Germline genetic polymorphisms influence tumor gene expression and immune cell infiltration

Abstract Our DNA contains a blueprint for phenotypic traits, which include the immune response to tumors. As cancer immunotherapies continue to show clinical promise, it is important to understand how inherited genetic variation may account for variable immune responses, as reflected by gene expression within the tumor. We systematically identified the germline genetic polymorphisms associated with variable tumor tissue gene expression across 24 human cancer types. We showed that expression of major regulators of immunity, such as ICOSLG and ERAP2,