Researchers at University of California Los Angeles discovered how advanced melanoma grows resistant to immunotherapies, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
While immunotherapy drugs like Kenilworth, N.J.-based Merck's Keytruda can produce long-lasting remissions for some cancer patients, other patients may at first respond to the drugs and then see their cancer return months or years later.
The researchers studied biopsies of melanoma tumors before and after treatment with Keytruda. They found three patients developed gene defects after taking the drug that hindered their immune systems' ability to recognize and kill cancer cells.
Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, lead author of the study, believes these results could be generalized to all PD-1 immunotherapy treatments.
"This will help us to better design the next generation of treatment," said Dr. Ribas in a Reuters report. "If we understand the process, we may be able to tailor the treatment better."
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