Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 15, 2025
Predictive Immune Modeling of Solid Tumors
Published on: February 25, 2020
Predictive biomarkers of response to immune checkpoint inhibitors
María Sacramento Díaz-Carrasco1, Eva González-Haba2, Juana Inés García-Soler3
1Department of Pharmacy, Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca, El Palmar, Murcia. Spain. msacramento.diaz@carm.es.
Objective:
The present paper provides a literature review aimed at identifying the tumor-dependent factors capable of influencing a subject's response to immune checkpoint inhibitors, with a special emphasis on those that may act as predictive biomarkers.
Method:
A search was performed of the terms biomarkers, PD-1, PD- L1, CTLA-4, and checkpoint inhibitors in the title and the abstract of the records in the PubMed database. Articles including relevant information on the tumor-dependent factors capable of influencing a subject's response of immune checkpoint inhibitors were selected. Priority was given to studies in humans (clinical trials and reviews) published between January 2015 and June 2019, in English and Spanish. Results: The literature review exposed the complex relationship that xists between the immune system and tumors. It also revealed that the factors capable of influencing a subject's response to immune checkpoint inhibitors are multiple, heterogeneous and ill understood, which makes it difficult to obtain simple and/or universal predictive biomarkers.
Conclusions:
The only biomarkers currently used in clinical practice include the expression of the programmed cell death ligand-1 and microsatellite instability/ deficient DNA mismatch repair, but their usefulness is limited. Tumor mutational burden and gene signatures associated to IFN-γ could become useful biomarkers once determination techniques and cutoff points are systematized.
