Tumor intrinsic resistance to anti-programmed death 1

Immunotherapy has risen to the forefront of systemic treatment options against advanced melanoma, demonstrating both increased efficacy and decreased toxicity. Specifically, immune checkpoint blockades with agents that inhibit the interaction between programmed death 1 (PD-1) and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) have achieved significant success in the clinical setting. However, patients can experience progression following an initial response to anti-PD-1 therapy, and this has fueled an interest in elucidating the potential mechanisms underlying adaptive immune resistance. In this study, Zaretsky et al.
presents hypothesis-generating data that mutations within pathways involving interferon signaling and antigen presentation contribute to relapse.