Expert consensus guidelines on management and best practices for tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte cell therapy

Adoptive cell therapy with autologous, ex vivo-expanded, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) is being investigated for treatment of solid tumors and has shown robust responses in clinical trials. Based on the encouraging efficacy, tolerable safety profile, and advancements in a central manufacturing process, lifileucel is now the first US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved TIL cell therapy product. To this end, treatment management and delivery practice guidance is needed to ensure successful integration of this modality into clinical care. This review includes clinical and toxicity management guidelines pertaining to the TIL cell therapy regimen prepared by the TIL Working Group, composed of internationally recognized hematologists and oncologists with expertize in TIL cell therapy, and relates to patient care and operational aspects. Expert consensus recommendations for patient management, including patient eligibility, screening tests, and clinical and toxicity management with TIL cell therapy, including tumor tissue procurement surgery, non-myeloablative lymphodepletion, TIL infusion, and IL-2 administration, are discussed in the context of potential standard of care TIL use. These recommendations provide practical guidelines for optimal clinical management during administration of the TIL cell therapy regimen, and recognition of subsequent management of toxicities. These guidelines are focused on multidisciplinary teams of physicians, nurses, and stakeholders involved in the care of these patients.

Efficacy and safety of autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in recurrent or refractory ovarian cancer, colorectal cancer, and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy has shown efficacy in metastatic melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, and other solid tumors. Our preclinical work demonstrated more robust CD8 predominant TIL production when agonistic anti-4-1BB and CD3 antibodies were used in early ex vivo TIL culture.

METHODS

Patients with treatment-refractory metastatic colorectal (CRC), pancreatic (PDAC) and ovarian (OVCA) cancers were eligible. Lymphodepleting chemotherapy was followed by infusion of ex vivo expanded TIL, manufactured at MD Anderson Cancer Center with IL-2 and agonistic stimulation of CD3 and 4-1BB (urelumab). Patients received up to six doses of high-dose IL-2 after TIL infusion. Primary endpoint was evaluation of objective response rate at 12 weeks using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1 with secondary endpoints including disease control rate (DCR), duration of response, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety.

RESULTS

17 patients underwent TIL harvest and 16 were treated on protocol (NCT03610490), including 8 CRC, 5 PDAC, and 3 OVCA patients. Median age was 57.5 (range 33-70) and 50% were females. Median number of lines of prior therapy was 2 (range 1-8). No responses were observed at 12 weeks. Ten subjects achieved at least one stable disease (SD) assessment for a DCR of 62.5% (95% CI 35.4% to 84.8%). Best response included prolonged SD in a patient with PDAC lasting 17 months. Median PFS and OS across cohorts were 2.53 months (95% CI 1.54 to 4.11) and 18.86 months (95% CI 4.86 to NR), respectively. Grade 3 or higher toxicities attributable to therapy were seen in 14 subjects (87.5%; 95% CI 61.7% to 98.4%). Infusion product analysis showed the presence of effector memory cells with high expression of CD39 irrespective of tumor type and low expression of checkpoint markers.

CONCLUSIONS

TIL manufactured with assistance of 4-1BB and CD3 agonism is feasible and treatment is associated with no new safety signals. While no responses were observed, a significant portion of patients achieved SD suggesting early/partial immunological effect. Further research is required to identify factors associated with resistance and functionally enhance T cells for a more effective therapy.

Abstract A09: Characteristics of uveal melanoma patients with central nervous system metastases

In contrast to cutaneous melanoma, central nervous system (CNS) metastasis from uveal melanoma are uncommon, occurring in less than 5% of uveal patients. There is no published literature describing the features or survival of this unique population. Here we describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of uveal melanoma CNS metastasis patients. We performed an MD Anderson Cancer Center institutional database review from 1999–2017 for consecutive uveal melanoma patients with CNS metastasis. Excluding dural-based metastases, 19 patients were identified. Ethnic makeup was 84% White, 11% Hispanic, 5% other, and median age at diagnosis was 52.4 years. The gender distribution was 12 (63%) female and 7 (37%) male. Primary tumor location in the uveal tract was 26% choroid, 11% iridociliary, 5% chiliochoroidal, and 58% not otherwise specified. Seven of 19 (37%) patients were treated with enucleation; 63% received radiation therapy for primary uveal melanoma. Median interval from diagnosis of uveal melanoma to diagnosis of CNS metastasis was 5 years. Only 7 patients had molecular testing for mutations. Of these, all had G-alpha mutations: 4 (57%) with GNAQ, and 3 (43%) with GNA11 hotspot mutations in Q209. At the time of data cutoff, 14 of 19 (74%) patients were deceased. Additional clinical information regarding treatment for CNS metastasis, histopathologic evaluation, and overall survival will be presented at the meeting.

Citation Format: Sapna P. Patel, Patrick Hwu, Michael Davies, Michael Wong, Hussein Tawbi, Rodabe Amaria, Adi Diab, Dan Gombos, Isabella C. Glitza. Characteristics of uveal melanoma patients with central nervous system metastases [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Melanoma: From Biology to Target; 2019 Jan 15-18; Houston, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(19 Suppl):Abstract nr A09.

The Effect of Topoisomerase I Inhibitors on the Efficacy of T-Cell-Based Cancer Immunotherapy

Background

Immunotherapy has increasingly become a staple in cancer treatment. However, substantial limitations in the durability of response highlight the need for more rational therapeutic combinations. The aim of this study is to investigate how to make tumor cells more sensitive to T-cell-based cancer immunotherapy.

Methods

Two pairs of melanoma patient-derived tumor cell lines and their autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes were utilized in a high-throughput screen of 850 compounds to identify bioactive agents that could be used in combinatorial strategies to improve T-cell-mediated killing of tumor cells. RNAi, overexpression, and gene expression analyses were utilized to identify the mechanism underlying the effect of Topoisomerase I (Top1) inhibitors on T-cell-mediated killing. Using a syngeneic mouse model (n = 5 per group), the antitumor efficacy of the combination of a clinically relevant Top1 inhibitor, liposomal irinotecan (MM-398), with immune checkpoint inhibitors was also assessed. All statistical tests were two-sided.

Results

We found that Top1 inhibitors increased the sensitivity of patient-derived melanoma cell lines (n = 7) to T-cell-mediated cytotoxicity (P < .001, Dunnett’s test). This enhancement is mediated by TP53INP1, whose overexpression increased the susceptibility of melanoma cell lines to T-cell cytotoxicity (2549 cell line: P = .009, unpaired t test), whereas its knockdown impeded T-cell killing of Top1 inhibitor–treated melanoma cells (2549 cell line: P < .001, unpaired t test). In vivo, greater tumor control was achieved with MM-398 in combination with α-PD-L1 or α-PD1 (P < .001, Tukey’s test). Prolonged survival was also observed in tumor-bearing mice treated with MM-398 in combination with α-PD-L1 (P = .002, log-rank test) or α-PD1 (P = .008, log-rank test).

Conclusions

We demonstrated that Top1 inhibitors can improve the antitumor efficacy of cancer immunotherapy, thus providing the basis for developing novel strategies using Top1 inhibitors to augment the efficacy of immunotherapy.

