scholarly journals Is There a Role for Programmed Death Ligand-1 Testing and Immunotherapy in Colorectal Cancer With Microsatellite Instability? Part II—The Challenge of Programmed Death Ligand-1 Testing and Its Role in Microsatellite Instability-High Colorectal Cancer

2017 ◽  
Vol 142 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esmeralda Celia Marginean ◽  
Barbara Melosky

Context.— The world of oncology has changed dramatically in the past few years with the introduction of checkpoint inhibitors and immunotherapy. The promising findings of a small, phase 2 clinical trial that led to the US Food and Drug Administration breakthrough designation and approval of the anti–programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck, Kenilworth, New Jersey) to treat metastatic/refractory microsatellite instability–high colorectal cancer (CRC) has significantly boosted interest in immunomodulatory therapies in microsatellite instability–high CRC. Objectives.— To review the immune response to cancer and the role of immune checkpoints, focusing on the technical and interpretation challenges of PD-1/programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) testing by pathologists and the clinical implications of the test and the therapeutic potential of treating CRC with checkpoint inhibitors. Data Sources.— A PubMed review was performed of articles pertaining to CRC, microsatellite instability and mismatch repair systems, molecular classification, immune response, PD-1/PD-L1, and immunotherapy. Conclusions.— Exciting success with anti–PD-1/PD-L1 and anticytotoxic T-lymphocyte–associated protein 4 (CTLA4) checkpoint inhibitors has already been reported in melanoma and in lung and renal carcinomas. Recently, microsatellite instability–high CRCs, expressing PD-L1 by immunohistochemistry, regardless of the level of that PD-L1 expression, appeared to respond to checkpoint blockades with anti–PD-1 or anti–PD-L1 agents, whereas microsatellite-stable tumors were much less responsive. With microsatellite instability routinely tested by most centers, studies that include larger cohorts are required to study the predictive role of PD-1/PD-L1 expression in microsatellite instability–high CRC, to assess which immunohistochemistry antibodies to use, to refine the scoring criteria, and to critically analyze the interpretation pitfalls.

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 820-828 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bożena Cybulska-Stopa ◽  
Andrzej Gruchała ◽  
Maciej Niemiec

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), including anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (anti-CTLA-4) and anti-programmed death receptor-1/ligand-1 (anti-PD-1/anti-PD-L1) caused a breakthrough in oncology and significantly improved therapeutic outcomes in cancer patients. ICIs generate a specific reaction in T cells, directed against antigens on cancer cells, leading to their damage and death. Through similar or the same antigens, activated lymphocytes may also have a cytotoxic effect on healthy cells, causing development of specific adverse effects – so-called immune-related adverse events (irAEs). We present the case report of a 56 year old patient with disseminated melanoma. During treatment with immunotherapy (anti PD-1), neutropenic fever and pancytopenia occurred. Trepanobiopsy of the bone marrow was performed to determine the cause of pancytopenia. Histopathological assessment of bone marrow combined with immunophenotype investigations may explain the cause of hematological disorders occurring in the course of treatment with ICIs, and support the choice of an appropriate treatment, directly translated into positive outcomes.


2016 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynette M. Sholl ◽  
Dara L. Aisner ◽  
Timothy Craig Allen ◽  
Mary Beth Beasley ◽  
Alain C. Borczuk ◽  
...  

