Researchers find out why some lung tumors avoid immunotherapy, and learn how to predict this in advance

The oncogenic activation of MYC, a critical gene in cancer progression, has the potential to identify lung cancer patients who may respond poorly to immunotherapy (ICB). This is the main conclusion of a study recently published in Cell Reports Medicine by a team of researchers led by Dr. Montse Sanchez-Cespedes, principal investigator of the Cancer Genetics group at the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute. Their findings highlight a major contributor to poor response and suggest a new approach to selecting patients who will benefit from ICB or require alternative treatments well in advance.