CD73 Is a Critical Immune Checkpoint in a Molecular Subtype of Pancreatic Cancer.

Molecular stratification of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has the potential to guide clinical decision-making for therapeutic intervention. Investigating mechanisms by which different molecular subtypes of PDAC form and progress will improve patient responses to existing therapies and aid in identifying new, more specific therapeutic approaches. In this issue of Cancer Research, Faraoni and colleagues identified CD73/Nt5e-generated adenosine as a mechanism of immunosuppression specifically in pancreatic ductal-derived basal/squamous-type PDAC. Using genetically engineered mouse models targeting key genetic mutations to pancreatic acinar or ductal cells and an array of experimental and computational biology approaches, the authors found that adenosine signaling through receptor ADORA2B induces immunosuppression and tumor progression in ductal cell-derived tumors. These data demonstrate how molecular stratification of PDAC in combination with targeted approaches may enhance patient responses to therapy in this deadly cancer. See related article by Faraoni et al., p. 1111.