Editorial: The impact of the DNA damage response on anti-tumor immunity

Impact of DNA damage response on anti-tumor immunity This editorial summarizes the contributions to the Research Topic "Impact of DNA Damage Response on Anti-tumor Immunity" that appears in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.Drugs targeting DNA damage repair (DDR) are being applied in an increasing number of anti-tumor therapies.Preclinical studies have shown that in addition to their direct toxic effect on cancer cells, DDR-targeted drugs are also associated with increased levels of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, greater genomic instability, and higher tumor mutational burden (TMB) in cancer, enhancing the antitumor immune effect.Exploiting recent advancements in the mechanisms of immunological change during DDR-targeted therapy and in the efficacy of DDR inhibitors in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has already led to a significant leap forward in anti-tumor therapies.It is therefore of great interest to continue working to understand the consequences of DDRassociated therapies in patients and to identify novel DDR targets and combination strategies, as this will ultimately benefit clinical practice.This Research Topic explored recent advancements in relation to DDR, with a focus on 1) understanding the relationship between DDR-targeted therapies and patients' response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) agents, as well as the immune-activating properties of DDR-targeted therapies; 2) the role of DNA repair defects (including DDR gene mutations, genomic instability, and the expression profiles of DDR genes) in predicting immunotherapy response; 3) the mechanisms of chemotherapy, radiation, and DDR-targeted therapy-induced immunogenicity, including the cytosolic DNA-sensing cGAS/STING-IFN pathway, neoantigen, or tumor-associated antigen; 4) spatiotemporal and sequential treatment strategies for patients who are candidates for combination therapies with DDR inhibitors and immune therapy; 5) the identification of novel DDR Frontiers in Immunology frontiersin.