Post-treatment analysis of irreversible electroporation waveforms delivered to human pancreatic cancer patients

Author(s):  
Natalie Beitel-White ◽  
R. C. G. Martin ◽  
Rafael V. Davalos
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alissa Hendricks-Wenger ◽  
Kenneth N. Aycock ◽  
Margaret A. Nagai-Singer ◽  
Sheryl Coutermarsh-Ott ◽  
Melvin F. Lorenzo ◽  
...  

AbstractNew therapies to treat pancreatic cancer are direly needed. However, efficacious interventions lack a strong preclinical model that can recapitulate patients’ anatomy and physiology. Likewise, the availability of human primary malignant tissue for ex vivo studies is limited. These are significant limitations in the biomedical device field. We have developed RAG2/IL2RG deficient pigs using CRISPR/Cas9 as a large animal model with the novel application of cancer xenograft studies of human pancreatic adenocarcinoma. In this proof-of-concept study, these pigs were successfully generated using on-demand genetic modifications in embryos, circumventing the need for breeding and husbandry. Human Panc01 cells injected subcutaneously into the ears of RAG2/IL2RG deficient pigs demonstrated 100% engraftment with growth rates similar to those typically observed in mouse models. Histopathology revealed no immune cell infiltration and tumor morphology was highly consistent with the mouse models. The electrical properties and response to irreversible electroporation of the tumor tissue were found to be similar to excised human pancreatic cancer tumors. The ample tumor tissue produced enabled improved accuracy and modeling of the electrical properties of tumor tissue. Together, this suggests that this model will be useful and capable of bridging the gap of translating therapies from the bench to clinical application.


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 2871 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masanori Oshi ◽  
Stephanie Newman ◽  
Yoshihisa Tokumaru ◽  
Li Yan ◽  
Ryusei Matsuyama ◽  
...  

Pancreatic cancer is highly mortal due to uncontrolled cell proliferation. The G2M checkpoint pathway is an essential part of the cell cycle. We hypothesized that a high G2M pathway score is associated with cell proliferation and worse survival in pancreatic cancer patients. Gene set variation analysis using the Hallmark G2M checkpoint gene set was used as a score to analyze a total of 390 human pancreatic cancer patients from 3 cohorts (TCGA, GSE62452, GSE57495). High G2M score tumors enriched other cell proliferation genes sets as well as MKI67 expression, pathological grade, and proliferation score. Independent of other prognostic factors, G2M score was predictive of disease-specific survival in pancreatic cancer. High G2M tumor was associated with high mutation rate of KRAS and TP53 and significantly enriched these pathway gene sets, as well as high infiltration of Th2 cells. High G2M score consistently associated with worse overall survival in 3 cohorts, particularly in R1/2 resection, but not in R0. High G2M tumor in R1/2 highly enriched metabolic and cellular components’ gene sets compared to R0. To our knowledge, this is the first study to use gene set variation analysis as a score to examine the clinical relevancy of the G2M pathway in pancreatic cancer.


2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (18_suppl) ◽  
pp. 4125-4125
Author(s):  
S. Nakahira ◽  
S. Nakamori ◽  
M. Tsujie ◽  
J. Okami ◽  
I. Takemasa ◽  
...  

4125 Background: Pancreatic cancer is the most lethal of all solid tumors partially because of its chemoresistance. Although a deoxycytidine analogue, gemcitabine, is widely used as a first selected and a single agent for the treatment of this disease despite low response rate, molecular mechanisms of gemcitabine resistance in pancreatic cancer still remain obscure. The purpose of this study is to identify the molecular marker for gemcitabine resistance in human pancreatic cancer. Methods: Gemcitabine resistant variants were established from human pancreatic cancer cell lines, MiaPaCa2. Gene expression changes between parental cells and resistant cells were assessed by an oligonucleotide microarray covering 30,000 human oligonucleotides, and candidate genes were validated by RT-PCR and Western blotting. The association to resistance was validated by RNAi assay. Clinical effects on 18 recurrent pancreatic cancer patients treated by gemcitabine were evaluated using mRNA of specimens resected at the primary operation. Results: The 81-fold gemcitabine resistant variant MiaPaCa2-RG was selected from pancreatic cancer cell line MiaPaCa2. By microarray analysis between parental and resistant MiaPaCa2 cells, 99.6% genes were altered expression of less than 2-fold. Among 43 genes with altered expression of more than 2-fold, the most up-regulated gene in MiaPaCa2-RG cells is ribonucleotide reductase M1 subunit (RRM1) with 4.5-fold up-regulation compared with MiaPaCa2 cells. Transfection with RRM1-specific RNAi suppressed more than 90% of RRM1 mRNA and protein expression both in MiaPaCa2 and MiaPaCa2-RG cells. After RRM1-specific RNAi transfection, gemcitabine chemoresistance of MiaPaCa2-RG was significantly reduced to the same level of MiaPaCa2. The 18 recurrent pancreatic cancer patients were divided into two groups by RRM1 mRNA expression levels. There was a significant association between gemcitabine response and RRM1 expression (p = 0.018). Furthermore, patients with high RRM1 levels had a poor survival times after gemcitabine treatment than those with low RRM1 levels (p = 0.016). Conclusions: RRM1 should be a key molecule in gemcitabine resistance in pancreatic cancer through both in vitro and clinical models. RRM1 should be considered as the predictor of gemcitabine resistance. No significant financial relationships to disclose.


