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IMMUNOTHERAPY

Immunotherapy biomarkers: the long and winding road

A recent meta-analysis examined and validated biomarkers of response to immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Herein, we discuss the findings of this analysis, which are consistent with previously identified determinants of ICI efficacy and demonstrate that some genetic variables influence response across multiple cancer types.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge funding sources including NIH R01 CA205426 and NIH R35 CA232097 (to T.A.C.).

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Correspondence to Timothy A. Chan.

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Competing interests

T.A.C. is a co-founder and holds equity in Gritstone Oncology; holds equity in An2H; acknowledges grant funding from and has been an advisor for An2H, AstraZeneca, Bristol–Myers Squibb, Eisai, Illumina and Pfizer; has been an advisor for MedImmune; and holds ownership of intellectual property on using tumour mutation burden to predict immunotherapy response, with a patent pending, which has been licensed to PGDx. T.J.A. declares no competing interests.

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Alban, T.J., Chan, T.A. Immunotherapy biomarkers: the long and winding road. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 18, 323–324 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41571-021-00498-w

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