Locus-specific human endogenous retrovirus ERVK18 expression indicates an inflamed microenvironment and favorable immunotherapy outcome in small cell lung cancer - PubMed
4 hours ago
- #Biomarker
- #Immunotherapy
- #SCLC
- Locus-specific HERV-K transcript ERVK18 expression is linked to an inflamed microenvironment and better immunotherapy outcomes in small cell lung cancer (SCLC).
- ERVK18 shows the strongest positive correlation with immune-related signatures, immune-activated pathways, and increased immune cell infiltration.
- Single-cell and spatial analysis reveal high ERVK18 expression is associated with elevated T cell cytotoxicity and closer spatial proximity between tumor and T cells.
- In the IMpower133 cohort, high ERVK18 expression predicts improved overall survival in patients treated with atezolizumab+chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone.
- ERVK18 serves as a dual prognostic and predictive biomarker for first-line PD-L1 inhibitor response in SCLC.