Ipilimumab could be effective in metastatic prostate cancers despite low tumor mutational burden

A study from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (TX, USA) investigating immunotherapy in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) has revealed that despite this cancer’s typically limited response to immunotherapy, a subset of patients experienced prolonged survival following treatment with ipilimumab. The results, published in Science Translational Medicine, suggest that certain patients with mCRPC may benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitors.Cancers that respond well to immune checkpoint inhibitors tend to have high levels of underlying gene mutations, triggering the production of neoantigens that are then recognized by the immune system. Prostate cancers have relatively low levels of mutations and...