E. Shyam P. Reddy: Older adults respond well to immunotherapy despite age-related immune system differences
E. Shyam P. Reddy, Professor and Director of Cancer Biology Program at Morehouse School of Medicine, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Most new solid tumor cancer diagnoses happen in people aged 65 or older, and overall, these patients have worse cancer treatment outcomes than their younger peers. The reasons for these differences are not entirely clear.
Age-related changes that make the immune system less effective could make it harder for patients’ immune systems to fight cancer cells.
Newer immune system-boosting therapies may help, but questions remain about whether age-related immune changes might blunt the drugs’ effects.
The new study, published in Nature Communications, bolsters evidence that lifesaving immune checkpoint inhibitors are effective across age groups despite age-related changes in the immune response. The study identifies some key differences in the immune response to these drugs in older patients compared with younger ones that may one day help clinicians further personalize therapies and boost treatment success.
“Older patients do just as well, sometimes better, than younger patients with immunotherapy treatments. We found clues about important pathways mediating the immune system response to immunotherapies in younger versus older patients that may help us improve the next generation of therapies or allow us to use current therapies in all patients more effectively.” says senior author Daniel Zabransky, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The study examined immune cells and proteins they release called cytokines in the blood of about 100 patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors for cancer. About half of the patients were aged 65 or older. Both groups benefited from therapy equally, but there were differences in their immune responses and immune cells.
For example, T cells are the cells that help destroy damaged cells, bacteria or viruses. In response to an infection or other threat, groups of T cells specialize in eliminating that particular foe.”
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