Inflammatory B cells correlate with failure to checkpoint blockade in melanoma patients

• Main Authors: Kaat de Jonge, Laure Tillé, Joao Lourenco, Hélène Maby-El Hajjami, Sina Nassiri, Julien Racle, David Gfeller, Mauro Delorenzi, Grégory Verdeil, Petra Baumgaertner, Daniel E. Speiser
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2021-01-01
• Series: OncoImmunology
• Subjects: b cells; tumor microenvironment; immune checkpoint; melanoma; inflammation
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2162402X.2021.1873585

The understanding of the role of B cells in patients with solid tumors remains insufficient. We found that circulating B cells produced TNFα and/or IL-6, associated with unresponsiveness and poor overall survival of melanoma patients treated with anti-CTLA4 antibody. Transcriptome analysis of B cells from melanoma metastases showed enriched expression of inflammatory response genes. Publicly available single B cell data from the tumor microenvironment revealed a negative correlation between TNFα expression and response to immune checkpoint blockade. These findings suggest that B cells contribute to tumor growth via the production of inflammatory cytokines. Possibly, these B cells are different from tertiary lymphoid structure-associated B cells, which have been described to correlate with favorable clinical outcome of cancer patients. Further studies are required to identify and characterize B cell subsets and their functions promoting or counteracting tumor growth, with the aim to identify biomarkers and novel treatment targets.