Coexisting Alterations of MHC Class I Antigen Presentation and IFNg Signaling Mediate Acquired Resistance of Melanoma to Post-PD-1 Immunotherapy

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Responses to immunotherapy can be very durable but acquired resistance leading to tumor progression often occurs. We investigated a patient with melanoma resistant to anti-programmed death 1 (anti-PD-1) who participated in the CA224-020 clinical trial (NCT01968109) and had further progression after an initial objective response to anti-PD-1 plus anti-lymphocyte activation gene 3. We found consecutive acquisition of beta-2 microglobulin (B2M) loss and impaired Janus kinase 1 (JAK1) signaling that coexisted in progressing tumor cells. Functional analyses revealed a pan T-cell immune escape phenotype, where distinct alterations mediated independent immune resistance to tumor killing by autologous CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL; B2M loss) and CD4+ TILs (impaired JAK1 signaling). These findings shed light on the complexity of acquired resistance to immunotherapy in the post anti-PD-1 setting, indicating that coexisting altered pathways can lead to pan T-cell immune escape.

Original languageEnglish
JournalCancer Immunology Research
Volume10
Issue number10
Pages (from-to)1254-1262
Number of pages9
ISSN2326-6066
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

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© 2022 American Association for Cancer Research.

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