A study from the University of Oxford has found that the cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common virus that remains dormant in healthy individuals, may enhance the response to skin cancer treatment. The research, published in Nature Medicine, looked at melanoma patients undergoing immunotherapy to understand the impact of CMV on treatment responses.
CMV is asymptomatic in most people, who carry it for life. The study involved 341 melanoma patients and revealed that those with CMV had a better response to single-drug PD-1 therapy, often used to prevent melanoma relapse. Additionally, it was noted that CMV-positive patients experienced fewer severe side effects, particularly colitis. The potential delay of melanoma metastasis and additional protection in patients with BRAF-mutated tumors was also observed, suggesting a possible protective role of CMV.
"The CMV virus stimulates a group of T cells, crucial in the fight against cancer," said Professor Benjamin Fairfax, the study leader. He emphasized that CMV infection could influence the effectiveness of immunotherapies and side effect risks. This research points to a new understanding of melanoma development and treatment, as it shows how a virus, unrelated to cancer, can affect both these areas.
The findings encourage future research to confirm these results in larger populations and to investigate CMV-based strategies to enhance immunotherapy efficiency. There is hope that these discoveries will pave the way for more personalized immunotherapy treatments.
The full study, 'Cytomegalovirus infection protects against metastatic melanoma and modulates oncological outcome and toxicity to checkpoint immunotherapy,' is available in Nature Medicine.