Abstract 4488: Effector B cells and tertiary lymphoid structures predict response to immune checkpoint blockade in solid tumors

Background: Cytotoxic T cell markers, PD-L1, and mutational burden have been identified as biomarkers of response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). However, there is a growing appreciation of B cells as biomarkers and mediators of response. We recently conducted a phase II trial of neoadjuvant ICB (NCT02519322) in patients with resectable melanoma, and found increased B cell infiltration in responders (R) versus non-responders (NR).

Methods: We further investigated our B cell findings through whole transcriptomic profiling in samples with high tumor purity and also targeted immune profiling with deconvolution algorithm MCP counter. Spatial organization of the B cells was assessed with singlet and multiplex immunohistochemistry (IHC). Additionally, B cell phenotype was queried through mass cytometry. B cell gene expression signatures were validated in a cohort of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients (NCT02210117), and B cell phenotype in a metastatic melanoma cohort, both treated with ICB.

Results: Whole transcriptomic analysis of the neoadjuvant melanoma ICB cohort identified that the most differentially expressed genes by response in baseline (b/l) samples were related to B cells and antibody production (MZB1, JCHAIN, IGLL5, FCRL5, p&lt;0.0001). Targeted profiling via MCP counter confirmed higher B cells by response in all b/l and on-treatment (on-tx) samples (p=0.036 and p=0.038, respectively). This was verified by singlet CD20 IHC stains, which also showed that ICB increased B cells in R (p=0.004) but not NR. The B cells were present in organized tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) in close proximity to T cells and follicular dendritic cells, and the ratio of area occupied by TLS was higher in R (p=0.037 b/l and 0.002 on-tx). These findings were validated in a RCC cohort, in which B cell lineage scores and TLS marker CXCL13 were higher in R at b/l (p=2.6e-03 and 3.3e-03, respectively). We then investigated the phenotype of the intratumoral B cells in the neoadjuvant melanoma cohort with mass cytometry. Within the tumor microenvironment, we identified naïve, class switched and unswitched memory B cell populations, and plasma cell-like populations (CD27+, IgD-, C38++, CD138-, CD20-). Higher frequencies of class switched memory B cell and plasma-like cell populations were observed in R, whereas NR were characterized by higher naïve B cells. Matching peripheral blood based CyTOF demonstrated non-overlapping clusters of B cell phenotypes. Single cell RNA sequencing in an independent cohort of metastatic melanoma patients also demonstrated class switched, activated B cells in addition to plasma cells, and that activation markers were significantly associated with response to ICB.

Conclusion: Together, these data suggest that B cells, more specifically those with activated effector phenotypes, and TLS predict response to ICB and may also be contributing mechanistically to response.

Citation Format: Sangeetha M. Reddy, Beth Helmink, Jianjun Gao, Shaojun Zhang, Keren Yizhak, Moshe Sade-Feldman, Rafet Basar, Jorge Blando, Guangchun Han, Vancheswaran Gopalakrishnan, Hao Zhao, Wenbin Liu, Hussein Tawbi, Rodabe Amaria, Michael Davies, Jeffrey Gershenwald, Elizabeth M. Burton, James Allison, Michael Tetzlaff, Katy Rezvani, Nir Hacohen, Padmanee Sharma, Linghua Wang, Jennifer Wargo. Effector B cells and tertiary lymphoid structures predict response to immune checkpoint blockade in solid tumors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4488.

Infliximab associated with faster symptom resolution compared with corticosteroids alone for the management of immune-related enterocolitis

BACKGROUND

Immune-related enterocolitis (irEC) is the most common serious complication from checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs). The current front-line treatment for irEC, high-dose corticosteroids (CS), have significant side effects and prolonged therapy may reduce CPI-anti-tumor activity. Early addition of TNF-α inhibitors such as infliximab (IFX) may expedite symptom resolution and shorten CS duration. Thus, we conducted the first retrospective study, to our knowledge, evaluating symptom resolution in patients with irEC treated with and without IFX.

METHODS

Data were collected from the medical records of patients diagnosed with irEC. The primary endpoint was time to symptom resolution for irEC for cases managed with IFX plus CS (IFX group) versus CS alone (CS group). Duration of CS, overall survival (OS), and time to treatment failure (TTF) were secondary endpoints.

RESULTS

Among 75 patients with irEC, 52% received CS alone, and 48% received IFX. Despite higher grade colitis in the IFX group (grade 3/4: 86% vs. 34%; p < 0.001), median times to diarrhea resolution (3 vs. 9 days; p < 0.001) and to steroid titration (4 vs. 13 days; p < 0.001) were shorter in the IFX group than in the CS group without a negative impact on TTF or OS. Total steroid duration (median 35 vs. 51 days; p = 0.150) was numerically lower in the IFX group.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite higher incidence of grade 3/4 colitis, IFX added to CS for the treatment of patients with irEC was associated with a significantly shorter time to symptom resolution. The data suggest that early introduction of IFX should be considered for patients with irEC until definitive prospective clinical trials are conducted.

Abstract 1838: A pre-existing rare PIK3CAE545K subpopulation confers clinical resistance to MEK plus CDK4/6 inhibition in NRAS melanoma and is dependent on S6K1 signaling

Combined MEK and CDK4/6 inhibition (MEKi+CDK4i) has shown promising clinical outcomes in NRAS mutant melanoma patients. Here, we interrogated longitudinal biopsies from a patient who initially responded to MEKi+CDK4i therapy but subsequently developed resistance. Whole exome sequencing and functional validation identified an acquired PIK3CAE545K mutation as conferring drug resistance. We demonstrate that PIK3CAE545K pre-existed in a rare subpopulation that was missed by both clinical and research testing, but was revealed upon multi-region sampling due to PIK3CAE545K being non-uniformly distributed. This resistant population rapidly expanded after the initiation of MEKi+CDK4i therapy and persisted in all successive samples even after immune checkpoint therapy. Functional studies identified activated S6K1 as both a key marker and specific therapeutic vulnerability downstream of PIK3CAE545K-induced resistance. These results demonstrate that comprehensive analysis of pre-treatment samples can reveal rare pre-existing resistant subpopulations and posit S6K1 as a common downstream therapeutic nexus for the MAPK, CDK4/6, and PI3K pathways.

Citation Format: Gabriele Romano, Pei-Ling Chen, Ping Song, Jennifer McQuade, Roger Liang, Mingguang Liu, Whijae Roh, Dzifa Duose, Fernando Carapeto, Jun Li, Jessica Teh, Andrew Aplin, Merry Chen, Jianhua Zhang, Alexander Lazar, P Andrew Futreal, Rodabe Amaria, David Zhang, Jennifer Wargo, Lawrence N. Kwong. A pre-existing rare PIK3CAE545K subpopulation confers clinical resistance to MEK plus CDK4/6 inhibition in NRAS melanoma and is dependent on S6K1 signaling [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1838.

