scholarly journals Spatial immunophenotypes predict response to anti-PD1 treatment and capture distinct paths of T cell evasion in triple negative breast cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dora Hammerl ◽  
John W. M. Martens ◽  
Mieke Timmermans ◽  
Marcel Smid ◽  
Anita M. Trapman-Jansen ◽  
...  

AbstractOnly a subgroup of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) responds to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). To better understand lack of response to ICI, we analyze 681 TNBCs for spatial immune cell contextures in relation to clinical outcomes and pathways of T cell evasion. Excluded, ignored and inflamed phenotypes can be captured by a gene classifier that predicts prognosis of various cancers as well as anti-PD1 response of metastatic TNBC patients in a phase II trial. The excluded phenotype, which is associated with resistance to anti-PD1, demonstrates deposits of collagen-10, enhanced glycolysis, and activation of TGFβ/VEGF pathways; the ignored phenotype, also associated with resistance to anti-PD1, shows either high density of CD163+ myeloid cells or activation of WNT/PPARγ pathways; whereas the inflamed phenotype, which is associated with response to anti-PD1, revealed necrosis, high density of CLEC9A+ dendritic cells, high TCR clonality independent of neo-antigens, and enhanced expression of T cell co-inhibitory receptors.

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine J. Carpenter ◽  
Aurore-Cecile Valfort ◽  
Nick Steinauer ◽  
Arindam Chatterjee ◽  
Suomia Abuirqeba ◽  
...  

AbstractTriple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly aggressive subtype that is untreatable with hormonal or HER2-targeted therapies and is also typically unresponsive to checkpoint-blockade immunotherapy. Within the tumor microenvironment dysregulated immune cell metabolism has emerged as a key mechanism of tumor immune-evasion. We have discovered that the Liver-X-Receptors (LXRα and LXRβ), nuclear receptors known to regulate lipid metabolism and tumor-immune interaction, are highly activated in TNBC tumor associated myeloid cells. We therefore theorized that inhibiting LXR would induce immune-mediated TNBC-tumor clearance. Here we show that pharmacological inhibition of LXR activity induces tumor destruction primarily through stimulation of CD8+ T-cell cytotoxic activity and mitochondrial metabolism. Our results imply that LXR inverse agonists may be a promising new class of TNBC immunotherapies.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanfang Xin ◽  
Guoshuang Shen ◽  
Yonghui Zheng ◽  
Yumei Guan ◽  
Xingfa Huo ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Some studies have shown that Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have a favorable efficacy in advanced triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients, but the results are controversial in neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) stage. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety after NACT plus ICIs in early TNBC patients. Methods After searching PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane library and several mainly oncology conferences up to 30 January 2021 systematically, and define randomized controlled trials (RCTs) exploring the efficacy and safety of programmed death protein-1/programmed cell death-Ligand 1(PD-1/PD-L1) inhibitors plus neoadjuvant chemotherapy in TNBC patients. The primary endpoint was the pathological complete response (pCR) in intention-to-treat populations (ITT), and the secondary endpoints were event-free survival (EFS) and safety analysis in the ITT populations. Results Six RCTs (N = 2142) were included in our meta-analysis; NACT plus ICIs increased pCR rates compared with NACT in intention-to-treat (ITT) populations (OR: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.32–2.78, P < 0.001). The pCR rate also increased in both PD-L1 positive (OR: 1.65; 95% CI: 1.26–2.16, P < 0.001) and PD-L1 negative patients (OR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.04–2.33, P = 0.03), especially in PD-L1 positive patients. The benefit was also observed in nodal-positive populations (OR: 2.52; 95% CI: 1.69–3.77, P < 0.001) and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance-status score (ECOG PS) 0 subgroup (OR: 1.90; 95% CI: 1.42–2.53, P < 0.001). Three RCTs (N = 1615) reported EFS and the results showed that adding PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors increased EFS (HR 0.65, 95% CI 0.50–0.83, P = 0.0007) in ITT populations with a short follow-up time. In the safety analysis of 2205 patients with early TNBC from five eligible studies, NACT plus ICIs had a higher risk of grade 3–4 diarrhea (OR: 2.54; 95% CI: 1.21–5.32; P = 0.01), any grade of adverse effects(AEs)including vomiting (OR: 1.37; 95% CI: 1.00–1.86; P = 0.05), hyperthyroidism (OR: 6.04; 95% CI: 2.39–15.29; P < 0.001), and hypothyroidism (OR: 5.04; 95% CI: 3.02–8.39; P < 0.001). Conclusions PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors combined with chemotherapy can improve pCR rates and EFS, and with an increased incidence of some immune-related AEs compared with chemotherapy alone. NACT plus ICIs might be an option in patients with in PD-L1 positive and high-risk populations with positive nodal disease early TNBC.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 4883
Author(s):  
Marcus Schmidt ◽  
Anne-Sophie Heimes

