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Santiago-Sánchez GS, Fabian KP, Hodge JW. A landscape of checkpoint blockade resistance in cancer: underlying mechanisms and current strategies to overcome resistance. Cancer Biol Ther 2024; 25:2308097. [PMID: 38306161 PMCID: PMC10841019 DOI: 10.1080/15384047.2024.2308097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
The discovery of immune checkpoints and the development of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have achieved a durable response in advanced-stage cancer patients. However, there is still a high proportion of patients who do not benefit from ICI therapy due to a lack of response when first treated (primary resistance) or detection of disease progression months after objective response is observed (acquired resistance). Here, we review the current FDA-approved ICI for the treatment of certain solid malignancies, evaluate the contrasting responses to checkpoint blockade in different cancer types, explore the known mechanisms associated with checkpoint blockade resistance (CBR), and assess current strategies in the field that seek to overcome these mechanisms. In order to improve current therapies and develop new ones, the immunotherapy field still has an unmet need in identifying other molecules that act as immune checkpoints, and uncovering other mechanisms that promote CBR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ginette S. Santiago-Sánchez
- Center for Immuno-Oncology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Kellsye P. Fabian
- Center for Immuno-Oncology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - James W. Hodge
- Center for Immuno-Oncology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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Ziogas DC, Papadopoulou E, Gogas H, Sakellariou S, Felekouras E, Theocharopoulos C, Stefanou DT, Theochari M, Boukovinas I, Matthaios D, Koumarianou A, Zairi E, Liontos M, Koutsoukos K, Metaxa-Mariatou V, Kapetsis G, Meintani A, Tsaousis GN, Nasioulas G. Digging into the NGS Information from a Large-Scale South European Population with Metastatic/Unresectable Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Real-World Genomic Depiction. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 16:2. [PMID: 38201431 PMCID: PMC10778112 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16010002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite ongoing oncological advances, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) continues to have an extremely poor prognosis with limited targeted and immunotherapeutic options. Its genomic background has not been fully characterized yet in large-scale populations all over the world. Methods: Replicating a recent study from China, we collected tissue samples from consecutive Greek patients with pathologically-confirmed metastatic/unresectable PDAC and retrospectively investigated their genomic landscape using next generation sequencing (NGS). Findings: From a cohort of 409 patients, NGS analysis was successfully achieved in 400 cases (56.50% males, median age: 61.8 years). Consistent with a previous study, KRAS was the most frequently mutated gene in 81.50% of tested samples, followed by TP53 (50.75%), CDKN2 (8%), and SMAD4 (7.50%). BRCA1/2 variants with on-label indications were detected in 2%, and 87.50% carried a variant associated with off-label treatment (KRAS, ERBB2, STK11, or HRR-genes), while 3.5% of the alterations had unknown/preliminary-studied actionability (TP53/CDKN2A). Most of HRR-alterations were in intermediate- and low-risk genes (CHEK2, RAD50, RAD51, ATM, FANCA, FANCL, FANCC, BAP1), with controversial actionability: 8% harbored a somatic non-BRCA1/2 alteration, 6 cases had a high-risk alteration (PALB2, RAD51C), and one co-presented a PALB2/BRCA2 alteration. Elevated LOH was associated with HRR-mutated status and TP53 mutations while lowered LOH was associated with KRAS alterations. Including TMB/MSI data, the potential benefit from an NGS-oriented treatment was increased from 1.91% to 13.74% (high-MSI: 0.3%, TMB > 10 muts/MB: 12.78%). TMB was slightly increased in females (4.75 vs. 4.46 muts/MB) and in individuals with age > 60 (4.77 vs. 4.40 muts/MB). About 28.41% showed PD-L1 > 1% either in tumor or immune cells, 15.75% expressed PD-L1 ≥ 10%, and only 1.18% had PD-L1 ≥ 50%. This is the largest depiction of real-world genomic characteristics of European patients with PDAC, which offers some useful clinical and research insights.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dimitrios C. Ziogas
- First Department of Internal Medicine, Laikon General Hospital, School of Medicine, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (H.G.); (C.T.); (D.T.S.); (M.T.)
