AuthOr’s VIew AuthOr’s VIew

Insights into the mechanisms exploited by melanoma cells to escape immunosurveil-lance, especially in relation to cytotoxic T cells, regulatory T cells (Tregs) and negative immune regulators (e.g., CTLA-4, PD-1/PD-L1) informed the design of checkpoint blockade-targeting therapies and demonstrated that antibodies-based treatments in particular and immunother-apeutic approaches in general can provide great benefit to cancer patients.1,2 Despite constituting important com-ponents of adaptive immunity, B-cell responses, their cross-talk with cancer, antineoplastic functions, and contribu-tions to tumor progression have until recently remained largely unexplored. The first clues on the importance of B cells for oncogenesis and tumor progression came from studies reporting the presence of antibodies specific for melanoma-associated antigens (e.g., NY-ESO-1, MAGE-3, Melan-A) in patients ’ sera.3 More recently, we have reported the existence of memory B-cell responses against human melanoma. Thus, tumor-reactive IgG antibodies secreted by the B IgG4 antibodies and cancer-associated inflammation Insights into a novel mechanism of immune escap