The metabolic basis of resistance to Adoptive T Cell Therapy (ACT) in patients with solid tumors

Adoptive T cell therapy (ACT) has produced impressive responses in a subset of patients with advanced malignancies. However, majority of patients still failed to respond. Thus, there is an urgent need to understand the resistant mechanisms in non-responders and develop more effective ACT strategies. Here, we employed two independent and unbiased approaches to identify novel molecular determinants of immune resistance. We generated gene expression profiles on an immune resistant melanoma cell line to identify alternative immunosuppressive mechanisms. In addition, we utilized a new high-throughput shRNA screening platform developed by our group to functionally interrogate immune resistance in patient-derived melanoma cells. Results from both analyses implicated tumor-associated glycolysis as a critical pathway that enables tumor cells to evade T cell-mediated antitumor activity. By using samples from melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer patients, we showed that increased expression of glycolysis-related genes is associated with poor T cell infiltration of tumors. Moreover, we found that increasing tumor glycolysis impaired T cell killing of melanoma cells, while inhibiting glycolysis restored T cell-mediated apoptosis of tumor cells. More importantly, from two non-overlapping ACT-treated patient cohorts, we discovered that tumor glycolytic activity in patients who experienced disease progression following ACT was significantly higher compared to those patients who were responsive to therapy. Taken together, our results demonstrate that tumor glycolytic metabolism is associated with the efficacy of ACT and identify glycolysis as a candidate target for combinatorial therapeutic intervention.

Erythema nodosum-like panniculitis mimicking disease recurrence: A novel toxicity from immune checkpoint blockade therapy-Report of 2 patients

Immunotherapies targeting cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) and the programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) receptor and its ligand (PD-L1) have showed substantial therapeutic benefit in patients with clinically advanced solid malignancies. However, autoimmune toxicities are common and often significant adverse events with these agents. While rash and pruritus remain the most common cutaneous complications in treated patients, novel dermatologic toxicities related to immune checkpoint blockade continue to emerge as the number of patients exposed to immunotherapy increases. Here, we describe 2 patients treated with combination immunotherapy with ipilimumab and nivolumab who developed painful subcutaneous nodules. Although the findings were clinically concerning for disease recurrence, histopathologic examination of biopsies from the lesions revealed a subcutaneous mixed septal and lobular erythema nodosum-like panniculitis. Notably, neither patient received immunosuppressive therapy for these lesions, which subsequently remained stable, and both patients' cancer remained controlled. These cases show that the dermatologic toxicity profile of immune checkpoint blockade is diverse and continues to expand, and illustrates that recognition of such toxicities is critical to optimal patient management.

HSP90 inhibition enhances cancer immunotherapy by upregulating interferon response genes

T-cell-based immunotherapies are promising treatments for cancer patients. Although durable responses can be achieved in some patients, many patients fail to respond to these therapies, underscoring the need for improvement with combination therapies. From a screen of 850 bioactive compounds, we identify HSP90 inhibitors as candidates for combination with immunotherapy. We show that inhibition of HSP90 with ganetespib enhances T-cell-mediated killing of patient-derived human melanoma cells by their autologous T cells in vitro and potentiates responses to anti-CTLA4 and anti-PD1 therapy in vivo. Mechanistic studies reveal that HSP90 inhibition results in upregulation of interferon response genes, which are essential for the enhanced killing of ganetespib treated melanoma cells by T cells. Taken together, these findings provide evidence that HSP90 inhibition can potentiate T-cell-mediated anti-tumor immune responses, and rationale to explore the combination of immunotherapy and HSP90 inhibitors.

Many patients fail to respond to T cell based immunotherapies. Here, the authors, through a high-throughput screening, identify HSP90 inhibitors as a class of preferred drugs for treatment combination with immunotherapy.

Abstract 5652: Translational evidence of reactivated innate and adaptive immunity with intratumoral IMO-2125 in combination with systemic checkpoint inhibitors from a Phase I/II study in patients with anti-PD-1 refractory metastatic melanoma

Background: While checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) therapy has transformed metastatic melanoma (MM) treatment, many patients remain refractory. We reasoned that combining CPI with an agent that activates antigen presenting cells and improves T-cell priming may result in improved response. Our approach is to modulate the tumor microenvironment through image-guided intratumoral (i.t.) injection of the TLR9 agonist, IMO-2125, in combination with either ipilimumab (ipi) or pembrolizumab (pembro). We hypothesize that this will result in dendritic cell (DC) activation and induction of tumor-specific CD8+T-cells which will synergize with ipilimumab or pembrolizumab to overcome immune-escape. Based on this rationale we initiated a phase I/II clinical trial.

Study Design/Methods: Adults with refractory MM that have had prior PD-1 blockade therapy (with or without a BRAF inhibitor) are eligible. IMO-2125, in doses escalating from 4mg to 32mg, is given i.t. weeks 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, and 11 along with standard doses of ipilimumab or pembrolizumab. Primary endpoints are safety, tumor response, and PK. Multiple biopsies are obtained in both the injected and distant tumor pre- and on-treatment. Immune analyses include DC subsets and their activation status as well as T cell activation, function and proliferation. T-cell repertoire diversity is evaluated by high-throughput CDR3 sequencing and changes in gene expression signatures are assessed by nanoString. Changes in circulating cytokines are also being assessed during therapy.

Results: Enrollment is proceeding on both the IMO-ipilimumab and IMO-pembrolizumab dose-escalation arms of the trial. Safety is acceptable with no DLT recorded to date. Durable clinical responses (including 1 CR) have been observed with IMO-ipilimumab in patients who were refractory to PD-1 inhibitor. Fresh tumor biopsies show maturation (upregulation of HLA-DR) of the myeloid DC1 subset (CD1c+CD303-), upregulation of PD-L1 by malignant cells, as well as an IFNα response gene signature in the IMO-2125 injected tumor lesion 24 hrs post-treatment compared to pre-treatment biopsy. On-treatment biopsy results show a higher expression of CD56+ and Ki67+ effector CD8+ T-cells in responding patients. Initial CDR3 sequencing demonstrates increased diversity in the injected lesions of all patients assessed and expansion of top clones present in the distant lesion in a responding patient. Plasma analysis showed an increase in IFNγ levels in the plasma of responding patients.

Conclusions: These results demonstrate that IMO-2125 with a checkpoint inhibitor is a viable strategy to revive the immune response in tumors that are refractory to PD-1 inhibitors. Further clinical evaluation of both the IMO-ipilimumab and IMO-pembrolizumab combination is planned in a Phase 2 expansion of the current trial.

Citation Format: Cara Haymaker, Marc Uemura, Ravi Murthy, Marihella James, Daqing Wang, Julie Brevard, Suzanne Swann, James Geib, Mark Cornfeld, Srinivas Chunduru, Sudhir Agrawal, Cassian Yee, Jennifer Wargo, Rodabe Amaria, Sapna Patel, Hussein Tawbi, Isabella Glitza, Scott Woodman, Wen-Jen Hwu, Michael A. Davies, Patrick Hwu, Willem Overwjik, Chantale Bernatchez, Adi Diab. Translational evidence of reactivated innate and adaptive immunity with intratumoral IMO-2125 in combination with systemic checkpoint inhibitors from a Phase I/II study in patients with anti-PD-1 refractory metastatic melanoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5652. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5652

Clinicopathological features and clinical outcomes associated with TP53 and BRAFNon-V600 mutations in cutaneous melanoma patients

BACKGROUND

BRAFV600 , NRAS, TP53, and BRAFNon-V600 are among the most common mutations detected in non-acral cutaneous melanoma patients. Although several studies have identified clinical and pathological features associated with BRAFV600 and NRAS mutations, limited data are available regarding the correlates and significance of TP53 and BRAFNon-V600 mutations.

