Association of PD-1, PD-1 Ligands, and Other Features of the Tumor Immune Microenvironment with Response to Anti–PD-1 Therapy

PURPOSE: Immunomodulatory drugs differ in mechanism-of-action from directly cytotoxic cancer therapies. Identifying factors predicting clinical response could guide patient selection and therapeutic optimization. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Patients (N = 41) with melanoma, non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), renal cell carcinoma (RCC), colorectal carcinoma, or castration-resistant prostate cancer were treated on an early-phase trial of anti-PD-1 (nivolumab) at one institution and had evaluable pretreatment tumor specimens. Immunoarchitectural features, including PD-1, PD-L1, and PD-L2 expression, patterns of immune cell infiltration, and lymphocyte subpopulations, were assessed for interrelationships and potential…

• AA
  American Association for Cancer Research
• JH
  Johns Hopkins University
• JT
  Jounce Therapeutics