A novel transcriptional signature identifies T-cell infiltration in high-risk paediatric cancer

Molecular profiling of the tumour immune microenvironment (TIME) has enabled the rational choice of immunotherapies in some adult cancers. In contrast, the TIME of paediatric cancers is relatively unexplored. We speculated that a more refined appreciation of the TIME in childhood cancers, rather than a reliance on commonly used biomarkers such as tumour mutation burden (TMB), neoantigen load and PD-L1 expression, is an essential prerequisite for improved immunotherapies in childhood solid cancers.

Citation:
Mayoh C, Gifford AJ, Terry R, ……. Dholaria H, Alvaro F, Tapp H, Diamond Y, Pozza LD, Moore AS, Nicholls W, Gottardo NG, McCowage G, et al. A novel transcriptional signature identifies T-cell infiltration in high-risk paediatric cancer. Genome Med. 2023;15(1):20.

Keywords:
Biomarkers; Paediatric cancer; T-cell infiltration; Transcriptome signature; Tumour immune microenvironment

Abstract:
Molecular profiling of the tumour immune microenvironment (TIME) has enabled the rational choice of immunotherapies in some adult cancers. In contrast, the TIME of paediatric cancers is relatively unexplored. We speculated that a more refined appreciation of the TIME in childhood cancers, rather than a reliance on commonly used biomarkers such as tumour mutation burden (TMB), neoantigen load and PD-L1 expression, is an essential prerequisite for improved immunotherapies in childhood solid cancers.