Method for predicting response to cancer immunotherapy

A method for determining the likelihood of a human patient suffering from a malignant neoplasm to respond to a later received cancer immunotherapy, the method comprising,

• a) quantitively determining the expression levels of MHC Class I and II molecule isotypes by the cells of the microenvironment of the patient's malignant neoplasm,
• b) calculating a combined expression score value from weighted expression levels of at least HLA-A, B, -C, and -DR isotypes determined in step a, wherein the weights for all of isotypes HLA-A, B, C, and -DR have the same sign (either positive or negative), and
• c) determining that the human patient has a low likelihood of responding to therapy if the calculated combined expression score value from step b is either
• 1) closer to the combined expression score values determined in other patients suffering from the same malignant neoplasm and not responding to said cancer immunotherapy than to the combined expression score values from other patients suffering from the same malignant neoplasm and having exhibited response to said cancer immunotherapy, and/or
• 2) not significantly different at a 95% confidence level from the combined expression score values obtained from other patients suffering from the same malignant neoplasm and having exhibited lack of response to said cancer immunotherapy.