| | - Eirini Papadopoulou
- GeneKor Medical S.A., 15344 Gerakas, Greece; (E.P.); (V.M.-M.); (G.K.); (A.M.); (G.N.T.); (G.N.)
| | - Helen Gogas
- First Department of Internal Medicine, Laikon General Hospital, School of Medicine, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (H.G.); (C.T.); (D.T.S.); (M.T.)
| | - Stratigoula Sakellariou
- First Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece;
| | - Evangellos Felekouras
- First Department of Surgery, Laikon General Hospital, School of Medicine, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece;
| | - Charalampos Theocharopoulos
- First Department of Internal Medicine, Laikon General Hospital, School of Medicine, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (H.G.); (C.T.); (D.T.S.); (M.T.)
| | - Dimitra T. Stefanou
- First Department of Internal Medicine, Laikon General Hospital, School of Medicine, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (H.G.); (C.T.); (D.T.S.); (M.T.)
| | - Maria Theochari
- First Department of Internal Medicine, Laikon General Hospital, School of Medicine, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (H.G.); (C.T.); (D.T.S.); (M.T.)
| | - Ioannis Boukovinas
- Department of Medical Oncology, Bioclinic Hospital, 54622 Thessaloniki, Greece;
| | | | - Anna Koumarianou
- Hematology Oncology Unit, Fourth Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece;
| | - Eleni Zairi
- Oncology Department, St. Lukes Hospital, 55236 Thessaloniki, Greece;
| | - Michalis Liontos
- Department of Clinical Therapeutics, Alexandra Hospital, School of Medicine, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (M.L.); (K.K.)
| | - Konstantinos Koutsoukos
- Department of Clinical Therapeutics, Alexandra Hospital, School of Medicine, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (M.L.); (K.K.)
| | - Vasiliki Metaxa-Mariatou
- GeneKor Medical S.A., 15344 Gerakas, Greece; (E.P.); (V.M.-M.); (G.K.); (A.M.); (G.N.T.); (G.N.)
| | - George Kapetsis
- GeneKor Medical S.A., 15344 Gerakas, Greece; (E.P.); (V.M.-M.); (G.K.); (A.M.); (G.N.T.); (G.N.)
| | - Angeliki Meintani
- GeneKor Medical S.A., 15344 Gerakas, Greece; (E.P.); (V.M.-M.); (G.K.); (A.M.); (G.N.T.); (G.N.)
| | - Georgios N. Tsaousis
- GeneKor Medical S.A., 15344 Gerakas, Greece; (E.P.); (V.M.-M.); (G.K.); (A.M.); (G.N.T.); (G.N.)
| | - George Nasioulas
- GeneKor Medical S.A., 15344 Gerakas, Greece; (E.P.); (V.M.-M.); (G.K.); (A.M.); (G.N.T.); (G.N.)
