1
|
Sussman TA, Severgnini M, Giobbie-Hurder A, Friedlander P, Swanson SJ, Jaklitsch M, Clancy T, Goguen LA, Lautz D, Swanson R, Daley H, Ritz J, Dranoff G, Hodi FS. Phase II trial of vaccination with autologous, irradiated melanoma cells engineered by adenoviral mediated gene transfer to secrete granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor in patients with stage III and IV melanoma. Front Oncol 2024; 14:1395978. [PMID: 38812776 PMCID: PMC11133610 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1395978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Background In the era of immune checkpoint blockade, the role of cancer vaccines in immune priming has provided additional potential for therapeutic improvements. Prior studies have demonstrated delayed type hypersensitivity and anti-tumor immunity with vaccines engineered to secrete granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). The safety, efficacy and anti-tumor immunity of GM-CSF secreting vaccine in patients with previously treated stage III or IV melanoma needs further investigation. Methods In this phase II trial, excised lymph node metastases were processed to single cells, transduced with an adenoviral vector encoding GM-CSF, irradiated, and cryopreserved. Individual vaccines were composed of 1x106, 4x106, or 1x107 tumor cells, and were injected intradermally and subcutaneously at weekly and biweekly intervals. The primary endpoints were feasibility of producing vaccine in stage III patients and determining the proportion of patients alive at two years in stage IV patients. Results GM-CSF vaccine was successfully developed and administered in all 61 patients. Toxicities were restricted to grade 1-2 local skin reactions. The median OS for stage III patients (n = 20) was 71.1 (95% CI, 43.7 to NR) months and 14.9 (95%CI, 12.1 to 39.7) months for stage IV patients. The median PFS in stage III patients was 50.7 (95%CI, 36.3 to NR) months and 4.1 (95% CI, 3.0-6.3) months in stage IV patients. In the overall population, the disease control rate was 39.3% (95%CI, 27.1 to 52.7%). In stage III patients, higher pre-treatment plasma cytokine levels of MMP-1, TRAIL, CXCL-11, CXCL-13 were associated with improved PFS (p<0.05 for all). An increase in post-vaccination levels of IL-15 and TRAIL for stage III patients was associated with improved PFS (p=0.03 for both). Similarly, an increase in post-vaccination IL-16 level for stage IV patients was associated with improved PFS (p=0.02) and clinical benefit. Conclusions Vaccination with autologous melanoma cells secreting GM-CSF augments antitumor immunity in stage III and IV patients with melanoma, is safe, and demonstrates disease control. Luminex data suggests that changes in inflammatory cytokines and immune cell infiltration promote tumor antigen presentation and subsequent tumor cell destruction. Additional investigation to administer this vaccine in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors is needed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tamara A. Sussman
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Mariano Severgnini
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Curis, Inc., Lexington, MA, United States
| | - Anita Giobbie-Hurder
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, United States
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Data Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Philip Friedlander
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Scott J. Swanson
- Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Michael Jaklitsch
- Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Thomas Clancy
- Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Laura A. Goguen
- Division of Otolaryngology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - David Lautz
- Department of Surgery, Emerson Hospital, Concord, MA, United States
| | - Richard Swanson
- Department of Surgery, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States
| | - Heather Daley
- Connell and O’Reilly Families Cell Manipulation Core Facility, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Jerome Ritz
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, United States
- Connell and O’Reilly Families Cell Manipulation Core Facility, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Glenn Dranoff
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, United States
| | - F. Stephen Hodi
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Medical Oncology, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Wang S, Wang H, Li C, Liu B, He S, Tu C. Tertiary lymphoid structures in cancer: immune mechanisms and clinical implications. MedComm (Beijing) 2024; 5:e489. [PMID: 38469550 PMCID: PMC10925885 DOI: 10.1002/mco2.489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Cancer is a major cause of death globally, and traditional treatments often have limited efficacy and adverse effects. Immunotherapy has shown promise in various malignancies but is less effective in tumors with low immunogenicity or immunosuppressive microenvironment, especially sarcomas. Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) have been associated with a favorable response to immunotherapy and improved survival in cancer patients. However, the immunological mechanisms and clinical significance of TLS in malignant tumors are not fully understood. In this review, we elucidate the composition, neogenesis, and immune characteristics of TLS in tumors, as well as the inflammatory response in cancer development. An in-depth discussion of the unique immune characteristics of TLSs in lung cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, and soft tissue sarcomas will be presented. Additionally, the therapeutic implications of TLS, including its role as a marker of therapeutic response and prognosis, and strategies to promote TLS formation and maturation will be explored. Overall, we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of the role of TLS in the tumor immune microenvironment and suggest potential interventions for cancer treatment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Siyu Wang
