We have made major advances in cancer treatment through the use of immunotherapy, which stimulates the body's immune system to fight tumors. This includes the use of immune checkpoint blockade, which works by taking the brakes off cancer-killing white blood cells known as T-cells. However not all patients benefit from this type of therapy, and critical research is needed to identify new ways to improve responses. Much of the research to date has focused on T-cells themselves, however these cells likely work in concert with other cells to help fight cancer. We recently studied how different immune cells influence responses to immunotherapy, and found that B-cells - which produce antibodies a...

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We have made major advances in cancer treatment through the use of immunotherapy, which stimulates the body's immune system to fight tumors. This includes the use of immune checkpoint blockade, which works by taking the brakes off cancer-killing white blood cells known as T-cells. However not all patients benefit from this type of therapy, and critical research is needed to identify new ways to improve responses. Much of the research to date has focused on T-cells themselves, however these cells likely work in concert with other cells to help fight cancer. We recently studied how different immune cells influence responses to immunotherapy, and found that B-cells - which produce antibodies among other important functions - are helping patients respond to cancer treatment. We worked with several teams worldwide to validate this finding across cancer types, and 3 manuscripts detailing these findings were published in the highly respected scientific journal Nature. These findings are important, and suggest that B cells may be important predictors of response to cancer treatment, however this needs to be studied in more patients. Importantly, by understanding how B-cells are helping patients respond to cancer treatment, we may also be able to develop new ways to treat patients with cancer. We have some insights into this from studies in our patients, suggesting that patients that respond to immunotherapy have antibody responses against their tumors. We will now build on this in the context of this CPRIT grant, and we will use sequencing data from responding patients to generate anti-cancer antibodies which will then be tested - with the goal of bringing these forward to trials for patients with cancer. Together these studies are important as they provide an opportunity to better predict who will respond to cancer treatment, as well as new therapeutic strategies. Ultimately, insights gained may even inform ways to help prevent cancer altogether.

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