Novel non-invasive approaches to identify biomarkers of response to immunotherapies in non-small cell lung cancer

Project objectives

In recent years, the pharmacological treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer has seen the introduction into clinical practice of new molecules targeting specific immune checkpoints (PD-1/PDL-1), capable of reactivating the endogenous immune response against the tumor. These immunotherapeutic agents have significantly improved patient outcomes in terms of overall survival and few immune-related adverse effects. However, a portion of patients do not respond to immunotherapy and/or develop immune-related toxicities. To date, the only biomarker used to predict treatment efficacy is PDL-1 expression on the primary tumor, but it does not always correlate with an actual clinical response. Therefore, identifying non-invasive biomarkers capable of selecting patients who will benefit from immunotherapy is of crucial importance and represents the focus of the project.

The Sensory Systems Electronics research group at Campus Bio-Medico recently patented the "electronic nose," a diagnostic tool capable of performing precise, non-invasive, and low-cost analyses. This technology, by analyzing a patient's breath alone, can create an electronic graph that can reveal their health status. This tool would allow us to identify profiles of volatile compounds in patients' breath, potentially associated with response to immunotherapy.

It has recently been observed that resistance to immunotherapy treatments can also be attributed to an abnormal composition of the patient's microbiota. Therefore, the variety and composition of the bacterial species that make up the microbiota could predict the clinical benefit of treatment.

The project therefore aims to identify new biomarkers of response to immunotherapy using these non-invasive and repeatable approaches during treatment to allow for constant patient monitoring.

Start and end date

January 2019 - ongoing

Project Manager

Prof. Giuseppe Tonini
Prof. Daniele Santini
Dr. Francesco Pantano

Research Team:
- Dr. Michele Iuliani
- Dr. Giulia Ribelli
- Dr. Sonia Simonetti
- Dr. Marco Russano

Coordinating institution of the project

Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma

Other Research Units involved

Sensory Systems Electronics Unit, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma

Funding source(s).

No profit