Radiation-induced neoantigens broaden the immunotherapeutic window of cancers with low mutational loads.

ABSTRACT: Immunotherapies are a promising advance in cancer treatment. However, because only a subset of cancer patients benefits from these treatments it is important to find mechanisms that will broaden the responding patient population. Generally, tumors with high mutational burdens have the potential to express greater numbers of mutant neoantigens. As neoantigens can be targets of protective adaptive immunity, highly mutated tumors are more responsive to immunotherapy. Given that external beam radiation 1) is a standard-of-care cancer therapy, 2) induces expression of mutant proteins and potentially mutant neoantigens in treated cells, and 3) has been shown to synergize clinically with immune checkpoint therapy (ICT), we hypothesized that at least one mechanism of this synergy was the generatio

SUBMITTER: Lussier DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8214694 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature