Forging a link between oncogenic signaling and immunosuppression in melanoma

Immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments limit the efficacy of T cell-based immunotherapy. We have recently demonstrated that the inhibition of BRAFV600E with vemurafenib relieves interleukin-1 (IL-1)-induced T-cell suppression as mediated by melanoma tumor associated fibroblasts (TAFs). These results suggest that inhibitors of the MAPK pathway in combination with T cell-based immunotherapies may induce long-lasting and durable responses.