A gene expression signature associated with B cells predicts benefit from immune checkpoint blockade in lung adenocarcinoma
Jan Budczies, Martina Kirchner, Klaus Kluck, Daniel Kazdal, Julia Glade, Michael Allgäuer, Mark Kriegsmann, Claus Peter Heußel, Felix Herth, H. Winter, Michael Meister, Thomas Muley, Stefan Fröhling, Solange Peters, Barbara Seliger, Peter Schirmacher, Michael Thomas, Petros Christopoulos, Albrecht Stenzinger
Abstract
= .082). Clustering of 79 candidate predictive markers identified among 770 investigated genes revealed two distinct predictive clusters which included cytotoxic cell or macrophage markers, respectively. In summary, targeted gene expression profiling was feasible using routine diagnostics biopsies. This study proposes B cells and total TILs as complementary predictors of ICB benefit in NSCLC. While further preferably prospective validation is required, gene expression profiling could be integrated in the routine diagnostic work-up complementing existing NGS protocols.