Hiding in the dark: pan-cancer characterization of expression and clinical relevance of CD40 to immune checkpoint blockade therapy.

HIGHLIGHTS CD40 expression correlates with the type I anti-tumor response and better survival. Pan-cancer bioinformatics characterization reveals reduced CD40 expression in 11 cancer types, including RASmut melanoma compared to nevi. RAS mutation correlates with reduced CD40 expression in malignant melanoma. CD40 expression is associated with better response to immune checkpoint blockade therapy in melanoma.