- Research suggests that Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection before a skin cancer diagnosis improves patient response to immunotherapy (a form of treatment that harnesses the immune system to target cancer).
- Skin cancer patients with a previous CMV infection were also found to:
- Live longer following single-treatment immunotherapy
- Suffer fewer side-effects during treatment
- Have a reduced chance of their cancer spreading
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common virus that, while typically asymptomatic, is carried for life by around 50–60% of UK adults*. In healthy individuals, CMV is kept in a dormant state by the immune system; however, this process profoundly reshapes how the immune system operates. The study - published today in Nature Medicine - explored how CMV affected the immune responses of 341 melanoma patients receiving immunotherapy, a form of cancer treatment that helps harness the immune system to recognise and fight cancer.
Melanoma is a cancer of the skin that can be difficult to cure if not caught early. Immunotherapies have improved the survival rates of melanoma, but not all patients benefit, and some go on to develop resistance. Occasionally, patients develop side-effects from immunotherapy (especially those receiving combination treatments), which can be life-changing and, in some cases, fatal.
This research, which is the first of its kind, suggests that CMV infection may improve treatment outcomes in melanoma patients receiving less intensive immunotherapy, while also markedly reducing the frequency of severe side-effects. The researchers also found that CMV infection potentially delays melanoma from developing and spreading, indicating that the immune response to CMV might also impact cancer development.