The role of the immune system in breast cancer has been debated for decades. The advent of technologies such as next generation sequencing (NGS) has elucidated the crucial interplay between somatic mutations in tumors leading to neoantigens and immune responses with increased tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and improved prognosis of breast cancer patients. In particular, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has a higher mutational burden compared to other breast cancer subtypes. In addition, higher levels of tumor-associated antigens suggest that immunotherapies are a promising treatment option, specifically for TNBC. Indeed, higher concentrations of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes are associated with better prognosis and response to chemotherapy in TNBC. An important target within the cancer immune cell cycle is the “immune checkpoint”. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICPis) block the interaction of certain cell surface proteins that act as “brakes” on immune responses. Recent studies have shown that ICPis improve survival in both early and advanced TNBC. However, this comes at the price of increased toxicity, particularly immune-mediated toxicity. As an alternative approach, individualized mRNA vaccination strategies against tumor-associated neoantigens represent another promising approach leading to neoantigen-specific immune responses. These novel strategies should help to improve treatment outcomes, especially for patients with triple negative breast cancer.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanfang Xin ◽  
Guoshuang Shen ◽  
Yonghui Zheng ◽  
Yumei Guan ◽  
Xingfa Huo ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose: Some studies have shown that Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have a favorable efficacy in advanced triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients, but the results are controversial in neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) stage. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety after NACT plus ICIs in early TNBC patients.Methods: After searching PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane library and several mainly oncology conferences up to 30 January 2021 systematically, and define randomized controlled trials (RCTs) exploring the efficacy and safety of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors plus neoadjuvant chemotherapy in TNBC patients. The primary endpoint was the pathological complete response (pCR) in intention-to-treat populations (ITT), and the secondary endpoints were event-free survival (EFS) and safety analysis in the ITT populations.Results: Six RCTs (N = 2142) were included in our meta-analysis; NACT plus ICIs increased pCR rates compared with NACT in intention-to-treat (ITT) populations (OR: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.32–2.78, P < 0.001). The pCR rate also increased both in PD-L1 positive (OR: 1.65; 95% CI: 1.26–2.16, P < 0.001) and negative patients (OR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.04–2.33, P = 0.03), especially in PD-L1 positive patients. The benefit was also observed in nodal-positive populations (OR: 2.52; 95% CI: 1.69–3.77, P < 0.001) and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance-status score (ECOG PS) 0 subgroup (OR: 1.90; 95% CI: 1.42–2.53, P < 0.001). Three RCTs (N = 1615) reported that EFS and the addition of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors increased EFS (HR 0.66, 95% CI 0.48–0.92, P = 0.01) in ITT populations with a short follow-up time. In the safety analysis of 2205 patients with early TNBC from five eligible studies, NACT plus ICIs had a higher risk of grade 3-4 diarrhea (OR: 2.54; 95% CI: 1.21–5.32; P = 0.01), any grade of AEs including vomiting (OR: 1.37; 95% CI: 1.00–1.86; P = 0.05), hyperthyroidism (OR: 6.04; 95% CI: 2.39–15.29; P < 0.001), and hypothyroidism (OR: 5.04; 95% CI: 3.02–8.39; P < 0.001).Conclusions: NACT plus ICIs might be an option in patients with early TNBC.


Vaccines ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed H. M. Ali ◽  
Salman M Toor ◽  
Fazle Rakib ◽  
Raghvendra Mall ◽  
Ehsan Ullah ◽  
...  

Interactions between programmed death-1 (PD-1) with its ligand PD-L1 on tumor cells can antagonize T cell responses. Inhibiting these interactions using immune checkpoint inhibitors has shown promise in cancer immunotherapy. MDA-MB-231 is a triple negative breast cancer cell line that expresses PD-L1. In this study, we investigated the biochemical changes in MDA-MB-231 cells following treatment with atezolizumab, a specific PD-L1 blocker. Our readouts were Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and flow cytometric analyses. Chemometrical analysis, such as principal component analysis (PCA), was applied to delineate the spectral differences. We were able to identify the chemical alterations in both protein and lipid structure of the treated cells. We found that there was a shift from random coil and α-helical structure to β-sheet conformation of PD-L1 on tumor cells due to atezolizumab treatment, which could hinder binding with its receptors on immune cells, ensuring sustained T cell activation for potent immune responses. This work provides novel information about the effects of atezolizumab at molecular and cellular levels. FTIR bio-spectroscopy, in combination with chemometric analyses, may expedite research and offer new approaches for cancer immunology.


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