< At-a-Glance Summaries
Date of Publication:
31st May 2025
Immunotherapy is a type of treatment that helps activate the body’s immune system to fight cancer cells and it has transformed the outlook for many cancer patients, including those with melanoma. However, for some people, the treatment can trigger serious immune-related side effects that are severe enough to stop therapy altogether. Currently, doctors have no reliable way to predict in advance who will benefit from treatment and who is at risk of these harmful reactions.
Researchers at King’s College London have identified immune markers in the blood that could help predict which patients with melanoma are most likely to benefit from immunotherapy and which patients are at greater risk of experiencing serious immune-related side effects. It can be challenging to find markers of treatment response, and being able to identify these in blood is a great advantage because collecting blood is quick and easy compared to more invasive methods such as taking skin samples.
Scientists analysed blood from 52 patients with advanced melanoma; samples were taken before and during immunotherapy. They found a pattern of specific B cells and antibodies circulating in the blood of patients who went on to receive treatment without experiencing toxic side effects. B cells are a type of white blood cell that helps protect the body by making antibodies, which target infections and abnormal cells like cancer. Researchers also found that some of these same B cells and antibodies changed after treatment, and some of these changes correlated with patients experiencing toxicity or responding positively to the treatment. These immune markers could help to develop simple blood tests that would allow clinicians to detect early signs of toxicity or gauge how well a patient is responding, offering a route to more dynamic, responsive care.
The full paper is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1136/jitc-2025-011682
Authors:
Willsmore ZN, Booth L, Patel A, et al.
Journal:
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer
Link:
< At-a-Glance Summaries