BioCentury
ARTICLE | Tools & Techniques

TMB needs company

Why predicting responses to checkpoint blockade will take more than just TMB

February 1, 2019 12:35 AM UTC

Tumor mutation burden is looking less like a magic bullet and more like just one of at least three variables that could jointly predict responses to checkpoint inhibitors. Combining TMB measurements with markers of T cell inflammation and antigen presentation could pinpoint responders in a wide range of cancers.

However, to avoid the pitfalls that came with measuring PD-L1, the TMB field will need to converge on standards for both methodology and validation that will allow results to be compared across trials. ...