Cancer ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 60 (7) ◽  
pp. 1636-1643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong S. Chung ◽  
Jenny J. L. Ho ◽  
Young S. Kim ◽  
Hajime Tanaka ◽  
Bunzo Nakata ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Lin ◽  
Q-L. Chen ◽  
X-Y. Wang ◽  
W. Han ◽  
T-Y. He ◽  
...  

Human pituitary tumor transforming gene 1 (PTTG1) is an oncogenic transcription factor that is overexpressed in many malignancies, especially cancers with metastatic potential, while transgelin-2 (TAGLN2) is an actin-binding protein shown to be a tumor suppressor. However, the expression and clinical significance of PTTG1 and TAGLN2 in pancreatic cancer remain unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the expression and clinical significance of PTTG1 and TAGLN2 in human primary pancreatic cancer. Seventy-five cases of human pancreatic cancer tissues were collected. The expression of PTTG1 and TAGLN2 protein was assessed using immunohistochemistry (IHC) through tissue microarray procedure. The clinicopathologic characteristics of all patients were analyzed. As a result, the expression of PTTG1 and TAGLN2 in cancerous tissues showed the positive staining mainly in the cytoplasm, and they were found in cancerous tissues with higher strong reactivity rate compared with the adjacent non-cancer tissues (ANCT) (56.0% vs 22.7%, P<0.001; 100% vs 84%, P=0.002), elevating with the ascending order of tumor malignancy. Furthermore, the positive expression of PTTG1 was associated with the gender of pancreatic cancer patients, but did not correlate with their age, pathological styles, tumor size, tumor sites, TNM staging, perineural infiltration and distant metastasis (each P>0.05). In addition, Spearman rank correlation analysis showed the positive correlation of PTTG1 with TAGLN2 (r=0.624, P<0.001). Taken together, PTTG1 and TAGLN2 are highly expressed in human pancreatic cancer, and the positive expression of PTTG1 is associated with the gender of cancer patients, suggesting that it may represent a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 290-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas B Brunner ◽  
Serena Lunardi ◽  
Nigel B Jamieson ◽  
Su Yin Lim ◽  
Kristin L Griffiths ◽  
...  

290 Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is characterized by an abundant desmoplastic reaction driven by pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) that contributes to tumor progression. Here we sought to characterize the interactions between pancreatic cancer cells (PCCs) and PSCs that affect the inflammatory and immune response in pancreatic tumors. Methods: Conditioned media from mono- and cocultures of PSCs and PCCs were assayed for expression of cytokines, chemokines and growth factors. Gene expression analysis of human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma samples was used to verify expression of cytokines and their correlation with markers of immunoresponse and with clinical outcome. Finally, we tested chemotaxis of leukocytes isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of pancreatic cancer patients. Results: IP-10/CXCL10 was the most highly induced chemokine in coculture of PSCs and PCCs. Its expression was induced in the PSCs by PCCs. IP-10 expression was consistently upregulated in human pancreatic cancer specimens, and positively correlated with high stroma content. Furthermore, expression of IP-10 and its receptor CXCR3 were significantly associated with the intratumoral presence of regulatory T cells (Tregs). In an independent cohort of 48 patients with resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the survival of patients with high IP-10 levels was 18.1 months less than those with low IP-10 levels (HR=2.14, 95% CI 1.05 -4.42). Importantly, IP-10 stimulated the ex vivo recruitment of CXCR3+ effector T cells as well as CXCR3+ Tregs derived from patients with pancreatic cancer. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that, in pancreatic cancer patients, CXCR3+ Tregs are recruited by IP-10 expressed by PSCs in the tumor stroma, leading to immunosuppressive and tumor-promoting effects.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (4_suppl) ◽  
pp. 309-309
Author(s):  
Yaacov Richard Lawrence ◽  
Einat Shacham Shmueli ◽  
Liat Hammer ◽  
Ofir Morag ◽  
Maoz Ben-Ayun ◽  
...  