The binding of programmed death ligand-1 and ligand-2 (PD-L1 and PD-L2) to PD-1 blocks T-cell–mediated immune response to tumor. Antibodies that target programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) will block the ligand-receptor interface, thereby allowing T cells to attack the tumor and increase antitumor immune response. In clinical trials, PD-1 inhibitors have been associated with an approximately 20% overall response rate in unselected patients with non–small cell lung cancer, with sustained tumor response in a subset of patients treated by these immune checkpoint inhibitors. Facing a proliferation of PD-L1 immunohistochemistry clones, staining platforms, and scoring criteria, the pathologist must decide on the feasibility of introducing a newly approved companion diagnostic assay that may require purchase not only of a specific antibody kit but of a particular staining platform. Given the likely reality that clinical practice may, in the near future, demand access to 4 different PD-L1 antibodies coupled with different immunohistochemistry platforms, laboratories will be challenged with deciding among this variety of testing methods, each with its own potential benefits. Another immediate challenge to PD-L1 testing in lung cancer patients is that of access to adequate tumor tissue, given that non–small cell lung cancer samples are often extremely limited in size. With PD-L1 testing it has become clear that the historically used US regulatory approach of one assay–one drug will not be sustainable. One evolving concept is that of complementary diagnostics, a novel regulatory pathway initiated by the US Food and Drug Administration, which is distinct from companion diagnostics in that it may present additional flexibility. Although pathologists need to face the practical reality that oncologists will be asking regularly for the PD-L1 immunohistochemistry status of their patients' tumors, we should also keep in mind that there may be room for improvement of biomarkers for immunotherapy response. The field is rich with opportunities for investigation into biomarkers of immunotherapy response, particularly in the form of collaborative, multidisciplinary studies that incorporate oncologists, pathologists, and basic scientists. Pathologists must take the lead in the rational incorporation of these biomarkers into clinical practice.


2021 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 342-348
Author(s):  
Jin Won Kim

Immuno-oncological treatment approaches, particularly with the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors such as antiprogrammed death 1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand 1 antibody or anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4 antibody, have become the standard treatment for gastrointestinal cancers. However, gastrointestinal cancers show an overall modest tumor response to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Nevertheless, subgroups such as tumors that are DNA mismatch repair-deficient or have high microsatellite instability particularly benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitors. Even in the first-line setting for colorectal cancer, the clinical efficacy of pembrolizumab, an anti–PD-1 antibody, was superior to that of chemotherapy. Recently, a combination of atezolizumab, an anti-programmed death ligand 1 antibody, and bevacizumab was approved as the first-line treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma, and was reported as superior to sorafenib. Nivolumab, an anti–PD-1 antibody that is added to chemotherapy as the first-line treatment for gastric cancer, resulted in longer survival compared with chemotherapy alone. Further studies are ongoing to investigate additional immune checkpoint inhibitors for other gastrointestinal cancers. This review aims to provide an overview of the results of clinical trials for immune checkpoint inhibitors in gastrointestinal cancers, including colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, pancreatic cancer, and biliary tract cancer.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. e231829 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iqra Iqbal ◽  
Muhammad Atique Alam Khan ◽  
Waqas Ullah ◽  
Dina Nabwani

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are an evolving class of drugs for the treatment of various cancers; for example, their use is recommended as a second-line chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer. With the expanding use of ICIs, we are discovering their unique side effects, called immune-related adverse events (irAEs), which can impair gastrointestinal, hepatic, dermatological, endocrine and other systems. Nivolumab is an ICI that blocks the human programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) on T cells to prevent the interaction between the receptor, PD-1, and human programmed death ligand-1 expressed on tumour cells. Here, we report a case of a 65-year-old woman with recurrent lung adenocarcinoma who was treated with nivolumab and developed immune-related adrenalitis, which was managed with hydrocortisone and fludrocortisone. This case highlights the importance of understanding the irAEs of ICIs to allow prompt recognition and management of life-threatening complications of the treatment.


2017 ◽  
Vol 142 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esmeralda Celia Marginean ◽  
Barbara Melosky

Context.— Colorectal cancer (CRC) represents the third most-common cancer in developed countries and is a leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Two recognized pathways contribute to CRC development: a more-common chromosomal instability pathway and, in 15% of cases, a deficient mismatch repair or microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) pathway. The MSI-H CRC can be associated with somatic or germline mutations. Microsatellite status has been recognized as a prognostic and predictive biomarker. Objectives.— To summarize the molecular pathways of CRC, with an emphasis on the MSI (mismatch repair) pathway; the recommended MSI testing algorithms and interpretation; and the prognostic and predictive role of MSI-H status in personalized treatment, including adjuvant chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. Data Sources.— A PubMed (US National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland) review was performed for articles pertaining to CRC, MSI and mismatch repair systems, molecular classification, immune response, programmed death receptor-1/programmed death ligand-1, and immunotherapy. Conclusions.— Although the TNM classification of malignant tumor stage remains the key determinant of CRC prognosis and treatment, there are considerable stage-independent, interindividual differences in clinical outcome and therapy response by patients. In addition, MSI-H status has an important role in CRC management and can be reliably detected by molecular and immunohistochemistry techniques and genetic testing. Efforts must be made to identify whether MSI-H CRC is germline or sporadic to ensure appropriate treatment, accurate prognosis, and risk assessment for relatives. Microsatellite status has been recognized as a good prognostic indicator and is predictive of a poor response to 5-fluorouracil–based chemotherapy and a good response to programmed death ligand-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab in metastatic/refractory MSI-H CRC.


