Soluble PD-1 Is a Potential Biomarker in Metastatic Melanoma in Patients Treated With Autologous Vaccines
Source: Cancer Therapy Advisor, November 2019
Research on programmed-death 1 (PD-1) found on T cells and its receptor, programmed-death ligand 1 (PD-L1), found in varying levels on tumor is a central topic in immunotherapy. However, comparatively little research has been done on the soluble version of the protein (sPD-1) found in blood plasma.
Now a new study, published in the journal Oncotarget,1has assessed sPD-1 levels in patients with metastatic melanoma, before and after treatment with patient-specific autologous cancer vaccines.
“Probably 99% of the papers on PD-1 revolve around PD-1 expressed on the surface of T cells; this sPD-1 variant has been basically ignored in the meantime. It’s a very understudied area,” said Eric Bartee, PhD, associate professor in the department of microbiology and immunology at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston.