IMMUcan publication identifies predictors of chemo-immunotherapy response in advanced TNBC

A new publication in Cell Reports Medicine from the IMMUcan consortium provides important insights into the biological factors associated with response to chemo-immunotherapy in advanced triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), one of the principal tumour types investigated within the project.

The study analysed samples from 122 patients with advanced TNBC treated with first-line immune checkpoint inhibitors, combining data from the SYNERGY trial and patients enrolled through the EORTC-1553-SPECTA platform.

Using a comprehensive multi-omics approach, researchers integrated bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing, whole-exome sequencing, immunohistochemistry, imaging mass cytometry and multiplex immunofluorescence to characterise tumour biology before treatment and during the early stages of therapy.

The analysis identified distinct biological profiles associated with clinical outcomes. Tumours from patients with better survival outcomes demonstrated enhanced immune activity, higher proliferative activity and greater spatial co-localisation of B cells and T cells within the tumour microenvironment. These findings suggest that molecular and immune characteristics beyond PD-L1 expression may help predict which patients are most likely to benefit from chemo-immunotherapy.

In addition to identifying potential predictive biomarkers, the study examined changes occurring within tumours shortly after treatment initiation. By analysing on-treatment biopsies collected two weeks after the start of therapy, researchers were able to gain new insights into how tumours adapt to PD-L1 blockade and how the tumour microenvironment evolves during treatment.

The publication highlights the value of the IMMUcan programme in generating deeply characterised datasets for immuno-oncology research. It also demonstrates the contribution of patients and molecular data generated through the EORTC-1553-SPECTA platform, which helped enable this large-scale translational analysis.

The findings contribute to ongoing efforts to improve patient selection for immunotherapy and to advance the development of new biomarkers and treatment strategies for patients with advanced TNBC.