scholarly journals PTEN Alterations as a Potential Mechanism for Tumor Cell Escape from PD-1/PD-L1 Inhibition

Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cretella ◽  
Digiacomo ◽  
Giovannetti ◽  
Cavazzoni

The recent approval of immune checkpoint inhibitors drastically changed the standard treatments in many advanced cancer patients, but molecular changes within the tumor can prevent the activity of immunotherapy drugs. Thus, the introduction of the inhibitors of the immune checkpoint programmed death-1/programmed death ligand-1 (PD-1/PD-L1), should prompt deeper studies on resistance mechanisms, which can be caused by oncogenic mutations detected in cancer cells. PTEN, a tumor suppressor gene, dephosphorylates the lipid signaling intermediate PIP3 with inhibition of AKT activity, one of the main effectors of the PI3K signaling axis. As a consequence of genetic or epigenetic aberrations, PTEN expression is often altered, with increased activation of PI3K axis. Interestingly, some data confirmed that loss of PTEN expression modified the pattern of cytokine secretion creating an immune-suppressive microenvironment with increase of immune cell populations that can promote tumor progression. Moreover, PTEN loss may be ascribed to reduction of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), which can explain the absence of activity of immune checkpoint inhibitors. This review describes the role of PTEN loss as a mechanism responsible for resistance to anti PD-1/PD-L1 treatment. Moreover, combinatorial strategies between PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors and PI3K/AKT targeting drugs are proposed as a new strategy to overcome resistance to immune checkpoint inhibition.

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clizia Zichi ◽  
Marcello Tucci ◽  
Gianmarco Leone ◽  
Consuelo Buttigliero ◽  
Francesca Vignani ◽  
...  

In recent years, immunotherapy has produced encouraging results in a rapidly increasing number of solid tumors. The responsiveness of bladder cancer to immunotherapy was first established in nonmuscle invasive disease in 1976 with intravesical instillations of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Very recently immune checkpoint inhibitors demonstrated good activity and significant efficacy in metastatic disease. In particular the best results were obtained with programmed death-ligand-1 (PD-L1) and programmed death-1 (PD-1) inhibitors, but many other immune checkpoint inhibitors, including anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein-4 (CTLA-4) antibodies, are currently under investigation in several trials. Simultaneously other therapeutic strategies which recruit an adaptive immune response against tumoral antigens or employ externally manipulated tumor infiltrating lymphocytes might change the natural history of bladder cancer in the near future. This review describes the rationale for the use of immunotherapy in bladder cancer and discusses recent and ongoing clinical trials with checkpoint inhibitors and other novel immunotherapy agents.


Diagnostics ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 124
Author(s):  
Brian Healey Bird ◽  
Ken Nally ◽  
Karine Ronan ◽  
Gerard Clarke ◽  
Sylvie Amu ◽  
...  

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are monoclonal antibodies that are used to treat over one in three cancer patients. While they have changed the natural history of disease, prolonging life and preserving quality of life, they are highly active in less than 40% of patients, even in the most responsive malignancies such as melanoma, and cause significant autoimmune side effects. Licenced biomarkers include tumour Programmed Death Ligand 1 expression by immunohistochemistry, microsatellite instability, and tumour mutational burden, none of which are particularly sensitive or specific. Emerging tumour and immune tissue biomarkers such as novel immunohistochemistry scores, tumour, stromal and immune cell gene expression profiling, and liquid biomarkers such as systemic inflammatory markers, kynurenine/tryptophan ratio, circulating immune cells, cytokines and DNA are discussed in this review. We also examine the influence of the faecal microbiome on treatment outcome and its use as a biomarker of response and toxicity.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Παύλος Παπακοτούλας

