Interferon-Gamma as a Prognostic Marker in Macroscopic Stage III Melanoma

A study published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, found that there is a recurrence-free survival (RFS) benefit of adjuvant anti-PD-1 for patients with macroscopic stage III melanoma.

Researchers aimed to identify prognostic and predictive biomarkers for adjuvant anti-PD-1 therapy in patients with macroscopic stage III melanoma. Two cohorts of patients were analyzed, comparing clinical data between an observation cohort and an adjuvant intention cohort. RNA sequencing was performed, and treatment subgroups were compared for potential biomarkers, using a treatment-naïve patient cut-off. Two validation cohorts from Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA) and University Medical Centre Utrecht (UMCU) were also included.

The results revealed that the adjuvant intention cohort had significantly longer median RFS compared to the observation cohort. High interferon-gamma (IFNγ) score was associated with longer RFS in both observation and adjuvant patients. Additionally, a high B cell score correlated with longer RFS in the observation cohort but not in the adjuvant cohort. However, the B cell score did not improve accuracy over IFNγ. In the MIA validation cohort, high IFNγ score was associated with longer RFS, while no difference was observed for the B cell score. In the UMCU validation cohorts, neither IFNγ nor B cell score showed a significant difference in RFS.

“IFNγ has shown to be a prognostic marker in both patients who were and were not treated with adjuvant therapy. B cell score was prognostic but did not improve accuracy over IFNγ,” the authors concluded.

Reference
Versluis JM, Blankenstein SA, Dimitriadis P, et al. Interferon-gamma signature as prognostic and predictive marker in macroscopic stage III melanoma. J Immunother Cancer. Published online April 27, 2024. doi:10.1136/jitc-2023-008125