotherapy yields exceptional results, but fails to elicit a positive response in about 40% of patients, and a subset of patients will experience serious adverse events. Biomarkers – measurable indicators of biological state with diagnostic or prognostic power – are needed to differentiate these patients and inform treatment decisions. Most melanoma biomarkers are taken from the tumor itself or from peripheral blood. Biomarkers that predict severity of disease can be found in either source, but because tumor biomarkers must be obtained through a biopsy or resection, peripheral blood biomarkers would be useful since they only require a blood draw for analysis. Our central hypothesis is that age-adjusted peripheral blood biomarkers predict checkpoint inhibitor therapy outcomes in melanoma patients. By quantifying levels of mRNA in the peripheral blood T-cell population of 48 metastatic melanoma patients before the initiation of treatment, we identified several biomarkers that correlate with patient outcomes.
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Keywords
immunotherapy, melanoma, biomarker, T-cell, aging