New findings from a recent Jackson Laboratory study might reveal if a patient will respond to immunotherapy. Key findings from the research are reported in a press release.
The scientists utilized long-read RNA-sequencing to locate more than 149,000 distinct versions of RNA messages from real patient lung tumors. Notable findings:
Two interesting gene versions in STAT2 cause cells to produce fewer functioning STAT2 proteins without changing the DNA sequence. Both are results of RNA splicing gone wrong. The authors defined them as “intron retention cases.”
One of the gene versions in STAT2 generates a shortened protein that prevents the “immune alarm system” from working. This version was triggered by a weakened cellular quality-control system.
Among lung and bladder cancer patients who were treated with atezolizumab, individuals with the "actively jamming" version of the STAT2 gene experienced longer lives after immunotherapy.
It is important to note that the findings were uncovered using data from already completed clinical trials. The researchers are calling for additional studies to validate the results in patients. They are working on a patent to explore ways to correct the RNA splicing error and use it to predict immunotherapy response.