Το πιο συχνό είδος καρκίνου του παγκρέατος είναι το αδενοκαρκίνωμα του παγκρέατος. Το παγκρεατικό αδενοκαρκίνωμα είναι η 4η κύρια αιτία των θανάτων από καρκίνο παγκοσμίως. Περίπου 60-80% των ασθενών έχουν τη στιγμή της διάγνωσης προχωρημένη νόσο, επειδή ο καρκίνος εισβάλλει στους περιβάλλοντες ιστούς έξω από το πάγκρεας (τοπικά προχωρημένος), ή έχει δώσει μεταστάσεις έξω από το πάγκρεας (μεταστατικός). Καθώς η νόσος παρουσιάζει πολύ υψηλό ποσοστό θνητότητας, κρίνεται επιτακτική η ανάγκη ανεύρεσης νέων αποτελεσματικότερων θεραπειών. Με τη ανάπτυξη της μοριακής και βιολογικής κατανόησης της ογκογενετικής εξέλιξης, εφαρμόστηκαν νέες στρατηγικές στην αντιμετώπιση του καρκίνου και κατ’ επέκταση σε αυτόν της ανοσοθεραπείας του καρκίνου. Η κατανόηση των μοριακών μηχανισμών που διέπουν την ανοσοδιαφυγή των όγκων, αλλά και την αλληλεπίδραση των καρκινικών κυττάρων με τα κύτταρα του ανοσοποιητικού συστήματος, έχει δώσει τεράστια ώθηση στην ανοσοθεραπεία του καρκίνου την τελευταία δεκαετία. Τα κύτταρα του ανθρώπινου οργανισμού βρίσκονται υπό διαρκή ανοσιακή επιτήρηση και το ανοσοποιητικό σύστημα αποτελεί αποτρεπτικό μηχανισμό στον νεοπλασματικό μετασχηματισμό και τη δημιουργία νεοπλασιών. Κλινικό σημείο που επιβεβαιώνει τη θεωρία της ανοσοεπιτήρησης είναι η διαπίστωση της παρουσίας CD8+ T-λεμφοκυττάρων μέσα στους όγκους (Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes – TILs). Συνέπεια αυτού είναι και οι θεραπείες που βασίζονται στην καταστολή των σημείων ελέγχου του ανοσοποιητικού συστήματος (Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors). Είναι γνωστό ότι φάρμακα με αντιμυκητιακές ιδιότητες συμβάλλουν στην ενίσχυση του ανοσοποιητικού συστήματος. Ένα χαρακτηριστικό παράδειγμα είναι η κυκλοπιροξολαμίνη (Ciclopirox Olamine, CPX), που χορηγείται σε άτομα που ταλαιπωρούνται από μυκητιάσεις. Σύμφωνα με την παρούσα διατριβή η συγκεκριμένη θεραπεία μπορεί να μειώσει δραστικά την ταχύτητα εξέλιξης των καρκινικών όγκων, αλλά παράλληλα ενισχύει τη δράση των κυτταροστατικών που χορηγούνται στον ασθενή. Επίσης, η τινζαπαρίνη (Ηπαρίνη Χαμηλού Μοριακού Βάρους) χρησιμοποιείται για την πρόληψη και την αντιμετώπιση της φλεβικής θρομβοεμβολής, αλλά από τα αποτελέσματα της παρούσης διατριβής φαίνεται ότι μπορεί να διαδραματίζει ρόλο στην αντιμετώπιση του όγκου. Οι μηχανισμοί στους οποίους οφείλονται τα σημαντικά in vivο αποτελέσματα, είναι η αύξηση της IFN-γ, η αύξηση των CD8+ κυττάρων, η μείωση των Tregs κυττάρων, η μείωση της έκφρασης του VEGFR-2 και η αύξηση της απόπτωσης στα καρκινικά κύτταρα. Στην παρούσα διατριβή, προτείνεται πως η συνδυαστική θεραπεία με τη συμμετοχή της ανοσοθεραπείας, έχει προφανώς υψηλότερη αντινεοπλασματική επίδραση στη μείωση της ανάπτυξης του όγκου, υποδηλώνοντας μια συνεργική δράση. Αυτή η συνεργική στρατηγική μπορεί να ανοίξει νέους δρόμους για τη θεραπεία ασθενών με καρκίνο του παγκρέατος.


Immunotherapy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fausto Petrelli ◽  
Roberto Ferrara ◽  
Diego Signorelli ◽  
Antonio Ghidini ◽  
Claudia Proto ◽  
...  

