Genetic Screening Seen to Improve Immunotherapy Outcomes

Scott Kafker received his juris doctorate from the University of Chicago Law School in 1985. Starting as a judicial clerk, he rose to become an associate justice in 2001, and he was appointed chief justice of the Appeals Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 2015. Despite his many responsibilities as a justice, Scott Kafker makes time to be a staunch cancer advocate.
Recently, a team led by pediatric oncologist W. Nicholas Haining shed light on a novel genetic screening approach that has the potential to aid cancer immunotherapy. The method involves the use of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology in identifying new drug targets, enhancing the effect of a new class of immunotherapy agents known as PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors.
The study suggests that there are numerous biological pathways that could be targeted to help the body’s immune system attack cancer cells. One such pathway is PTPN2, a gene that, when deleted, makes cancer cells more susceptible to PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors.
