Source: MedicalXpress, May 2025
Melanoma is one of the most aggressive forms of skin cancer, arising from pigment-producing cells called melanocytes. While early-stage melanoma can often be treated successfully, advanced disease remains difficult to manage. One of the reasons is that responses to modern immunotherapy vary widely—some tumors shrink dramatically, while others do not respond at all.
Researchers are increasingly focusing on the tumor microenvironment, the collection of immune cells and molecules surrounding the tumor, to understand what drives this variability. In particular, the role of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs)—immune cells that penetrate or surround tumors—is a growing area of interest, as their presence has been linked to both prognosis and treatment outcomes.
A study led by Vucinic and colleagues sheds new light on how a protein known as MITF (microphthalmia-associated transcription factor), which influences melanoma cell behavior, may be connected to patterns of immune infiltration in tumors.