A team of scientists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Australia have discovered a unique molecular signature of an aggressive lung cancer called adenocarcinoma.

The biomarker is expected to aid in predicting patients who would potentially respond to anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 immunotherapies that are currently used in clinics for the treatment of other types of cancer.

As the molecular characteristic is present in the blood, researchers believe it could possibly allow development of a simple test for detection of the lung cancer.

The researchers intend to extend their current research from preclinical models to human sample analysis to ensure that the observations would be similar in lung adenocarcinoma patients.