This study is a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials involving first-line studies in which immune checkpoint inhibitors were added to chemotherapy and were compared with chemotherapy alone. The primary end point was overall survival (OS). The analyses used random-effects models and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system to rate the quality of the evidence. Nine articles were included for qualitative and quantitative synthesis. A meta-analysis of the nine randomized trials showed a significant benefit in terms of OS (hazard ratio: 0.75 [95% CI: 0.66–0.85]; p < 0.01). Only programmed death ligand-1 positive-high cancers derive a significant OS benefit. In this meta-analysis, there is moderate evidence that the addition of immune checkpoint inhibitors to chemotherapy may improve both OS compared with chemotherapy alone.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 995-999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffi Thomas ◽  
Chay Bae ◽  
Tabanor Joy-Ann ◽  
William Traverse

Introduction The landscape for the treatment of metastatic melanoma has been revolutionized with the introduction immune checkpoint inhibitors. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have now become the standard of care for the treatment of cancers. These immune agents including programmed death receptor-1 inhibitors, programmed death-ligand 1 inhibitors and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 inhibitors have shown promising results but have been associated with numerous immune-related complications. Pembrolizumab, a programmed death receptor-1 inhibitor, has been associated with a number of immune-related adverse events affecting multiple organ systems including integument, ocular, endocrine, cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, gastrointestinal, and musculoskeletal system. Case report We present a case of an 88-year-old Caucasian male with metastatic melanoma of the face with metastasis to the right fifth cranial nerve and into the right cavernous sinus. He underwent resection of the melanoma and was placed on pembrolizumab at 2 mg/kg every three weeks. Interestingly, 24 months on pembrolizumab therapy, he developed corneal erosions, oral and genital ulcerations. Management and outcome Patient completed his 24 months of pembrolizumab and was started on prednisone and colchicine with improvement in his symptoms. At his follow-up eight months, he had recurrence of an oral ulcer. Discussion Here we present a rare case of an elderly male on pembrolizumab who suffered from corneal erosions, oral and genital ulcers, a syndrome similar to Behcet’s disease. Given that pembrolizumab and other immune checkpoint inhibitors are being utilized in the treatment of cancers, physicians should be aware of the wide range immune-related adverse events including the possible Behcet’s-like syndrome presentation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolin Liu ◽  
Xiuju Liang ◽  
Jing Liang ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Jun Wang

Immune checkpoint inhibitors, including antibodies targeting programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) and its receptor programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1), represent promising therapeutic strategies for advanced human malignancies. However, a subgroup of patients experiences various autoimmune toxicities, termed immune-related adverse events (irAEs), that occur as a result of on-target and off-tumor autoimmune responses. Although irAEs are generally confirmed to be less severe than toxicities caused by conventional chemotherapy and targeted therapy, uncommon irAEs, such as immune thrombocytopenia, may occur with a very low incidence and sometimes be severe or fatal. This review focuses on the epidemiology, clinical presentation, and prognosis of immune thrombocytopenia occurring in advanced cancer patients induced by immune checkpoint inhibitors, especially in those with PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor treatment. We also first present one patient with non-small cell lung cancer who received the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab and developed severe thrombocytopenia.


Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kloten ◽  
Lampignano ◽  
Krahn ◽  
Schlange

Over the last decade, the immune checkpoint blockade targeting the programmed death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) axis has improved progression-free and overall survival of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. PD-L1 tumor expression, along with tumor mutational burden, is currently being explored as a predictive biomarker for responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). However, lung cancer patients may have insufficient tumor tissue samples and the high bleeding risk often prevents additional biopsies and, as a consequence, immunohistological evaluation of PD-L1 expression. In addition, PD-L1 shows a dynamic expression profile and can be influenced by intratumoral heterogeneity as well as the immune cell infiltrate in the tumor and its microenvironment, influencing the response rate to PD-1/PD-L1 axis ICIs. Therefore, to identify subgroups of patients with advanced NSCLC that will most likely benefit from ICI therapies, molecular characterization of PD-L1 expression in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) might be supportive. In this review, we highlight the use of CTCs as a complementary diagnostic tool for PD-L1 expression analysis in advanced NSCLC patients. In addition, we examine technical issues of PD-L1 measurement in tissue as well as in CTCs.


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