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Protein Levels as Predictors of Immunotherapy Efficacy in Bowel Cancer
- Researchers at Francis Crick Institute and Barts Cancer Institute identified a protein, CD74, that can predict responses to immunotherapy in patients with bowel cancer.
- Immunotherapy has shown great results in deficient subtype of bowel cancer but remains largely inaccessible for the proficient subtype, which encompasses around 90% of bowel cancer cases.
- The research team discovered the necessity of three distinct immune cell types—T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, and macrophages—being present in close proximity to cancer cells for an effective immunotherapeutic response.
- Researchers found that tumors demonstrating high levels of CD74 expression were more likely to respond favorably to immunotherapy.
- CD74 can serve as a definitive clinical marker for predicting patient response to treatment, irrespective of the subtype classification.
- Testing for CD74 could redefine eligibility for immunotherapy which could broaden access, therefore improving patient outcomes.
- The collaborative efforts of research team partners underscore the importance of multidisciplinary approaches in unraveling the complexities of cancer.
- The researchers aim to investigate the underlying reasons behind the overexpression of CD74 in macrophages and tumor cells, as well as exploring the presence of CD74 as a marker in other cancer types.
- This discovery represents a leap forward in precision oncology which holds the promise of extending the benefits of immunotherapy to a broader cohort of patients.
- As this research progresses towards clinical application, it is hoped it can transform the landscape of bowel cancer treatment in the coming years.
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