Advances in Applied Cellular Analysis * PD-L1 Mutations and Immunotherapy Resistance study author Keisuke Kataoka, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Pathology and Tumor Biology at Kyoto University. "Our study suggests that whether or not a cancer has this particular abnormality could be a good indicator of its response to immune checkpoint inhibitor drugs." The findings from this study were published recently in Nature in an article entitled "Aberrant PD-L1 Expression Through 3'-UTR Disruption in Multiple Cancers." Antibodies that target PD-L1 or its receptor PD-1 have shown extraordinary therapeutic effects for many cancer patients-even for those who are terminally ill. 6 | GENengnews.com Japanese scientists have found unique genetic alterations that could indicate whether expensive immune checkpoint inhibitors would be effective for a particular patient. Publishing in Nature, the study reports that genetic alterations affecting a part of the PD-L1 gene increase the production of the protein, allowing cancer cells to escape detection by the immune system. Kyoto Universityhttp://www.GENengnews.com