- Department of OrthopaedicsThe Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South UniversityChangshaHunanChina
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Tumor Models and Individualized MedicineThe Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South UniversityChangshaHunanChina
- Xiangya School of MedicineCentral South UniversityChangshaHunanChina
| | - Hua Wang
- Department of OrthopaedicsThe Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South UniversityChangshaHunanChina
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Tumor Models and Individualized MedicineThe Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South UniversityChangshaHunanChina
| | - Chenbei Li
- Department of OrthopaedicsThe Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South UniversityChangshaHunanChina
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Tumor Models and Individualized MedicineThe Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South UniversityChangshaHunanChina
| | - Binfeng Liu
- Department of OrthopaedicsThe Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South UniversityChangshaHunanChina
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Tumor Models and Individualized MedicineThe Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South UniversityChangshaHunanChina
| | - Shasha He
- Department of OncologyThe Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South UniversityChangshaHunanChina
| | - Chao Tu
- Department of OrthopaedicsThe Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South UniversityChangshaHunanChina
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Tumor Models and Individualized MedicineThe Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South UniversityChangshaHunanChina
- Shenzhen Research Institute of Central South UniversityGuangdongChina
- Changsha Medical UniversityChangshaChina
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Li J, Zeng H, Li L, Yang Q, He L, Dong M. Advanced Generation Therapeutics: Biomimetic Nanodelivery System for Tumor Immunotherapy. ACS NANO 2023; 17:24593-24618. [PMID: 38055350 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c10212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/08/2023]
Abstract
Tumor immunotherapy is a safe and effective strategy for precision medicine. However, immunotherapy for most cancer cases still ends in failure, with the root causes of the immunosuppressive and extraordinary heterogeneity of the solid tumors microenvironment. The emerging biomimetic nanodelivery system provides a promising tactic to improve the immunotherapy effect while reducing the adverse reactions on nontarget cells. Herein, we summarize the relationship between tumor occurrence and tumor immune microenvironment, mechanism of tumor immune escape, immunotherapy classification (including adoptive cellular therapy, cytokines, cancer vaccines, and immune checkpoint inhibitors) and recommend target cells for immunotherapy first, and then emphatically introduce the recent advances and applications of the latest biomimetic nanodelivery systems (e.g., immune cells, erythrocytes, tumor cells, platelets, bacteria) in tumor immunotherapy. Meanwhile, we separately summarize the application of tumor vaccines. Finally, the predictable challenges and perspectives in a forward exploration of biomimetic nanodelivery systems for tumor immunotherapy are also discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jie Li
- Center for Medicine Research and Translation, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Affiliated Fifth People's Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine), Chengdu 611135, Sichuan, China
- Cancer Prevention and Institute of Chengdu, Department of Oncology, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Affiliated Fifth People's Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine), Chengdu 611130, Sichuan, China
| | - Huamin Zeng
- Department of Pathology, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical Colloge, Affiliated Fifth People's Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine), Chengdu 611130, Sichuan, China
| | - Luwei Li
- School of Basic Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, Sichuan, China
| | - Qiu Yang
- Center for Medicine Research and Translation, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Affiliated Fifth People's Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine), Chengdu 611135, Sichuan, China
| | - Lang He
- Cancer Prevention and Institute of Chengdu, Department of Oncology, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Affiliated Fifth People's Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine), Chengdu 611130, Sichuan, China