METHODS

This study analyzed the patient demographics, primary tumor features, and clinical outcomes of a large cohort of non-acral cutaneous melanoma patients who had undergone clinically indicated molecular testing (n = 926).

RESULTS

The prevalence of BRAFV600 , NRAS, TP53, and BRAFNon-V600 mutations was 43%, 21%, 19%, and 7%, respectively. The presence of a TP53 mutation was associated with older age (P = .019), a head and neck primary tumor site (P = .0001), and longer overall survival (OS) from the diagnosis of stage IV disease in univariate (P = .039) and multivariate analyses (P = .015). BRAFNon-V600 mutations were associated with older age (P = .005) but not with primary tumor features or OS from stage IV. Neither TP53 nor BRAFNon-V600 mutations correlated significantly with OS with frontline ipilimumab treatment, and the TP53 status was not significantly associated with outcomes with frontline BRAF inhibitor therapy. Eleven patients with BRAFNon-V600 mutations were treated with a BRAF inhibitor. Three patients were not evaluable for a response because of treatment cessation for toxicities; the remaining patients had disease progression as the best response to therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

These results add to the understanding of the clinical features associated with TP53 and BRAFNon-V600 mutations in advanced cutaneous melanoma patients, and they support the rationale for evaluating the prognostic significance of TP53 in other cohorts of melanoma patients. Cancer 2017;123:1372-1381. © 2016 American Cancer Society.

Abstract B105: HSP90 inhibitor, ganetespib, enhances responses to cancer immunotherapy through increased expression of interferon response genes

Recently, T cell based immunotherapies have moved to the forefront of cancer immunotherapy with the success of Adoptive T cell therapy (ACT) and Immune checkpoint blockade. ACT, where patients are treated with tumor infiltrating T cells (TILs), conferred a clinical response rate of ∼50%. Treatment with anti-CTLA4 therapy, Ipilimumab, conferred response rates of 10-20%, greatly improving the overall survival of patients with advanced melanoma. Despite the encouraging outcomes, there are relatively low response rates coupled with the delay of weeks to months before tumor shrinkage can be appreciated. Thus, understanding mechanisms of resistance to immune therapies, to improve response rates, shorten time to treatment effect and developing predictive biomarkers of response are vital to the care of melanoma patients. In order to identify possible resistance mechanisms to immunotherapy, a high-throughput in vitro screen with 850 different bio-active compounds (Selleckchem), was designed to search for agents that could either increase or decrease the resistance of melanoma tumor cells to T cell mediated killing. Paired patient derived human melanoma tumor samples and TILs were used to assess which compounds when used to treat the melanoma cell lines can enhance the cytotoxic activity of the TILs against the paired melanoma sample, using a flow cytometry based assay in which active caspase 3 was used as a read out of apoptosis. We identified heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) inhibitors amongst the top compounds that improved T cell mediated cytotoxicity of treated tumor cells. We show that treatment with the HSP90 inhibitor ganetespib (Synta) greatly improves T cell mediated cytotoxicity of human cancer cells lines in vitro. Furthermore, in vivo murine studies using the MC38/gp100 tumor model show that ganestespib in combination with anti-CTLA4, resulted in superior antitumor effect and survival compared to either treatment alone (Average tumor volume at day 21 of treatment: Vehicle 294.3mm3, α-CTLA4 193 mm3, Ganetespib 237.5 mm3 and Ganetespib + α-CTLA4 105.8 mm3, P &lt; 0.0001). Microarray analysis of human cell lines treated with ganetespib in vitro revealed an increase in interferon response genes including IFIT1, IFIT2, IFIT3. We confirmed these findings with quantitative real time PCR and western blot analyses and found IFIT1, IFIT2 and IFIT3 to be consistently upregulated across multiple melanoma cell lines following treatment with ganetespib. We next sought to verify the importance of the IFIT genes in the synergy observed between ganetespib treatment and T cell killing. First, we overexpressed IFIT1, IFIT2 and IFIT3 in human melanoma cell lines to recapitulate the improved sensitivity of the human melanoma cell lines to T cell killing following treatment with ganetespib. We then co-cultured these cells with their autologous T cells and found that overexpressing IFIT1, IFIT2 and IFIT3 mimicked the effects of ganetespib by increasing the sensitivity to T cell killing over the GFP control. On the other hand, silencing IFIT1, IFIT2 and IFIT3 simultaneously, abrogated the synergy between ganetespib and T cell killing. We are further elucidating the role of these genes in lowering the apoptotic threshold of cancer cells and contributing to the synergy of ganetespib and immunotherapy. This will enable the emergence of a new combination therapy of HSP90 inhibitors and anti-CTLA4 for the treatment of melanoma patients that will increase the percentage of patients responding to immunotherapy and achieving long term responses.

Citation Format: Rina M. Mbofung, Jodi A. McKenzie, Shruti Malu, Chengwen Liu, Weiyi Peng, Isere Kuiatse, Leila Williams, Seram Devi, Zhe Wang, Trang Tieu, Tim Heffernan, Richard E. Davis, Rodabe Amaria, Patrick Hwu. HSP90 inhibitor, ganetespib, enhances responses to cancer immunotherapy through increased expression of interferon response genes [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Second CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; 2016 Sept 25-28; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2016;4(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B105.

Melanoma and immunotherapy bridge 2015 : Naples, Italy. 1-5 December 2015

MELANOMA BRIDGE 2015

KEYNOTE SPEAKER PRESENTATIONS

Molecular and immuno-advances

K1 Immunologic and metabolic consequences of PI3K/AKT/mTOR activation in melanoma

Vashisht G. Y. Nanda, Weiyi Peng, Patrick Hwu, Michael A. Davies

K2 Non-mutational adaptive changes in melanoma cells exposed to BRAF and MEK inhibitors help the establishment of drug resistance

Gennaro Ciliberto, Luigi Fattore, Debora Malpicci, Luigi Aurisicchio, Paolo Antonio Ascierto, Carlo M. Croce, Rita Mancini

K3 Tumor-intrinsic beta-catenin signaling mediates tumor-immune avoidance

Stefani Spranger, Thomas F. Gajewski

K4 Intracellular tumor antigens as a source of targets of antibody-based immunotherapy of melanoma

Yangyang Wang, Soldano Ferrone

Combination therapies

K5 Harnessing radiotherapy to improve responses to immunotherapy in cancer

Claire Vanpouille-Box, Erik Wennerberg, Karsten A. Pilones, Silvia C. Formenti, Sandra Demaria

K6 Creating a T cell-inflamed tumor microenvironment overcomes resistance to checkpoint blockade

Haidong Tang, Yang Wang, Yang-Xin Fu

K7 Biomarkers for treatment decisions?

