Imaging of Cancer Immunotherapy: Response Assessment Methods, Atypical Response Patterns, and Immune-Related Adverse Events, From the AJR Special Series on Imaging of Inflammation

Author(s):  
Sara Sheikhbahaei ◽  
Charles V. Marcus ◽  
Mohammad S. Sadaghiani ◽  
Steven P. Rowe ◽  
Martin G. Pomper ◽  
...  
Radiographics ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 424-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer J. Kwak ◽  
Sree Harsha Tirumani ◽  
Annick D. Van den Abbeele ◽  
Phillip J. Koo ◽  
Heather A. Jacene

Author(s):  
Katerina Chatzidionysiou ◽  
Matina Liapi ◽  
Georgios Tsakonas ◽  
Iva Gunnarsson ◽  
Anca Catrina

Abstract Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment during the last years. Several monoclonal antibodies that are specific for regulatory checkpoint molecules, that is, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), have been approved and are currently in use for various types of cancer in different lines of treatment. Cancer immunotherapy aims for enhancing the immune response against cancer cells. Despite their high efficacy, ICIs are associated to a new spectrum of adverse events of autoimmune origin, often referred to as immune-related adverse events (irAEs), which limit the utility of these drugs. These irAEs are quite common and can affect almost every organ. The grade of toxicity varies from very mild to life-threatening. The pathophysiological mechanisms behind these events are not fully understood. In this review, we will summarize current evidence specifically regarding the rheumatic irAEs and we will focus on current and future treatment strategies. Treatment guidelines largely support the use of glucocorticoids as first-line therapy, when symptomatic therapy is not efficient, and for more persistent and/or moderate/severe degree of inflammation. Targeted therapies are higher up in the treatment pyramid, after inadequate response to glucocorticoids and conventional, broad immunosuppressive agents, and for severe forms of irAEs. However, preclinical data provide evidence that raise concerns regarding the potential risk of impaired antitumoral effect. This potential risk of glucocorticoids, together with the high efficacy and potential synergistic effect of newer, targeted immunomodulation, such as tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-6 blockade, could support a paradigm shift, where more targeted treatments are considered earlier in the treatment sequence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. e002627
Author(s):  
Nicholas L Bayless ◽  
Jeffrey A Bluestone ◽  
Samantha Bucktrout ◽  
Lisa H Butterfield ◽  
Elizabeth M Jaffee ◽  
...  

Recent advances in cancer immunotherapy have completely revolutionized cancer treatment strategies. Nonetheless, the increasing incidence of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) is now limiting the overall benefits of these treatments. irAEs are well-recognized side effects of some of the most effective cancer immunotherapy agents, including antibody blockade of the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 and programmed death protein 1/programmed-death ligand 1 pathways. To develop an action plan on the key elements needed to unravel and understand the key mechanisms driving irAEs, the Society for Immunotherapy for Cancer and the American Association for Cancer Research partnered to bring together research and clinical experts in cancer immunotherapy, autoimmunity, immune regulation, genetics and informatics who are investigating irAEs using animal models, clinical data and patient specimens to discuss current strategies and identify the critical next steps needed to create breakthroughs in our understanding of these toxicities. The genetic and environmental risk factors, immune cell subsets and other key immunological mediators and the unique clinical presentations of irAEs across the different organ systems were the foundation for identifying key opportunities and future directions described in this report. These include the pressing need for significantly improved preclinical model systems, broader collection of biospecimens with standardized collection and clinical annotation made available for research and integration of electronic health record and multiomic data with harmonized and standardized methods, definitions and terminologies to further our understanding of irAE pathogenesis. Based on these needs, this report makes a set of recommendations to advance our understanding of irAE mechanisms, which will be crucial to prevent their occurrence and improve their treatment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 24-44
Author(s):  
I.Yu. Golovach ◽  
Ye.D. Yehudina

Thorax ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. thoraxjnl-2021-217260
Author(s):  
Tommaso Morelli ◽  
Kohei Fujita ◽  
Gil Redelman-Sidi ◽  
Paul T Elkington

