Using tumor macrophage function to predict immunotherapy response

While new treatment options for metastatic melanoma that activate the immune system to target cancer have helped some patients live longer, many continue to die. We would like to understand why some patients respond to therapy and others do not. Measuring levels of different immune cells that infiltrate the tumor has been used as a tool for predicting if a patient will respond to certain therapy types. One of the most abundant cells in the tumor that performs functions that may contribute to different responses to therapy is the macrophage. New data is showing that macrophages have more diversity than previously thought, and the field needs a better way to classify different types based on their function in tumors. Our group has developed a new classification focused on specific functions macrophages perform that alter characteristics of the tumor. Using tumor samples from patients with metastatic melanoma in the DC area, we will investigate how the abundance of these new macrophage subtypes may be predictive of therapy response.