Reinhard Dummer

K8 Combining oncolytic therapies in the era of checkpoint inhibitors

Igor Puzanov

K9 Immune checkpoint blockade for melanoma: should we combine or sequence ipilimumab and PD-1 antibody therapy?

Michael A. Postow

News in immunotherapy

K10 An update on adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapy for melanom

Ahmad Tarhini

K11 Targeting multiple inhibitory receptors in melanoma

Joe-Marc Chauvin, Ornella Pagliano, Julien Fourcade, Zhaojun Sun, Hong Wang, Cindy Sanders, John M. Kirkwood, Tseng-hui Timothy Chen, Mark Maurer, Alan J. Korman, Hassane M. Zarour

K12 Improving adoptive immune therapy using genetically engineered T cells

David F. Stroncek

Tumor microenvironment and biomarkers

K13 Myeloid cells and tumor exosomes: a crosstalk for assessing immunosuppression?

Veronica Huber, Licia Rivoltini

K14 Update on the SITC biomarker taskforce: progress and challenges

Magdalena Thurin

World-wide immunoscore task force: an update

K15 The immunoscore in colorectal cancer highlights the importance of digital scoring systems in surgical pathology

Tilman Rau, Alessandro Lugli

K16 The immunoscore: toward an integrated immunomonitoring from the diagnosis to the follow up of cancer’s patients

Franck Pagès

Economic sustainability of melanoma treatments: regulatory, health technology assessment and market access issues

K17 Nivolumab, the regulatory experience in immunotherapy

Jorge Camarero, Arantxa Sancho

K18 Evidence to optimize access for immunotherapies

Claudio Jommi

ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Molecular and immuno-advances

O1 Ipilimumab treatment results in CD4 T cell activation that is concomitant with a reduction in Tregs and MDSCs

Yago Pico de Coaña, Maria Wolodarski, Yuya Yoshimoto, Giusy Gentilcore, Isabel Poschke, Giuseppe V. Masucci, Johan Hansson, Rolf Kiessling

O2 Evaluation of prognostic and therapeutic potential of COX-2 and PD-L1 in primary and metastatic melanoma

Giosuè Scognamiglio, Francesco Sabbatino, Federica Zito Marino, Anna Maria Anniciello, Monica Cantile, Margherita Cerrone, Stefania Scala, Crescenzo D’alterio, Angela Ianaro, Giuseppe Cirino, Paolo Antonio Ascierto, Giuseppina Liguori, Gerardo Botti

O3 Vemurafenib in patients with BRAFV600 mutation–positive metastatic melanoma: final overall survival results of the BRIM-3 study

Paul B. Chapman, Caroline Robert, James Larkin, John B. Haanen, Antoni Ribas, David Hogg, Omid Hamid, Paolo Antonio Ascierto, Alessandro Testori, Paul Lorigan, Reinhard Dummer, Jeffrey A. Sosman, Keith T. Flaherty, Huibin Yue, Shelley Coleman, Ivor Caro, Axel Hauschild, Grant A. McArthur

O4 Updated survival, response and safety data in a phase 1 dose-finding study (CA209-004) of concurrent nivolumab (NIVO) and ipilimumab (IPI) in advanced melanoma

Mario Sznol, Margaret K. Callahan, Harriet Kluger, Michael A. Postow, RuthAnn Gordan, Neil H. Segal, Naiyer A. Rizvi, Alexander Lesokhin, Michael B. Atkins, John M. Kirkwood, Matthew M. Burke, Amanda Ralabate, Angel Rivera, Stephanie A. Kronenberg, Blessing Agunwamba, Mary Ruisi, Christine Horak, Joel Jiang, Jedd Wolchok

Combination therapies

O5 Efficacy and correlative biomarker analysis of the coBRIM study comparing cobimetinib (COBI) + vemurafenib (VEM) vs placebo (PBO) + VEM in advanced BRAF-mutated melanoma patients (pts)

Paolo A. Ascierto, Grant A. McArthur, James Larkin, Gabriella Liszkay, Michele Maio, Mario Mandalà, Lev Demidov, Daniil Stoyakovskiy, Luc Thomas, Luis de la Cruz-Merino, Victoria Atkinson, Caroline Dutriaux, Claus Garbe, Matthew Wongchenko, Ilsung Chang, Daniel O. Koralek, Isabelle Rooney, Yibing Yan, Antoni Ribas, Brigitte Dréno

O6 Preliminary clinical safety, tolerability and activity results from a Phase Ib study of atezolizumab (anti-PDL1) combined with vemurafenib in BRAFV600-mutant metastatic melanoma

Ryan Sullivan, Omid Hamid, Manish Patel, Stephen Hodi, Rodabe Amaria, Peter Boasberg, Jeffrey Wallin, Xian He, Edward Cha, Nicole Richie, Marcus Ballinger, Patrick Hwu

O7 Preliminary safety and efficacy data from a phase 1/2 study of epacadostat (INCB024360) in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with advanced/metastatic melanoma

Thomas F. Gajewski, Omid Hamid, David C. Smith, Todd M. Bauer, Jeffrey S. Wasser, Jason J. Luke, Ani S. Balmanoukian, David R. Kaufman, Yufan Zhao, Janet Maleski, Lance Leopold, Tara C. Gangadhar

O8 Primary analysis of MASTERKEY-265 phase 1b study of talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) and pembrolizumab (pembro) for unresectable stage IIIB-IV melanoma

Reinhard Dummer, Georgina V. Long, Antoni Ribas, Igor Puzanov, Olivier Michielin, Ari VanderWalde, Robert H.I. Andtbacka, Jonathan Cebon, Eugenio Fernandez, Josep Malvehy, Anthony J. Olszanski, Thomas F. Gajewski, John M. Kirkwood, Christine Gause, Lisa Chen, David R. Kaufman, Jeffrey Chou, F. Stephen Hodi

News in immunotherapy

O9 Two-year survival and safety update in patients (pts) with treatment-naïve advanced melanoma (MEL) receiving nivolumab (NIVO) or dacarbazine (DTIC) in CheckMate 066

Victoria Atkinson, Paolo A. Ascierto, Georgina V. Long, Benjamin Brady, Caroline Dutriaux, Michele Maio, Laurent Mortier, Jessica C. Hassel, Piotr Rutkowski, Catriona McNeil, Ewa Kalinka-Warzocha, Celeste Lebbé, Lars Ny, Matias Chacon, Paola Queirolo, Carmen Loquai, Parneet Cheema, Alfonso Berrocal, Karmele Mujika Eizmendi, Luis De La Cruz-Merino, Gil Bar-Sela, Christine Horak, Joel Jiang, Helene Hardy, Caroline Robert

O10 Efficacy and safety of nivolumab (NIVO) in patients (pts) with advanced melanoma (MEL) who were treated beyond progression in CheckMate 066/067

