"Subset Of Cells In Bladder Cancer May Hinder Immunotherapy Outcomes" - Kristie L. Kahl
The presence of a type of cell – known to provide structure to one’s organs – found in bladder cancer may explain why some patients do not respond to PD-1 and PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitors, according to a study published in Nature Communications. Matthew Galsky, MD, professor of medicine, hematology and medical oncology, urology and medical director of genitourinary medical oncology at the Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and colleagues used a cohort of patients with metastatic bladder cancer treated with Opdivo. They found that the expression of a set of genes that are typically linked to more aggressive bladder cancers was actually more commonly linked to stromal cells rather than the cancer cells themselves. Tumors with increased expression of these genes, known as epithelial mesenchymal transition genes, did not respond well to immune checkpoint inhibitors.
- Matthew Galsky, MD, Professor, Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, Urology, Medical Director, Genitourinary Medical Oncology, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Jun Zhu, PhD, Professor, Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Head, Data Science, Sema4