Researchers have pinpointed changes in white blood cells that seem to forecast how individuals with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, might respond to treatment. This discovery holds promise for aiding doctors in determining who might benefit from immunotherapy. The study, involving a group of 24 patients, lays groundwork for future exploration rather than serving as an immediate breakthrough.
Blood Cells Offer Clues
Lucy Booth, a PhD student at King’s College London (KCL) and the study’s lead author, highlighted the potential of these findings to open new research pathways in melanoma treatment. “B cells have emerged as critical contributors to survival and treatment outcomes in melanoma,” she stated. “In-depth studies of these cells may provide important insights to help address the current clinical challenges in melanoma treatment. Studying immune cells from patient blood samples allows for a much less invasive method than biopsies.”
Booth told Newsweek, “For the first time, we have characterized B and T cells together from the blood of patients with melanoma and we found distinct immune features present in patients, indicating potential future biomarkers of disease.”
Melanoma ranks as the fifth most common cancer in the U.K., where the research was conducted. In the U.S., the American Cancer Society anticipates approximately 112,000 new cases this year. While early detection of melanoma makes it highly treatable, the cancer is particularly fatal when it progresses. Standard treatments include surgery, targeted drugs, and immunotherapy, which enables the patient’s immune system to recognize and eliminate cancer cells.
Immunotherapy has significantly improved outcomes for numerous patients with advanced melanoma. However, it benefits only about half of these patients, and some endure severe side effects. Until now, doctors lacked a reliable method to predict in advance which patients would respond favorably to the treatment and which might be at risk of adverse effects.
What the Study Found
The team at KCL, in collaboration with Queen Mary University of London, examined two principal types of white blood cells: B cells that produce antibodies and T cells that aid in directly destroying cancer cells. They discovered synchronized changes in these immune cells during treatment that correlated with patient outcomes.
Patients whose B and T cells exhibited renewed activation and expansion within the initial six weeks of immunotherapy commonly experienced better results, including enhanced survival. Conversely, patients whose B cells remained immature or poorly functioning during treatment typically had worse outcomes. Those with a weaker capacity to trigger anti-cancer responses before starting treatment also faced lower survival rates. Certain T cell subtypes were associated with treatment side effects.
The researchers also identified significant variations in immune cell levels between patients, potentially explaining differing treatment responses among individuals.
The study assessed blood samples from 24 patients with stage 2 to 4 melanoma, alongside samples from 25 healthy volunteers, across multiple points before and during treatment. Utilizing mass cytometry technology, which enables comprehensive analysis of many characteristics of individual immune cells simultaneously, researchers identified rare cell populations and tracked their evolution over time. This marked the first instance of such detailed joint studies of circulating B cells and T cells in melanoma patients.
Booth added, “This work aims to support the integration of blood immune profiling into clinical settings to guide surveillance and early intervention of patients with melanoma.”
Reference: Booth, L., Karagiannis, S. N., et al. (2026). Circulating B cell and T cell activation states predict clinical outcomes in melanoma and reveal dynamic immune reinvigoration with checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy. Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer. https://doi.org/10.1136/jitc-2026-015585.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Sirena Bergman and Cristina Diciu.
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