B cell subsets are associated with durable responses in distinct cancer types after immune checkpoint inhibition.
Sangwoo Shawn Kim, Sayuri Miyauchi, Riley N Jones et al.
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
In 30 seconds
This study examined B-cell responses and outcomes after immune checkpoint inhibition, combining a prospective randomized phase 2 trial of 106 patients with single-cell profiling of intratumoral B cells from 152 patients across 12 tumor types. Antibody responses were associated with exceptional complete responses in certain cancer types. B-cell subsets showed context-dependent associations: germinal center and memory B cells were enriched in favorable-prognosis cohorts, whereas immunoglobulin A-positive plasma cells were enriched in unfavorable-prognosis cohorts. The findings also linked B cells with long-term survival, including among patients with high T-cell infiltration.
Key findings
- In the prospective randomized phase 2 trial of 106 patients, B-cell antibody responses were associated with exceptional complete responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors in certain cancer types.
- Across 12 tumor types, germinal center and memory B cells were enriched in favorable-prognosis cohorts, while immunoglobulin A-positive plasma cells were enriched in unfavorable-prognosis cohorts.
- B cells were associated with improved long-term overall survival even when T-cell infiltrates were already high.
- Rituximab depletion of B cells before surgery affected intratumoral T-cell frequency and diversity.
Why it matters
The findings suggest that adaptive antitumor immunity may involve coordinated B-cell and T-cell responses, and that the prognostic relevance of B cells depends on their subtype and tumor context. This broadens the assessment of immune responses associated with durable control beyond T-cell infiltration alone, while underscoring that B-cell effects should not be assumed to be uniformly favorable across cancers.
What to keep in mind
The reported associations vary by cancer type and do not establish that B-cell responses cause durable outcomes. The abstract does not provide quantitative effect estimates for the survival or response associations.