This article has been updated to include additional comment from a study author.
NEW YORK – Germline genetic variants can influence the tumor immune microenvironment and, potentially, immunotherapy response, a new study has found.
Immunotherapy is increasingly used to treat solid tumors, but fewer than 15 percent of patients respond to it. Part of what influences response, scientists have recently found, is what immune cells have infiltrated the tumors, which could itself be governed by host genetics.