Immune gene signatures as prognostic criteria for cancer patients

[D.ap]

Immune gene signatures as prognostic criteria for cancer patients

Abstract

Recently, the possibility of using immune gene signatures (IGSs) has been considered as a novel prognostic tool for numerous cancer types. State-of-the-art methods of genomic, transcriptomic, and protein analysis have allowed the identification of a number of immune signatures correlated to disease outcome. The major adaptive and innate immune components are the T lymphocytes and macrophages, respectively. Herein, we collected essential data on IGSs consisting of subsets of T cells and tumor-associated macrophages and indicating cancer patient outcomes. We discuss factors that can introduce errors in the recognition of immune cell types and explain why the significance of immune signatures can be interpreted with uncertainty. The unidirectional functions of cell types should be entirely addressed in the signatures constructed by the combination of innate and adaptive immune cells. The state of the antitumor immune response is the key basis for IGSs and should be considered in gene signature construction. We also analyzed immune signatures for the prediction of immunotherapy response. Finally, we attempted to explain the present-day limitations in the use of immune signatures as robust criteria for prognosis.

Keywords: cancer prognosis, gene sets, immune signature, T cell, therapy response, transcriptome, tumor-associated macrophages



https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10399276/

[laur909]

This is an interesting read on the use of immune gene signatures (IGSs) as prognostic tools for cancer patients. IGSs, based on T cells and tumor-associated macrophages, could potentially help predict disease outcomes and therapy responses. However, there are limitations, like errors in immune cell recognition, which can impact the reliability of these signatures. It’s a promising area but still needs more refinement for clinical application.