309 Background: Pancreatic cancer is characterized by severe epigastric/lower back pain caused by infiltration of the celiac plexus. The celiac plexus is a network of nociceptive nerves, located along the abdominal aorta. Contemporary approaches (opioids, celiac plexus chemical neurolysis, systemic chemotherapy) are often inadequate. We hypothesized that ablative radiation targeted to the celiac plexus would alleviate pain. Here we report results for pancreatic cancer patients treated with a single fraction of radiation. Methods: We conducted a single-institution single-arm prospective clinical trial. Eligible cancer patients had celiac-pain > 4/10 on Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and completed treatment per protocol with at least one post-treatment visit. The celiac plexus was irradiated from D12 to L2. Radiation was given as a single-fraction 25 Gy. The primary endpoint was NRS pain 3 weeks post-treatment. Secondary endpoints were toxicity, pain at 6w, analgesic use, and pain interference with daily activities as evaluated by the ‘The Brief Pain Inventory’. Analgesia was not restricted. Total daily dose of opioids was measured in morphine milligram equivalents (MME). Results: Seventeen patients were evaluable, 65% female, median age 68 yr (range 51-79), three had undergone pancreatic resection, nine had liver metastases, median ECOG = 1. Sixteen patients reported 3-week outcomes, and 10 reported 6-week outcomes. At time of treatment subjects were a median of 8.2 months from diagnosis, and had received a median of one systemic treatment (range 0-3). Toxicity was limited to grade 1. Median baseline pain was 6/10 (IQR 5-7), was reduced to 2.3/10 (IQR 0.9-3.6) (p < 0.0005) at 3 w, and to 2.5/10 (IQR 0-3.1) at 6 w post-treatment, for both p < 0.001. Median opioid consumption numerically decreased (baseline 52.9 MME, 3 w 43.9 MME, 6 w 37.5 MME, NS). ‘BPI pain interference’ improved significantly: median baseline score 7.1 dropped to 1.1 at 3 weeks and 0 at 6 weeks (p < 0.01 for both time points). Conclusions: Celiac plexus radiosurgery alleviates pain, and improves quality of life among patients with pancreatic cancer. A follow-up international trial is accruing. Clinical trial information: NCT02356406.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 6124
Author(s):  
Consuelo Gajate ◽  
Odile Gayet ◽  
Nicolas A. Fraunhoffer ◽  
Juan Iovanna ◽  
Nelson Dusetti ◽  
...  

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies with a poor and gloomy prognosis and the highest mortality-to-incidence ratio. Pancreatic cancer remains an incurable malignancy, and current therapies are ineffective. We isolated cancer stem cells (CSCs) from the human PANC-1 pancreatic cancer cell line as CD44+CD24+EpCAM+ cells. These CSCs form pancreatic cancer spheres or spheroids and develop tumors in SCID mice after subcutaneous injection of as few as 100 cells per mouse. Here, we found that the alkylphospholipid analog edelfosine inhibited CSC pancreatic cancer spheroid formation and induced cell death, as assessed by an increase in the percentage of cells in the sub-G0/G1 region by means of flow cytometry, indicative of DNA breakdown and apoptosis. This correlated with an increase in caspase-3 activity and PARP breakdown, as a major substrate of caspase-3, following PANC-1 CSC treatment with edelfosine. The antitumor ether lipid edelfosine colocalized with the endoplasmic reticulum in both PANC-1 cells as well as PANC-1 CSCs by using a fluorescent edelfosine analog, and induced an endoplasmic reticulum stress response in both PANC-1 cells and PANC-1 CSCs, with a potent CHOP/GADD153 upregulation. Edelfosine elicited a strong autophagy response in both PANC-1 cells and PANC-1 CSCs, and preincubation of CSCs with autophagy inhibitors, chloroquine or bafilomycin A1, enhanced edelfosine-induced apoptosis. Primary cultures from pancreatic cancer patients were sensitive to edelfosine, as well as their respective isolated CSCs. Nontumorigenic pancreatic human cell line HPNE and normal human fibroblasts were largely spared. These data suggest that pancreatic CSCs isolated from established cell lines and pancreatic cancer patients are sensitive to edelfosine through its accumulation in the endoplasmic reticulum and induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress.


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