Georgina V. Long, Jeffrey S. Weber, James Larkin, Victoria Atkinson, Jean-Jacques Grob, Reinhard Dummer, Caroline Robert, Ivan Marquez-Rodas, Catriona McNeil, Henrik Schmidt, Karen Briscoe, Jean-François Baurain, F. Stephen Hodi, Jedd D. Wolchok

Tumor microenvironment and biomarkers

O11 New biomarkers for response/resistance to BRAF inhibitor therapy in metastatic melanoma

Rosamaria Pinto, Simona De Summa, Vito Michele Garrisi, Sabino Strippoli, Amalia Azzariti, Gabriella Guida, Michele Guida, Stefania Tommasi

O12 Chemokine receptor patterns in lymphocytes mirror metastatic spreading in melanoma and response to ipilimumab

Nicolas Jacquelot, David Enot, Caroline Flament, Jonathan M. Pitt, Nadège Vimond, Carolin Blattner, Takahiro Yamazaki, Maria-Paula Roberti, Marie Vetizou, Romain Daillere, Vichnou Poirier-Colame, Michaëla Semeraro, Anne Caignard, Craig L Slingluff Jr, Federica Sallusto, Sylvie Rusakiewicz, Benjamin Weide, Aurélien Marabelle, Holbrook Kohrt, Stéphane Dalle, Andréa Cavalcanti, Guido Kroemer, Anna Maria Di Giacomo, Michaele Maio, Phillip Wong, Jianda Yuan, Jedd Wolchok, Viktor Umansky, Alexander Eggermont, Laurence Zitvogel

O13 Serum levels of PD1- and CD28-positive exosomes before Ipilimumab correlate with therapeutic response in metastatic melanoma patients

Passarelli Anna, Tucci Marco, Stucci Stefania, Mannavola Francesco, Capone Mariaelena, Madonna Gabriele, Ascierto Paolo Antonio, Silvestris Franco

O14 Immunological prognostic factors in stage III melanomas

María Paula Roberti, Nicolas Jacquelot, David P Enot, Sylvie Rusakiewicz, Michaela Semeraro, Sarah Jégou, Camila Flores, Lieping Chen, Byoung S. Kwon, Ana Carrizossa Anderson, Caroline Robert, Christophe Borg, Benjamin Weide, François Aubin, Stéphane Dalle, Michele Maio, Jedd D. Wolchok, Holbrook Kohrt, Maha Ayyoub, Guido Kroemer, Aurélien Marabelle, Andréa Cavalcanti, Alexander Eggermont, Laurence Zitvogel

POSTER PRESENTATIONS

Molecular and immuno-advances

P1 Human melanoma cells resistant to B-RAF and MEK inhibition exhibit mesenchymal-like features

Anna Lisa De Presbiteris, Fabiola Gilda Cordaro, Rosa Camerlingo, Federica Fratangelo, Nicola Mozzillo, Giuseppe Pirozzi, Eduardo J. Patriarca, Paolo A. Ascierto, Emilia Caputo

P2 Anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effect of ABT888 on melanoma cell lines and its potential role in the treatment of melanoma resistant to B-RAF inhibitors

Federica Fratangelo, Rosa Camerlingo, Emilia Caputo, Maria Letizia Motti, Rosaria Falcone, Roberta Miceli, Mariaelena Capone, Gabriele Madonna, Domenico Mallardo, Maria Vincenza Carriero, Giuseppe Pirozzi and Paolo Antonio Ascierto

P3 Involvement of the L-cysteine/CSE/H2S pathway in human melanoma progression

Elisabetta Panza, Paola De Cicco, Chiara Armogida, Giuseppe Ercolano, Rosa Camerlingo, Giuseppe Pirozzi, Giosuè Scognamiglio, Gerardo Botti, Giuseppe Cirino, Angela Ianaro

P4 Cancer stem cell antigen revealing pattern of antibody variable region genes were defined by immunoglobulin repertoire analysis in patients with malignant melanoma

Beatrix Kotlan, Gabriella Liszkay, Miri Blank, Timea Balatoni, Judit Olasz, Emil Farkas, Andras Szollar, Akos Savolt, Maria Godeny, Orsolya Csuka, Szabolcs Horvath, Klara Eles, Yehuda Shoenfeld and Miklos Kasler

P5 Upregulation of Neuregulin-1 expression is a hallmark of adaptive response to BRAF/MEK inhibitors in melanoma

Debora Malpicci, Luigi Fattore, Susan Costantini, Francesca Capone, Paolo Antonio Ascierto, Rita Mancini, Gennaro Ciliberto

P6 HuR positively regulates migration of HTB63 melanoma cells

Farnaz Moradi, Pontus Berglund, Karin Leandersson, Rickard Linnskog, Tommy Andersson, Chandra Prakash Prasad

P7 Prolyl 4- (C-P4H) hydroxylases have opposing effects in malignant melanoma: implication in prognosis and therapy

Cristiana Lo Nigro, Laura Lattanzio, Hexiao Wang, Charlotte Proby, Nelofer Syed, Marcella Occelli, Carolina Cauchi, Marco Merlano, Catherine Harwood, Alastair Thompson, Tim Crook

P8 Urokinase receptor antagonists: novel agents for the treatment of melanoma

Maria Letizia Motti, Katia Bifulco, Vincenzo Ingangi, Michele Minopoli, Concetta Ragone, Federica Fratangelo, Antonello Pessi, Gennaro Ciliberto, Paolo Antonio Ascierto, Maria Vincenza Carriero

P9 Exosomes released by melanoma cell lines enhance chemotaxis of primary tumor cells

Francesco Mannavola, Stella D’Oronzo, Claudia Felici, Marco Tucci, Antonio Doronzo, Franco Silvestris

P10 New insights in mitochondrial metabolic reprogramming in melanoma

Anna Ferretta, Gabriella Guida, Stefania Guida, Imma Maida, Tiziana Cocco, Sabino Strippoli, Stefania Tommasi, Amalia Azzariti, Michele Guida

P11 Lenalidomide restrains the proliferation in melanoma cells through a negative regulation of their cell cycle

Stella D’Oronzo, Anna Passarelli, Claudia Felici, Marco Tucci, Davide Quaresmini, Franco Silvestris

Combination therapies

P12 Chemoimmunotherapy elicits polyfunctional anti-tumor CD8 + T cells depending on the activation of an AKT pathway sustained by ICOS

Ornella Franzese, Belinda Palermo, Cosmo Di Donna, Isabella Sperduti, MariaLaura Foddai, Helena Stabile, Angela Gismondi, Angela Santoni, Paola Nisticò

P13 Favourable toxicity profile of combined BRAF and MEK inhibitors in metastatic melanoma patients

Andrea P. Sponghini, Francesca Platini, Elena Marra, David Rondonotti, Oscar Alabiso, Maria T. Fierro, Paola Savoia, Florian Stratica, Pietro Quaglino

P14 Electrothermal bipolar vessel sealing system dissection reduces seroma output or time to drain removal following axillary and ilio-inguinal node dissection in melanoma patients: a pilot study

Di Monta Gianluca, Caracò Corrado, Di Marzo Massimiliano, Marone Ugo, Di Cecilia Maria Luisa, Mozzillo Nicola

