In the vast majority of lung cancers (more precisely in non-small cell lung cancers[1]), immunotherapy is prescribed as first-line treatment for 85% of patients. However, some respond to the treatment, while others do not. Thus, successfully predicting its efficacy represents a crucial issue in order to save time on the progression of the disease, avoid unnecessary side effects. and reduce costs. Scientists from Institut Curie, Inserm, and Mines Paris-PSL have embarked on a pioneering project, which is funded by the Arc Foundation[2] and PR[AI]RIE[3], and which aims to search for new predictive biomarkers.
A pioneer, first of all, in terms of organization: Sixteen researchers from Institut Curie, Inserm, and Mines Paris-PSL, helped by many colleagues and from various fields (imaging, artificial intelligence, pathology, radiomics, tumor biology, etc.) have collaborated in a transdisciplinary manner around the same datasets.
A pioneer in terms of results: this team has managed to identify the best combination of data to predict the response to immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer.
Evidence of the benefit of multimodality
"In collaboration with the team of Prof. Nicolas Girard, head of the department of medical oncology at Institut Curie, we collected, for 317 patients, transcriptomic data, i.e. genome expression; radiomic data, i.e. imaging; tumor anatomical pathology data; and finally clinical data," explains Dr Emmanuel Barillot, director of the Computational Oncology Unit (U1331, Institut Curie, Inserm). "We have thus discovered that algorithms that combine data from three or four of these modalities always predict the response to treatment better than those using only one or two. This evidence of the benefit of multimodality had not yet been reported for non-small cell lung cancer."
Even better, scientists have identified the most predictive modalities and linked them to biological mechanisms. "For example, we have observed that the transcriptome provides good quality information, in particular because it makes it possible to quantify dendritic cells—whose action in the response to immunotherapy is already known," elaborates the researcher.
Hope for clinical application in the near future
Discoveries that will have an impact in the short but also the long term. "Our next research will focus on integrating even more data into our algorithms to verify the reliability of predictions and further improve it," announces Nicolas Captier, first author of the study and PhD student in the Computational Systems Biology of Cancer team at Institut Curie. "And ultimately, the hope is to be able to use such algorithms to develop the therapeutic strategy."
The practice will require close collaboration with doctors for its implementation: a process that should be facilitated by the ability of researchers at Institut Curie to work together with teams from the Hospital Group across the board.
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Reference: N. Captier et al., Integration of clinical, pathological, radiological, and transcriptomic data improves prediction for first-line immunotherapy outcome in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, Nature Communications. January 12, 2025. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-55847-5 |
Press contacts
Elsa Champion – elsa.champion@curie.fr /+33 (0)7 64 43 09 28
Miriam Hamza - myriam.hamza@havas.com / +33 06 45 87 46 51
About Institut Curie
Institut Curie, the first French center for the fight against cancer, combines an internationally renowned research center and a state-of-the-art hospital group that takes care of all cancers, including the rarest kinds. Founded in 1909 by Marie Curie, Institut Curie brings together on its three sites (Paris, Saint-Cloud, and Orsay) over 3,800 researchers, doctors, and caregivers who are all dedicated to work towards completing its three missions - care, research, and teaching. Recognized foundation of public utility authorized to receive donations and bequests, Institut Curie can, thanks to the support of its donors, accelerate discoveries and thus improve the treatments and the quality of life of the sick patients.
Learn more at: curie.fr, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, BlueSky
About Mines Paris - PSL
Mines Paris - PSL, a component of PSL University, trains engineers capable of meeting tomorrow's challenges, scientifically excellent and international leaders. As part of its strategic plan, the School aims to be a key player in the fields of innovation and entrepreneurship, energy transition and materials for more economical technologies, mathematics and digital engineering for the transformation of industry, including health, while remaining loyal, since its creation in 1783, to its values of solidarity and openness to society.
About Inserm
Founded in 1964, Inserm is a public scientific and technological institute which operates under the joint authority of the French Ministries of Health and Research. The institute is dedicated to biomedical research and human health, and is involved in the entire range of activities from the laboratory to the patient’s bedside. It also partners with the most prestigious research institutions in the world that are committed to scientific challenges and progress in these fields
[1] These cancers represent more than 80% of lung cancers and include adenocarcinomas (60% of cases), squamous cell carcinomas (30% of cases), and large cell carcinomas (rarer).
[2] Cancer Research Foundation
[3] One of the four French artificial intelligence institutes that brings together PSL University, including Institut Curie, as well as Paris Cité University, the CNRS, Inria, Pasteur Institute, and major industrial players such as Google and Meta.
