The success of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapies (ICTs) to bring about durable clinical responses in a subset of patients with different cancer histologies is transforming cancer care. However, many patients do not benefit from single-agent ICT, including patients with melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer, which are often considered to be immunogenic tumor types. In addition, several other common solid tumors, such as breast, colon, and prostate cancers, have reported very low response rates. A growing body of evidence suggests that the majority of tumors may be categorized as being primary immune-ignorant tumors, hence precluding response to single-agent ICTs. The molecular mechanisms that govern the immune-ignorant phenotype are under intense investigation. This review focuses on how oncogenic pathways can promote the development of a primary immune-ignorant tumor.
-
Cover Image
Cover Image
Mapping gene signatures according to their expression in different immune landscapes of breast (BRCA), lung (LUAD) and colon (COAD) carcinoma, and melanoma (SKCM); signatures selectively expressed in the immune-active (ICR4) landscape are shown in red, those selectively expressed in the immune-silent (ICR1) landscape are shown as blue and those that are ubiquitously expressed independent of immune landscape are white. The image is based on Figure 1 in this issue's opening article (Lu et al., pages 411–419) in which the authors look at how cancer cells go through a conserved evolutionary bottleneck facing a Two-Option Choice to evade recognition by the immune competent host: they can either adopt a clean oncogenic process devoid of immunogenic stimuli (immune-silent tumors) or display an entropic biology prone to immune recognition (immune-active tumors).
Oncogenic pathways as the basis of primary immune ignorance
Francesco M. Marincola, Maulik Patel; Oncogenic pathways as the basis of primary immune ignorance. Emerg Top Life Sci 12 December 2017; 1 (5): 421–428. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/ETLS20170081
Download citation file:
Sign in
Sign in to your personal account
Captcha Validation Error. Please try again.