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionised cancer treatment. However, immune-related adverse events (irAEs) are a common side effect which can mimic infection. Additionally, treatment of irAEs with corticosteroids and other immunosuppressant agents can lead to opportunistic infection, which we have classed as immunotherapy infections due to immunosuppression. However, emerging reports demonstrate that some infections can be precipitated by ICIs in the absence of immunosuppressive treatment, in contrast to the majority of reported cases. These infections are characterised by a dysregulated inflammatory immune response, and so we propose they are described as immunotherapy infections due to dysregulated immunity. This review summarises the rapidly emerging evidence of these phenomena and proposes a new framework for considering infection in the context of cancer immunotherapy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 2024-2024
Author(s):  
Scott Randall Plotkin ◽  
Priya Kumthekar ◽  
Patrick Y. Wen ◽  
Frederick G. Barker ◽  
Anat Stemmer-Rachamimov ◽  
...  

2024 Background: Grade II/III meningiomas represent about 20% of tumors and have increased rates of recurrence with no approved medical therapies. Historically, the progression-free survival at 6 months (PFS-6) for these tumors is 25%. The Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (RANO) group identified a PFS-6 rate of > 35% to be of interest for trials of grade II/III meningioma. Methods : NF2 gene inactivation occurs in the majority of meningiomas and is associated with mTORC1 activation. Human studies of everolimus for neurofibromatosis 2 patients documented growth arrest in only a minority of tumors. Based on our studies showing mTORC2/SGK1 pathway activation in NF2-deficient meningiomas and the known paradoxical activation of the mTORC2/AKT pathway in meningiomas, we hypothesized that dual inhibition of mTORC1/2 would be superior in meningiomas. Treatment of primary meningioma cells with vistusertib led to decreased cell proliferation and showed greater efficacy than rapamycin, regardless of NF2 expression. We studied the effect of vistusertib in patients with progressive or recurrent grade II/III meningiomas (NCT03071874). Vistusertib was administered orally at 125mg twice daily on two consecutive days each week. MRIs were obtained every 2 cycles (1 cycle = 28 days). Tumor size was defined as the largest cross-sectional area. Progression was defined as ≥25% increase in the sum of products of all measurable lesions over smallest sum observed. The primary endpoint was PFS-6. Secondary endpoints included toxicity, radiographic response, and correlative studies including immunohistochemistry for mTORC1/2 pathway activation and genetic biomarkers. Results: Twenty-eight patients (13 female), with a median age of 58 years (range, 32 to 77 years), were enrolled in this multicenter study. The median Karnofsky performance status was 80. Twenty-five patients have been followed to six months or to tumor progression. The median duration of treatment was 6.5 month (range, 1-18 months). Four patients chose to discontinue treatment, 1 withdrew to intercurrent illness, and 1 was withdrawn due to non-compliance. PFS-6 is 51.5% (CI, 29.3% - 70.0%). Adverse events at least possibly related to vistusertib with frequency > 10% include nausea (54%); fatigue (36%); hypophosphatemia (29%); diarrhea, anorexia, dry mouth, and hypertriglyceridemia (all 14%); hypertension, vomiting, increased ALT, constipation, and weight loss (all 11%). Conclusions: Vistusertib treatment was associated with a PFS-6 rate that exceeds the RANO target of 35% for recurrent high-grade meningioma. The follow-up data continue to mature. Adverse events were tolerable in this patient population. Correlative studies to identify biological factors that correlate with response are under way. These data support the initiation of larger randomized studies of vistusertib in this setting. Clinical trial information: NCT03071874.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thorsten Persigehl ◽  
Simon Lennartz ◽  
Lawrence H. Schwartz

Abstract Background iRECIST for the objective monitoring of immunotherapies was published by the official RECIST working group in 2017. Main body Immune-checkpoint inhibitors represent one of the most important therapy advancements in modern oncology. They are currently used for treatment of multiple malignant diseases especially at advanced, metastatic stages which were poorly therapeutically accessible in the past. Promising results of recent studies suggest that their application will further grow in the near future, particularly when used in combination with chemotherapy. A challenging aspect of these immunotherapies is that they may show atypical therapy response patterns such as pseudoprogression and demonstrate a different imaging spectrum of adverse reactions, both of which are crucial for radiologists to understand. In 2017 the RECIST working group published a modified set of response criteria, iRECIST, for immunotherapy, based on RECIST 1.1 which was developed for cytotoxic therapies and adapted for targeted agents. Conclusion This article provides guidance for response assessment of oncologic patients under immunotherapy based on iRECIST criteria.


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