Why Do Some Cancer Patients Respond Better To Treatment Than Others? Answer Lies In Body’s Defense Mechanism

Our bodies work in mysterious ways, even if you see similar results in some people, there will always be exceptions. Cancer treatment is no different. Even though the odds are good for certain people, others cannot be as sure of how or what may happen during the process of treatment but why is that?Powerful new cancer treatment, called immunotherapy, work incredibly well for some cancers but barely affects others. Now, scientists think they might know why, it turns out that tiny proteins in a patient's own body, called autoantibodies, seem to play a big role in how well these treatments work. These autoantibodies are usually linked to illnesses where the immune system attacks the body, like psoriasis or lupus. But this new research suggests they can also greatly influence a person's response to cancer immunotherapies. How Autoantibodies Influence Tumor Shrinkage?The study found that certain natural autoantibodies can significantly increase the chances of tumors shrinking. In some cases, these autoantibodies made it five to ten times more likely for a patient to respond positively to a type of immunotherapy called checkpoint blockade. This is a major discovery because it shows these naturally occurring proteins can have a powerful effect on treatment outcomes. This research focused on immune checkpoint inhibitors. These are drugs designed to boost the body's natural ability to fight cancer. They essentially remove the cancer cells' "disguise" that allows them to hide from the immune system. While these drugs have completely changed how we treat many cancers, like melanoma and certain lung cancers, they don't work for everyone. Understanding why some patients respond and others don't has been a big puzzle. Why Do Some People Respond Better To Cancer Treatment? According to a 2020 study in the National Cancer Institute, researchers looked at ‘exceptional responders’ meaning people who respond exceptionally well to treatment while others don’t. Many of the patients in this study had advanced cancers that are usually very hard to treat, yet some of them saw their cancer shrink for many years. The researchers found that for about a quarter of the patients (26 out of 111), the researchers found specific molecular features in their tumors that could explain their amazing responses. These features included unusual combinations of rare genetic changes in the tumor, or a high number of certain immune cells, like B lymphocytes, getting into the tumor. They also found that some people who had unusual changes in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes which are responsible for repairing the DNA, also influenced the treatment. These unusual changes meant the genes couldn’t repair the DNA, making the cancer cells vulnerable to treatment. In other cases, the body's immune system played a big role in getting rid of the tumor. For example, higher levels of specific immune cells called B lymphocytes in tumors were linked to these great responses. Another interesting find was that sometimes, due to a rare combination of genes, the treatment led to the death of tumor cells, this is called synthetic lethality, meaning that two non-lethal things combine and become a deadly combo. Role of Autoantibodies in Cancer Treatment The study revealed that cancer patients generally have more of these autoantibodies in their blood than healthy people. What's fascinating is that some of these autoantibodies were connected to better treatment results. For example, certain autoantibodies acted like a shield, blocking a specific immune signal called interferon. When these autoantibodies were present, the immunotherapy drugs, like checkpoint inhibitors, were much more effective at attacking tumors. This makes sense because other research has shown that too much interferon can actually exhaust the immune system, making it less effective at fighting cancer. It's almost as if some patients' bodies produced their own helpful medicine, neutralizing interferon and giving the cancer treatment a significant boost. This discovery provides a clear path for creating new combination therapies that could intentionally adjust the interferon pathway for all patients. However, not all autoantibodies were helpful. Some were actually linked to worse outcomes. These likely interfered with important immune system functions needed to fight cancer. Future research will focus on finding ways to remove or block these harmful autoantibodies, which could improve immunotherapy for many more patients.

Why Do Some Cancer Patients Respond Better To Treatment Than Others? Answer Lies In Body’s Defense Mechanism

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