Age-related changes in T lymphocytes of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma | Immunity & Ageing | Full Text

Age-related changes in T lymphocytes of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma | Immunity & Ageing | Full Text

Editor's Pick: Age-related changes in T lymphocytes of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Despite the perceived negative health consequences of an ageing immune system, older cancer patients may actually respond better to checkpoint blockade immunotherapy. Wigand et al. looked at surgically-resected head and neck cancers and found that 70-90 year-old patients had significantly fewer regulatory T cells blocking the activity of CD8+ cytotoxic T cells (CTL) than younger patients, although both had equal amounts of CTL. This would make the elderly more likely to respond to the immune-boosting effects of immunotherapy.