Interferon-Stimulated Neutrophils as a Predictor of Immunotherapy Response
Interferon-stimulated neutrophils as a predictor of immunotherapy response | A study lead by Prof. Yuval Shaked and the group of Prof. Shai Shen-Orr of the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine identified a promising new biomarker that could significantly improve the ability to predict whether cancer patients will respond to immunotherapy treatment. After a four-year investigation combining computational analysis, mouse models, and patient validation, the team discovered that levels of a specific type of white blood cell correlate strongly with immunotherapy effectiveness. Their studies showed that these cells are abundant in tumors sensitive to immunotherapy even before treatment begins, and demonstrated mechanisms by which these cells contribute to treatment responsiveness. Strikingly, baseline of these cells in both mice and a large patient cohort predicted immunotherapy outcomes much more reliably than current biomarkers. This discovery could enable better selection of immunotherapy candidates and represents an important step towards overcoming treatment resistance.
