Immunogenomic precision medicine: a personalized approach based on immunogenomic cancer evolution

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Genetics

Background:

• Cancer progression is viewed through the lens of evolutionary theory, involving diversification and selection.
• The immune system significantly influences cancer development via the cancer immunoediting hypothesis.
• This hypothesis explains how immune evasion leads to clinically apparent cancers, particularly inflammatory types.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the limitations of the current cancer immunoediting hypothesis in explaining non-inflammatory cancers.
• To introduce a novel concept, 'immunogenomic cancer evolution', to describe cancer and immune system co-evolution.
• To explore the potential for personalized immunogenomic cancer precision medicine.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent studies on human cancers, focusing on non-inflammatory types.
• Analysis of genomic and epigenomic alterations in cancer cells.
• Examination of immunosuppressive mechanisms and oncogenic signaling pathways.

Main Results:

• Non-inflammatory cancers can possess immunosuppressive machinery at initial transformation, challenging the sequential immunoediting model.
• The co-evolution of cancer cells and the immune system is crucial for clinically apparent cancer development.
• Targeting oncogenic signaling can enhance antitumor immunity, suggesting therapeutic potential.

Conclusions:

• The concept of 'immunogenomic cancer evolution' provides a framework for understanding diverse cancer development pathways.
• Personalized immunogenomic cancer precision medicine holds promise by integrating genomic insights with immunomodulatory strategies.
• Further research is needed to fully elucidate the interplay between cancer genomics and the immune system for therapeutic advancements.