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Tran LC, Özdemir BC, Berger MD. The Role of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer: Current State and Outlook. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:1411. [PMID: 37895882 PMCID: PMC10609661 DOI: 10.3390/ph16101411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the deadliest tumors, characterized by its aggressive tumor biology and poor prognosis. While immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) play a major part in the treatment algorithm of various solid tumors, there is still no evidence of clinical benefit from ICI in patients with metastatic PDAC (mPDAC). This might be due to several reasons, such as the inherent low immunogenicity of pancreatic cancer, the dense stroma-rich tumor microenvironment that precludes an efficient migration of antitumoral effector T cells to the cancer cells, and the increased proportion of immunosuppressive immune cells, such as regulatory T cells (Tregs), cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), facilitating tumor growth and invasion. In this review, we provide an overview of the current state of ICIs in mPDAC, report on the biological rationale to implement ICIs into the treatment strategy of pancreatic cancer, and discuss preclinical studies and clinical trials in this field. Additionally, we shed light on the challenges of implementing ICIs into the treatment strategy of PDAC and discuss potential future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Martin D. Berger
- Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
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Zhou C, Gan X, Sun S, Wang L, Zhang Y, Zhang J. Construction of an efferocytosis-related long non-coding ribonucleic acid scoring system to predict clinical outcome and immunotherapy response in pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Biochem Biophys Rep 2023; 35:101540. [PMID: 37692763 PMCID: PMC10482751 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrep.2023.101540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Efferocytosis suppresses antitumour immune responses by inducing the release and secretion of cytokines. Long non-coding ribonucleic acids (lncRNAs) have various functions in different forms of programmed cell death and in immune regulation. This study aims to explore the potential role of efferocytosis-related lncRNAs as biomarkers in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD). Methods Transcriptome profiles, simple nucleotide variations and clinical data of patients with PAAD were extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Co-expression algorithms identified efferocytosis-related lncRNAs. The efferocytosis-related lncRNA scoring system (ERLncSys) was established using Cox regression and the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator algorithm. Additionally, Kaplan-Meier (K-M) curves, Cox regression, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and clinical parameter stratification analyses were used to evaluate ERlncSys. Moreover, ERlncSys was explored through Gene Set Variation Analysis, Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses. Furthermore, the TIMER platform, ESTIMATE algorithm, single sample Gene Set Enrichment Analysis and immune checkpoint analysis were utilised to explore the predictive power of ERlncSys for the tumour immune microenvironment (TIME). Finally, a consensus clustering algorithm identified distinct molecular profiles among patients with PAAD, aiding in the identification of potential beneficiaries for immunotherapy. Results K-M, Cox regression and ROC analyses confirmed the robust prognostic efficacy of ERlncSys. Clinical stratification analysis indicated the broad applicability of ERlncSys in PAAD. Additionally, mmunological analyses indicated that ERlncSys can determine immune cell infiltration status in the TIME. Furthermore, consensus clustering analysis based on ERlncSys divided the TCGA-PAAD cohort into two clusters. Cluster 1 exhibited characteristics consistent with an immune 'hot tumour' compared to cluster 2, suggesting cluster 1 is a more suitable population for immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. Conclusion The established ErlncSys aids in predicting the prognosis and understanding the TIME landscape of patients with PAAD. In turn, it facilitates the identification of optimal candidates for immunotherapy. This study introduces novel insights into the potential value of efferocytosis-related lncRNAs as biomarkers in PAAD.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Xiaoshuang Gan
- Suzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Anhui Province, Suzhou, 234000, China
| | - Shandong Sun
- Suzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Anhui Province, Suzhou, 234000, China
| | - Lei Wang
- Suzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Anhui Province, Suzhou, 234000, China
| | - Yong Zhang
- Suzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Anhui Province, Suzhou, 234000, China
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Herpels M, Ishihara J, Sadanandam A. The clinical terrain of immunotherapies in heterogeneous pancreatic cancer: unravelling challenges and opportunities. J Pathol 2023; 260:533-550. [PMID: 37550956 DOI: 10.1002/path.6171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Revised: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023]
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common and aggressive type of pancreatic cancer and has abysmal survival rates. In the past two decades, immunotherapeutic agents with success in other cancer types have gradually been trialled against PDACs at different stages of cancer progression, either as a monotherapy or in combination with chemotherapy. Unfortunately, to this day, chemotherapy still prolongs the survival rates the most and is prescribed in clinics despite the severe side effects in other cancer types. The low success rates of immunotherapy against PDAC have been attributed most frequently to its complex and multi-faceted tumour microenvironment (TME) and low mutational burden. In this review, we give a comprehensive overview of the immunotherapies tested in PDAC clinical trials thus far, their limitations, and potential explanations for their failure. We also discuss the existing classification of heterogenous PDACs into cancer, cancer-associated fibroblast, and immune subtypes and their potential opportunity in patient selection as a form of personalisation of PDAC immunotherapy. © 2023 The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Herpels
- Division of Molecular Pathology, Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Jun Ishihara
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Anguraj Sadanandam
- Division of Molecular Pathology, Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- Centre for Global Oncology, Division of Molecular Pathology, Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- Centre for Translational Immunotherapy, Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
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