We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us

Download Mobile App




New Biomarkers Predict Outcome of Cancer Immunotherapy

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 25 Jan 2018
Melanoma and lung cancer can be combatted effectively through immunotherapy, which makes targeted use of the immune system's normal function of regularly examining the body's tissue for pathogens and damages.

Specific inhibitors are used to activate immune cells in a way that makes them identify cancer cells as foreign bodies and eliminate them. More...
This way, the immune system can boost its often weak immune response to allow it to even detect and destroy metastatic cancer cells.

Scientists at the University of Zurich (Zurich, Switzerland) and their colleagues examined biomarkers in 40 blood samples of 20 patients, both before and 12 weeks after immunotherapy. For this, they used the high-dimensional "cytometry by time of flight" (Cy-TOF) cell analysis method, which analyzes cells for up to 50 different proteins one cell at a time. The team was able to differentiate every single cell and document its activation status and even nuanced differences between the patient samples were recorded in detail.

The investigators, observed that during therapy a clear response to immunotherapy in the T cell compartment. However, before commencing therapy, a strong predictor of progression-free and overall survival in response to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy was the frequency of CD14+CD16-HLA-DRhi monocytes. They confirmed this by conventional flow cytometry in an independent, blinded validation cohort, and they propose that the frequency of monocytes in peripheral blood monocytes (PBMCs) may serve in clinical decision support. For the finding to be easily verifiable the biomarkers should be easily detectable; indeed, the blood count was able to be validated using conventional methods in a second, independent cohort of more than 30 people.

Burkhard Becher, PhD, a professor of Immunology and the senior author of the study, said, “Even before the start of a therapy, we observed a subtle and weak immune response in the blood, and identified this molecular pattern as the immune cells CD14+CD16-HLA-DRhi.” The study was published on January 8, 2018, in the journal Nature Medicine.

Related Links:
University of Zurich


Gold Member
Quantitative POC Immunoassay Analyzer
EASY READER+
Portable Electronic Pipette
Mini 96
New
8-Channel Pipette
SAPPHIRE 20–300 µL
New
Sample Transportation System
Tempus1800 Necto
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








Channels

Hematology

view channel
Image: New research points to protecting blood during radiation therapy (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Pioneering Model Measures Radiation Exposure in Blood for Precise Cancer Treatments

Scientists have long focused on protecting organs near tumors during radiotherapy, but blood — a vital, circulating tissue — has largely been excluded from dose calculations. Each blood cell passing through... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: Conceptual design of the CORAL capsule for microbial sampling in the small intestine (H. Mohammed et al., Device (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.device.2025.100904)

Coral-Inspired Capsule Samples Hidden Bacteria from Small Intestine

The gut microbiome has been linked to conditions ranging from immune disorders to mental health, yet conventional stool tests often fail to capture bacterial populations in the small intestine.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.