Open AccessEvaluation of TTV replication as a biomarker of immune checkpoint inhibitors efficacy in melanoma patients
Author(s) -
Rémi Pescarmona,
William Mouton,
Thierry Walzer,
Stéphane Dalle,
Anaïs Eberhardt,
Karen BrengelPesce,
Marine Villard,
Christine Lombard,
Sophie TrouilletAssant,
Sébastien Viel
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0255972
Subject(s) - torque teno virus , viral load , immunology , immune system , viremia , virology , nivolumab , viral replication , population , medicine , virus , melanoma , immune checkpoint , biology , cancer research , immunotherapy , genotype , biochemistry , environmental health , gene
Torque Teno Virus (TTV) is a small, non-enveloped, single-stranded and circular DNA virus that infects the majority of the population worldwide. Increased levels of plasma TTV viral load have been observed in various situations of immune deficiency or dysregulation, and several studies have suggested that TTV levels may be inversely correlated with immune competence. The measurement of TTV viremia by qPCR has been proposed as a potential biomarker for the follow-up of functional immune competence in immunosuppressed individuals, particularly hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. We hypothesized that TTV viral load could be used as a prognostic marker of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) efficacy, and therefore investigated the TTV viral load in melanoma patients treated with nivolumab or pembrolizumab before and after 6 months of treatment. In the present study, TTV viral load was not different in melanoma patients before anti-PD-1 introduction compared to healthy volunteers, was not modified by ICI treatment and did not allowed to distinguish patients with treatment-sensitive tumor from patients with treatment-resistant tumor.