ANCESTRY MIGHT EXPLAIN WHY SOME MELANOMA PATIENTS HAVE MORE IMMUNOTHERAPY SIDE EFFECTS

New Delhi: A new study by researchers at the New York University found that ancestry plays a role in how a patient can face the risks of immunotherapy, one of the key ways doctors combat melanoma, an invasive skin cancer. The treatment sometimes uses the body’s own defence mechanism against healthy tissue.

“Studies of racial differences in melanoma outcomes have mainly focused on disparity in social determinants of health, with limited understanding of the possible impact of different ancestry backgrounds,” read the study, published in the Journal of Translational Medicine on 9 September.

The study was conducted by NYU researchers and several collaborators from other universities. They analysed 841 melanoma patients who have received immune checkpoint inhibitors — a type of immunotherapy that removes some of the body’s inhibitors which prevent the immune system from getting too aggressive. Immune cells can then better recognise cancer and attack them.

However, immune checkpoint inhibitors can often lead to damaged healthy organs leading to issues with the intestines, liver, lungs, and other parts of the body. Researchers found that in the study’s cohort of 774 non-hispanic white patients and 67 patients from underrepresented minorities, the minorities faced far more immunotherapy related consequences.

Biological differences

To see if biological differences were behind the findings, research used whole-genome sequences to find out the patients’ genetic ancestry. They also analysed blood samples to identify the presence of autoantibodies, the kind of antibodies that can recognise the body’s own proteins.

The study found that underrepresented minority patients had a greater number of unique autoantibodies. Some of these antibodies were linked to immunotherapy-related side effects. These antibodies targeted proteins that activated immune cells, controlled immune responses, and inflammation across the body.

Researchers even found that among the non-hispanic white patients men were more likely to experience “immune related adverse events”, but among the underrepresented minority, the effects were more common in women.

Researchers highlighted that the underrepresented minority group had only 67 patients and it was too early to say that different ancestry alone causes side effects to immunotherapy. However, they highlighted that their findings suggest that doctors could factor in ancestry while assessing a patient’s risk of immunotherapy side effects.

2026-09-14T08:21:41Z