NFKBIE Mutations Are Selected by the Tumor Microenvironment and Contribute to Immune Escape in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Researchers showed that NFKBIE-mutated CLL cells were selected by microenvironmental signals that activate the NF-κB pathway and induced alterations within the tumor microenvironment that can allow for immune escape, including expansion of CD8+ T cells with an exhausted phenotype and increased PD-L1 expression on the malignant B cells.