Mature tertiary lymphoid structure is a specific biomarker of cancer immunotherapy

 

Abstract
Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) are organized aggregates of immune cells (mostly T and B cells) present in the tumor microenvironment which play a key role in antitumor immune response. These structures have been identified in several solid tumor types and their presence is associated with better survival. In advanced stages, it has been shown that TLS could predict the patient response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) independently of PD-L1 expression and CD8+ T cell density. However, whether the predictive value of TLS is restricted to immunotherapy or can be also observed for chemotherapy remain an unanswered question.