Aydah AlAwadhi, Consultant Medical Oncologist and Division Chair of Hematology and Oncology Department at Sheikh Shakbout Medical City, Abu Dhabi, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Durable Remission and Potential Cure with Immunotherapy?
A fascinating article in the NEJM Group explores the biology behind durable responses to immunotherapy.
Immunotherapy has always fascinated me and, honestly, it was one of the reasons I chose oncology. The idea that we can harness the immune system to fight cancer and sometimes achieve remissions lasting years – continues to inspire me.
Today, we are seeing an increasing number of patients with metastatic cancer experiencing deep and durable remissions, occasionally even after treatment discontinuation.
This raises an exciting question:
Could immunotherapy lead to long-term treatment-free remission – or even cure – for a subset of patients?
The article highlights the critical role of stemlike progenitor T cells – a renewable reservoir of immune cells that continuously generates tumor-fighting T cells and sustains long-term antitumor immunity.
Interestingly, PD-1 may be more than simply an immune ‘brake.’
While PD-1 blockade can unleash powerful antitumor responses, prolonged or intensive inhibition may also deplete these stemlike T cells, potentially compromising long-term immune fitness.
Strategies such as interleukin-7 (IL-7) that preserve T-cell stemness and diversity may help extend the durability of immunotherapy responses.
Take-home message: The future of immunotherapy may not be about maximizing immune activation, but rather optimizing the balance between tumor killing and preserving long-term immune fitness.
A thought-provoking perspective that may reshape how we think about immunotherapy, treatment duration, and perhaps even cure in metastatic cancer.”
Title: Stemness as the Engine of Checkpoint Durability
Authors: Richard S. Hotchkiss and John F. DiPersio
Other articles featuring Aydah AlAwadhi on OncoDaily.