T cell or the T lymphocyte is a type of White Blood Cell that is a vital part of our immune system and can respond to virtually any antigen or foreign particle entering our body. There are a bunch of these T cell variants such as Regulatory T cells, Cytotoxic T cells, Helper T cells etc.
Now, a group of investigators at the University of Southampton and the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology have found that a variant- the tissue-resident Memory T cell, is capable of predicting the effectiveness of the immunotherapy treatment in lung cancer patients.
Although immunotherapies have shown great potential and also yielded fantastic results in the past, they however do not guarantee a cent percent recovery, and also determining an individual patient’s response level to the technique has proven to be difficult in case of this approach.
With the study of these tissue-resident immune cells and their activity, we finally possess the power to predict the benefit of an immunotherapy and a real indication of who might benefit from a particular immuno-drug before we make treatment decisions.
The team found that if around 34% of these T cells were to be present at the
location of the tumor, the patients were less likely to die and that it was not just the number that increased survival chances, but also the cells’ behavior which played a key role. The cells were discovered to cluster together and take up residence in the cancer in order to protect the patient. These new T cells also were seen producing other molecules that attack the tumor, meaning that the body’s immune system could be more likely to hunt out and destroy the cancer cells.“Our results will also make the treatment pathway more reassuring for our patients. And if we can translate our finding into clinical practice, then we will also save patients unnecessary side effects and reduce costs to the National Health Service.” Said Dr. Christian Ottensmeier, M.D., Cancer Research UK scientist at the University of Southampton.