Author(s):  
M. V. Kiselevsky ◽  
I. V. Samoylenko ◽  
O. V. Zharkova ◽  
N. V. Ziganshina ◽  
A. A. Petkevich ◽  
...  

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICT) therapy is a successful immunotherapy (IT) strategy that is quite effective in a number of patients with non-small cell lung cancer, melanoma, bladder cancer, breast cancer and others. Nevertheless, there is a need in predictive markers for ICT therapy for personalized IT as far as there is a large group of patients, the proportion of which varies depending on the tumor, who do not have a clinical response to such therapy. The review summarizes the theoretical aspects and results of clinical trials dedicated to various clinical efficiency predictor using modern databases. As a result of the analysis it is established that the main candidates for the role of such markers are tumor infiltrating lymphocytes and their subpopulations, peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) and their subpopulations. PD1 (programmed death receptor 1) and PDL1 (programmed death receptor ligand 1) expression in tumor tissue can also be important for predicting IT efficiency. The most promising predictive biomarker meaning the most clinically relevant is a combination of the PBL subpopulations study and PD1 and PDL1 expression on the tumor cells.PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, eLibrary, Russian Science Citation Index databases were searched for the available appropriate literature reports. The authors included 82 in the given review.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (16) ◽  
pp. 1664-1671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessia Cimadamore ◽  
Francesco Massari ◽  
Matteo Santoni ◽  
Antonio Lopez-Beltran ◽  
Liang Cheng ◽  
...  

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting the programmed death receptor ligand 1 (PD-L1)/programmed death receptor 1 (PD-1) pathway represent a drastic change in the treatment landscape of RCC resulting in a dynamic and evolving scenario. There is an urgent need for predictive biomarkers of response to provide a personalized therapeutic strategy for individual patients. Objective: In this review, we focused on trials that investigated the administration of a PD-1 and PDL1 inhibitor alone or in combination with another agent and compared the different assays applied in each trial to evaluate the role of PD-L1 as a prognostic and predictive biomarker. Conclusion: So far, the use of PD-L1 expression alone is not sufficient to predict treatment response and present many limitations: the lack of consensus between different methodologies on biomarker assessment, the heterogeneity of PD-L1 between primary tumors and metastatic sites, different criteria of response to therapy (RECIST vs. irRECIST), the complex interplay with inflammatory components, previous treatments, administration of antibiotic therapy. Combinations of different biomarkers and biological features, such as gene expression associated with angiogenesis, immune response and myeloid inflammation are promising biological variables that need to be validated in the context of prospective clinical trials.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (478) ◽  
pp. eaav4810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Prestipino ◽  
Robert Zeiser

Treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) or programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) is effective in many cancer types. Tumors harboring specific mutations modulate antitumor immune responses through the PD-1/PD-L1 axis, and this should be taken into account when designing rational combinatory treatments.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (13) ◽  
pp. 1286-1292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Giunchi ◽  
Thomas Gevaert ◽  
Marina Scarpelli ◽  
Michelangelo Fiorentino

The detection of the Programmed Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1) protein by immunohistochemistry is currently the only approved test predictive of response to drugs targeting the PD1/PDL1 axis. The role of this test is debated since several reagents have been used as companion diagnostics for different drugs on diverse immunostaining platforms. In addition, different scoring systems for PD-L1 immunohistochemistry have been applied in the registration studies regarding single drugs. This review deals with the various issues that are related to the immunohistochemical test for PD-L1. We discuss currently unsolved problems such as the advantages and the flaws of PD-L1 immunohistochemistry; the choice of the best reagents and the best scoring system. Finally, we review the current experiences on the role of immunohistochemistry for PD-L1 in clinical trials with immune checkpoint inhibitors.


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