A study published today in Cell has revealed the existence of “craters” on the surface of melanoma tumors that seem to be essential for immune cells to successfully infiltrate and kill the cancer cells. Results point out the possibility that these physical regions may provide a valuable biomarker to predict which patients will respond to checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy.

“We found that rather than patrolling the entire tumor surface, CD8+ T cells aggregated in pockets on the melanoma border, forming prolonged interactions with melanoma cells,” says Leonard Zon, MD, director of the stem cell program at Boston Children’s Hospital and senior author of the study. “We termed these pockets Cancer Regions of Antigen presentation and T cell Engagement and Retention (CRATERs) and saw tha

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