Glioblastoma: two immune subtypes under the surface of the cold tumor

Aging (Albany NY). 2022 May 23;14(10):4357-4375. doi: 10.18632/aging.204067. Epub 2022 May 23.

Abstract

Glioblastoma is classified as an immunocompromised tumor. The immune pattern beneath the cold tumor surface, however, has yet to be confirmed. Understanding the immune pattern of glioblastoma will aid in the development of effective treatment strategies. We performed weighted gene co-expression network analysis on all immune-related genes in TCGA-GBM transcriptional data and screened 35 prognosis-related immune genes. Unsupervised consistent clustering of these genes was used to analyze the immunological pattern of GBM. A glioblastoma immune prognostic score was developed by using 13 genes discovered by cox regression methods and verified with the GEO dataset to assess the immune profile, prognosis, and immunotherapy effects in individual patients. Glioblastoma has two immune modalities, immune tolerance and immunodeficiency, with distinct immune microenvironments, tumor-associated macrophages being one of the most promising new therapeutic targets. GIPS is a promising biomarker for assessing immune evasion mechanisms, immunotherapy responses, and prognosis in patients.

Keywords: biomarker; glioblastoma; immunity; immunotherapy; tumor microenvironment.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Brain Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Glioblastoma* / genetics
  • Glioblastoma* / therapy
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy / methods
  • Prognosis
  • Tumor Microenvironment / genetics