Latent tumor killers awakened.

A 15-gene signature reveals latent tumor-reactive T cells in bone marrow that can be expanded by immunotherapy, predicting patient responses in bone marrow malignancies.

• Why it matters: Understanding dormant tumor-reactive T cells could improve immunotherapy strategies and patient outcomes, addressing a key gap in cancer treatment.
• What they did: Kehl et al. created a single-cell atlas of bone marrow T cells from patients with malignancies, identifying a specific subset characterized by a 15-gene signature.
• The result: This subset's expansion correlates with positive clinical responses, enabling better prediction of immunotherapy success and potential for targeted activation of dormant immune cells.