Mitochondrial Genetics Associated With Response To Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor In Patients With Metastatic Melanoma, Study Finds

HealthDay (6/12) reports a study found that “for patients with metastatic melanoma, mitochondrial (MT) haplogroup T (HG-T) is associated with resistance to an anti-programmed cell death protein-1-based immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI).” In the study, researchers “discovered and validated significant associations of MT HG-T with resistance to an anti-programmed cell death protein-1-based ICI, both as a single agent and in combination; HG-T was found to be independent of established tumor predictors.” In addition, “a unique nivolumab-resistant baseline peripheral CD8+ T-cell repertoire was exhibited by patients belonging to HG-T compared with other MT haplogroups (pooled odds ratio, 3.46). This was validated in a clinical trial and in an independent standard-of-care ICI cohort.” The study was published in Nature Medicine.