Analysis of multispectral imaging with the AstroPath platform informs efficacy of PD-1 blockade

Abstract

Next-generation tissue-based biomarkers for immunotherapy will likely include the simultaneous analysis of multiple cell types and their spatial interactions, as well as distinct expression patterns of immunoregulatory molecules. Here, we introduce a comprehensive platform for multispectral imaging and mapping of multiple parameters in tumor tissue sections with high-fidelity single-cell resolution. Image analysis and data handling components were drawn from the field of astronomy. Using this "AstroPath" whole-slide platform and only six markers, we identified key features in pretreatment melanoma specimens that predicted response to anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)-based therapy, including CD163⁺PD-L1^- myeloid cells and CD8⁺FoxP3⁺PD-1^low/mid T cells. These features were combined to stratify long-term survival after anti-PD-1 blockade. This signature was validated in an independent cohort of patients with melanoma from a different institution.