News in immunotherapy

P15 Clinical and immunological response to ipilimumab in a metastatic melanoma patient with HIV infection

Francesco Sabbatino, Celeste Fusciello1, Antonio Marra, Rosario Guarrasi, Carlo Baldi, Rosa Russo, Di Giulio Giovanni, Vincenzo Faiola, Pio Zeppa, Stefano Pepe

P16 Immunotherapy and hypophysitis: a case report

Elisabetta Gambale, Consiglia Carella, Alessandra Di Paolo, Michele De Tursi

Tumor microenvironment and biomarkers

P17 New immuno- histochemical markers for the differential diagnosis of atypical melanocytic lesions with uncertain malignant potential

Laura Marra, Giosuè Scognamiglio, Monica Cantile, Margherita Cerrone, Fara De Murtas, Valeria Sorrentino, Anna Maria Anniciello, Gerardo Botti

P18 Utility of simultaneous measurement of three serum tumor markers in melanoma patients

Angela Sandru, Silviu Voinea, Eugenia Panaitescu, Madalina Bolovan, Adina Stanciu, Sabin Cinca

P19 The significance of various cut-off levels of melanoma inhibitory activity in evaluation of cutaneous melanoma patients

Angela Sandru, Silviu Voinea, Eugenia Panaitescu, Madalina Bolovan, Adina Stanciu, Sabin Cinca

P20 The long noncoding RNA HOTAIR is associated to metastatic progression of melanoma and it can be identified in the blood of patients with advanced disease

Chiara Botti, Giosuè Scognamiglio, Laura Marra, Gabriella Aquino, Rosaria Falcone, Annamaria Anniciello, Paolo Antonio Ascierto, Gerardo Botti, Monica Cantile

Other

P21 The effect of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in melanoma mortality: timing of dissection

Cristina Fortes, Simona Mastroeni, Alessio Caggiati, Francesca Passarelli, Alba Zappalà, Maria Capuano, Riccardo Bono, Maurizio Nudo, Claudia Marino, Paola Michelozzi

P22 Epidemiological survey on related psychopathology in melanoma

Valeria De Biasio, Vincenzo C. Battarra

IMMUNOTHERAPY BRIDGE

KEYNOTE SPEAKER PRESENTATIONS

Immunotherapy beyond melanoma

K19 Predictor of response to radiation and immunotherapy

Silvia Formenti

K20 Response and resistance to PD-1 pathway blockade: clues from the tumor microenvironment

Maria Libera Ascierto, Tracee L. McMiller, Alan E. Berger, Ludmila Danilova, Robert A. Anders, George J. Netto, Haiying Xu, Theresa S. Pritchard, Jinshui Fan, Chris Cheadle, Leslie Cope, Charles G. Drake, Drew M. Pardoll, Janis M. Taube and Suzanne L. Topalian

K21 Combination immunotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation, protein immunization, and PBMC reinfusion in myeloma patients

Sacha Gnjatic, Sarah Nataraj, Naoko Imai, Adeeb Rahman, Achim A. Jungbluth, Linda Pan, Ralph Venhaus, Andrew Park, Frédéric F. Lehmann, Nikoletta Lendvai, Adam D. Cohen, and Hearn J. Cho

K22 Anti-cancer immunity despite T cell “exhaustion”

Speiser Daniel

Immunotherapy in oncology (I-O): data from clinical trial

K23 The Checkpoint Inhibitors for the Treatment of Metastatic Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

Vera Hirsh

Loss of PTEN Promotes Resistance to T Cell-Mediated Immunotherapy

T cell-mediated immunotherapies are promising cancer treatments. However, most patients still fail to respond to these therapies. The molecular determinants of immune resistance are poorly understood. We show that loss of PTEN in tumor cells in preclinical models of melanoma inhibits T cell-mediated tumor killing and decreases T-cell trafficking into tumors. In patients, PTEN loss correlates with decreased T-cell infiltration at tumor sites, reduced likelihood of successful T-cell expansion from resected tumors, and inferior outcomes with PD-1 inhibitor therapy. PTEN loss in tumor cells increased the expression of immunosuppressive cytokines, resulting in decreased T-cell infiltration in tumors, and inhibited autophagy, which decreased T cell-mediated cell death. Treatment with a selective PI3Kβ inhibitor improved the efficacy of both anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 antibodies in murine models. Together, these findings demonstrate that PTEN loss promotes immune resistance and support the rationale to explore combinations of immunotherapies and PI3K-AKT pathway inhibitors.

SIGNIFICANCE

This study adds to the growing evidence that oncogenic pathways in tumors can promote resistance to the antitumor immune response. As PTEN loss and PI3K-AKT pathway activation occur in multiple tumor types, the results support the rationale to further evaluate combinatorial strategies targeting the PI3K-AKT pathway to increase the efficacy of immunotherapy.

Loss of PTEN Promotes Resistance to T Cell-Mediated Immunotherapy

T cell-mediated immunotherapies are promising cancer treatments. However, most patients still fail to respond to these therapies. The molecular determinants of immune resistance are poorly understood. We show that loss of PTEN in tumor cells in preclinical models of melanoma inhibits T cell-mediated tumor killing and decreases T-cell trafficking into tumors. In patients, PTEN loss correlates with decreased T-cell infiltration at tumor sites, reduced likelihood of successful T-cell expansion from resected tumors, and inferior outcomes with PD-1 inhibitor therapy. PTEN loss in tumor cells increased the expression of immunosuppressive cytokines, resulting in decreased T-cell infiltration in tumors, and inhibited autophagy, which decreased T cell-mediated cell death. Treatment with a selective PI3Kβ inhibitor improved the efficacy of both anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 antibodies in murine models. Together, these findings demonstrate that PTEN loss promotes immune resistance and support the rationale to explore combinations of immunotherapies and PI3K-AKT pathway inhibitors.

SIGNIFICANCE

This study adds to the growing evidence that oncogenic pathways in tumors can promote resistance to the antitumor immune response. As PTEN loss and PI3K-AKT pathway activation occur in multiple tumor types, the results support the rationale to further evaluate combinatorial strategies targeting the PI3K-AKT pathway to increase the efficacy of immunotherapy.

Loss of PTEN Promotes Resistance to T Cell-Mediated Immunotherapy

T cell-mediated immunotherapies are promising cancer treatments. However, most patients still fail to respond to these therapies. The molecular determinants of immune resistance are poorly understood. We show that loss of PTEN in tumor cells in preclinical models of melanoma inhibits T cell-mediated tumor killing and decreases T-cell trafficking into tumors. In patients, PTEN loss correlates with decreased T-cell infiltration at tumor sites, reduced likelihood of successful T-cell expansion from resected tumors, and inferior outcomes with PD-1 inhibitor therapy. PTEN loss in tumor cells increased the expression of immunosuppressive cytokines, resulting in decreased T-cell infiltration in tumors, and inhibited autophagy, which decreased T cell-mediated cell death. Treatment with a selective PI3Kβ inhibitor improved the efficacy of both anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 antibodies in murine models. Together, these findings demonstrate that PTEN loss promotes immune resistance and support the rationale to explore combinations of immunotherapies and PI3K-AKT pathway inhibitors.

