Hunt for Reliable Biomarkers for Immunotherapy Continues in Melanoma

Source: OncLive, November 2020

Although immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized the treatment of patients with melanoma, identifying reliable biomarkers of response to this approach has proven to be exceedingly challenging, according to Douglas B. Johnson, MD, MSCI.

Obesity has been linked with improved responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors; however, the question regarding the association between body composition measures, such as muscle and fat, and patient outcomes has remained largely unanswered.

In an effort to learn more, investigators conducted a body composition analysis to quantify skeletal muscle index, skeletal muscle density, skeletal muscle gauge (SMG), and total adipose tissue index (TATI) of each patient at the third lumbar vertebrae.

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