"Cell" classifies cancer precisely based on 'immune prototype'

The UCSF researchers, led by first co-authors Alexis Combes, PhD, and Bushra Samad, PhD, and senior author Max Krummel, PhD, obtained tumor specimens from 78 UCSF clinicians and surveyed 364 patients.

"It's a new framework for looking at cancer patients," said Combes, an incoming assistant professor in the UCSF Department of Pathology

Immunotherapy for cancer uses the body's immune system to fight cancer

"Why immunotherapy works for some people and not for others is a question of our research," Combes said

tumor microenvironment

Tumors are not just out of control cells

The team found that various cancers appear in prescribed forms, each representing a unique subversion of the body's immune defenses

"We could see tumors and their environment communicate with each other," Krummel said

The team was able to divide the tumors into 12 groups, which they called prototypes

Their research shows that the immune archetype of a tumor is not necessarily associated with a certain type of cancer

"Unbiased interrogation of multiple data sources, including genetic sequencing, cell surface markers, imaging, and patient clinical data, sets the stage for us to be able to identify and characterize these immune archetypes," Samad said

Identify patients for clinical trials

This classification scheme not only identifies which tumors are susceptible to current immunotherapies, but also helps identify which patients are most responsive in which clinical trials

"This framework allows us to remove a lot of noise," Krummel said.

Clinicians and researchers contribute knowledge

Krummel's research team brought together a large group of UCSF researchers and clinicians -- 78 in all -- who provided interdisciplinary expertise

"This is just the beginning of this project," Krummel said.

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Cell