SIGNIFICANCE

This study adds to the growing evidence that oncogenic pathways in tumors can promote resistance to the antitumor immune response. As PTEN loss and PI3K-AKT pathway activation occur in multiple tumor types, the results support the rationale to further evaluate combinatorial strategies targeting the PI3K-AKT pathway to increase the efficacy of immunotherapy.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells are associated with disease progression and decreased overall survival in advanced-stage melanoma patients (P2027)

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells are increased in the peripheral blood of advanced-stage cancer patients and prevent effective antitumor immune responses. Although these cells have been well characterized in mouse studies, few studies have shown a correlation of these immunosuppressive cells with functional and clinical outcomes in melanoma patients. We characterized the frequency and suppressive function of two subsets of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in the peripheral blood of 34 patients with Stage IV melanoma. The frequency of CD14+ MDSCs (Lin- CD11b+ HLA-DR- CD14+) and CD33+ MDSCs (Lin- CD11b+ HLA-DR- CD14- CD33+) were increased in the peripheral blood of Stage IV melanoma patients relative to healthy donors. These frequencies correlated with increased expression of PD-1 on peripheral T cells and an increased frequency of regulatory T cells. CD33+ MDSCs isolated from the peripheral blood of Stage IV melanoma patients, but not healthy donors, suppressed T cell activation and the frequency of these cells correlated with disease progression and decreased overall survival. Our study provides evidence that the frequency of CD33+ MDSCs negatively correlates with clinical outcomes in advanced-stage melanoma patients. These data indicate that suppressive MDSCs should be considered as targets for future immunotherapies.

Novel therapies in melanoma

The incidence of cutaneous melanoma is on the rise worldwide despite increasing awareness and vigilance towards prevention by the lay public and health professionals. Melanoma is easily curable by surgical excision when detected early, but it is nearly incurable when discovered in its later stages owing to resistance to treatment. Unfortunately, treatment options traditionally used in melanoma have not shown a survival benefit. However, as the understanding of tumor biology and metastatic growth evolves, new therapeutic options for metastatic melanoma have shown impressive survival benefit. The blockade of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) by use of the monoclonal antibody, ipilimumab (Yervoy™, Bristol-Myers Squibb), produces favorable antitumor immune system responses and was recently approved by the US FDA for use in patients with advanced melanoma. In addition, targeting components of the MAPK pathway have also demonstrated survival advantage in patients with BRAF-mutated melanoma and vemurafenib (Zelboraf™, Plexxikon/Roche) was approved by the FDA in August 2011 for the first-line treatment of both metastatic and unresectable melanomas for patients whose tumors have V600E mutations in the BRAF gene.

The incidence of low-level HER2 gene amplification and chromosome 17 polysomy in cases of newly diagnosed breast cancer and their association with clinical prognostic markers

e22012

Background: The purpose of this study is to describe the frequency of low level HER2 gene amplification and chromosome 17 polysomy, and its association with known clinical prognostic markers. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all cases of newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer referred to the Colorado Cytogenetic laboratory for FISH testing from either the University of Colorado Breast Center or St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, CO between October 2000 and May 2005, excluding patients treated with HER2-directed therapy. Cases were classified into positive for HER2 gene amplification (FISH ratio ≥ 2.2), negative for HER2 gene amplification (FISH ratio <1.8), or intermediate for HER2 gene amplification (FISH ratio of 1.8- 2.1 or presence of chromosome 17 polysomy). IRB approved chart review was performed . Results: Of the 177 patients referred for FISH testing during the study period, 27.7 % (49/177) had intermediate HER2 gene amplification as defined as a FISH ratio of 1.8–2.1 or chromosome 17 polysomy. There was a statistically significant increase in stage, lymph node involvement, and histologic grade at diagnosis in the intermediate HER2 group compared to negative controls ( Table ). Conclusions: The incidence of intermediate HER2 gene amplification is clinically significant and associated with higher histologic grade and stage at diagnosis compared to HER2 negative controls. This patient population should be investigated further for long term disease outcomes and impact of HER2 - based targeted therapy.

[Table: see text]

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Proinsulin processing in the diabetic Goto-Kakizaki rat

The biosynthesis and processing of proinsulin was investigated in the diabetic Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rat. Immunofluorescence microscopy comparing GK and Wistar control rat pancreata revealed marked changes in the distribution of alpha-cells and pronounced beta-cell heterogeneity in the expression patterns of insulin, prohormone convertases PC1, PC2, carboxypeptidase E (CPE) and the PC-binding proteins 7B2 and ProSAAS. Western blot analyses of isolated islets revealed little difference in PC1 and CPE expression but PC2 immunoreactivity was markedly lower in the GK islets. The processing of the PC2-dependent substrate chromogranin A was reduced as evidenced by the appearance of intermediates. No differences were seen in the biosynthesis and post-translational modification of PC1, PC2 or CPE following incubation of islets in 16.7 mM glucose, but incubation in 3.3 mM glucose resulted in decreased PC2 biosynthesis in the GK islets. The rates of biosynthesis, processing and secretion of newly synthesized (pro)insulin were comparable. Circulating insulin immunoreactivity in both Wistar and GK rats was predominantly insulin 1 and 2 in the expected ratios with no (pro)insulin evident. Thus, the marked changes in islet morphology and PC2 expression did not impact the rate or extent of proinsulin processing either in vitro or in vivo in this experimental model.

[Quality management in the hospital environment: ISO 9002 certification: our experience]

The nephrology-dialysis department of the Havre's hospital has launched a project of certification ISO 9002 in 1996, based on reflections from the centers of dialysis Upper Normandy. The problems encountered were mainly the lack of ways, a bad documentary structure, false ideas on the quality and a bad perception from the client. With the help of a quality manager, il has enable the project to advance and finalized, obtaining the certification of activity. In june 2000 "Procedure of taking in charge all the patient's medical and para-medical cost in the center of the Nephrology-Dialysis service" of the GHH (Hospital Group of the Havre) has brought not only the certificate but notable improvements on the level of documentary management, the errors, relationship clients-suppliers and projects of collaboration with the other services of nephrology dialysis of France.

[Nephrotic syndrome complicating treatment with interferon alpha]

We report two cases of nephrotic syndrome with minimal glomerular change complicating alpha-interferon therapy.

CASE REPORTS

The first patient was a 60-year-old man with Waldenström's disease who was given 1 million units of alpha-interferon three times a week for 22 months. Acute renal failure developed when a second protocol was started. Renal biopsy revealed intraglomerular deposits and no cellular proliferation. Total remission could not be achieved with corticosteroids. The second case was a 46-year-old man given high dose alpha-interferon (15 million units 3 times a week) for lymph node metastasis of a malignant melanoma. A nephrotic syndrome without renal failure developed during the third month of treatment. Minimal glomerular involvement was seen. Symptomatic treatment led to resolution of the nephrotic syndrome.

DISCUSSION

Nine other cases of nephrotic syndrome complicating alpha-interferon therapy have been reported in the literature.