| | - Mingqing Dong
- Center for Medicine Research and Translation, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Affiliated Fifth People's Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine), Chengdu 611135, Sichuan, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Melssen MM, Fisher CT, Slingluff CL, Melief CJM. Peptide emulsions in incomplete Freund's adjuvant create effective nurseries promoting egress of systemic CD4 + and CD8 + T cells for immunotherapy of cancer. J Immunother Cancer 2022; 10:jitc-2022-004709. [PMID: 36939214 PMCID: PMC9472143 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2022-004709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Water-in-oil emulsion incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA) has been used as an adjuvant in preventive and therapeutic vaccines since its development. New generation, highly purified modulations of the adjuvant, Montanide incomplete seppic adjuvant (ISA)-51 and Montanide ISA-720, were developed to reduce toxicity. Montanide adjuvants are generally considered to be safe, with adverse events largely consisting of antigen and adjuvant dose-dependent injection site reactions (ISRs). Peptide vaccines in Montanide ISA-51 or ISA-720 are capable of inducing both high antibody titers and durable effector T cell responses. However, an efficient T cell response depends on the affinity of the peptide to the presenting major histocompatibility complex class I molecule, CD4+ T cell help and/or the level of co-stimulation. In fact, in the therapeutic cancer vaccine setting, presence of a CD4+ T cell epitope seems crucial to elicit a robust and durable systemic T cell response. Additional inclusion of a Toll-like receptor ligand can further increase the magnitude and durability of the response. Use of extended peptides that need a processing step only accomplished effectively by dendritic cells (DCs) can help to avoid antigen presentation by nucleated cells other than DC. Based on recent clinical trial results, therapeutic peptide-based cancer vaccines using emulsions in adjuvant Montanide ISA-51 can elicit robust antitumor immune responses, provided that sufficient tumor-specific CD4+ T cell help is given in addition to CD8+ T cell epitopes. Co-treatment with PD-1 T cell checkpoint inhibitor, chemotherapy or other immunomodulatory drugs may address local and systemic immunosuppressive mechanisms, and further enhance efficacy of therapeutic cancer peptide vaccines in IFA and its modern variants. Blinded randomized placebo-controlled trials are critical to definitively prove clinical efficacy. Mineral oil-based adjuvants for preventive vaccines, to tackle spread and severity of infectious disease, induce immune responses, but require more studies to reduce toxicity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marit M Melssen
- Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Huang L, Ge X, Liu Y, Li H, Zhang Z. The Role of Toll-like Receptor Agonists and Their Nanomedicines for Tumor Immunotherapy. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:pharmaceutics14061228. [PMID: 35745800 PMCID: PMC9230510 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14061228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Revised: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a class of pattern recognition receptors that play a critical role in innate and adaptive immunity. Toll-like receptor agonists (TLRa) as vaccine adjuvant candidates have become one of the recent research hotspots in the cancer immunomodulatory field. Nevertheless, numerous current systemic deliveries of TLRa are inappropriate for clinical adoption due to their low efficiency and systemic adverse reactions. TLRa-loaded nanoparticles are capable of ameliorating the risk of immune-related toxicity and of strengthening tumor suppression and eradication. Herein, we first briefly depict the patterns of TLRa, followed by the mechanism of agonists at those targets. Second, we summarize the emerging applications of TLRa-loaded nanomedicines as state-of-the-art strategies to advance cancer immunotherapy. Additionally, we outline perspectives related to the development of nanomedicine-based TLRa combined with other therapeutic modalities for malignancies immunotherapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Hui Li
- Correspondence: (H.L.); (Z.Z.)
| | | |
Collapse
|
6
|
Meneveau MO, Kumar P, Lynch KT, Patel SP, Slingluff CL. The vaccine-site microenvironment: impacts of antigen, adjuvant, and same-site vaccination on antigen presentation and immune signaling. J Immunother Cancer 2022; 10:jitc-2021-003533. [PMID: 35277457 PMCID: PMC8919469 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2021-003533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background A goal of cancer vaccines is to induce strong T cell responses to tumor antigens, but the delivery method, schedule, and formulation of cancer vaccines have not yet been optimized. Adjuvants serve to increase the immune response against vaccine antigens. However, little is known about the impact of adjuvants plus antigen and their delivery schedule on the immunologic milieu in the vaccine-site microenvironment (VSME). We hypothesized that antigen processing and presentation may occur directly in the VSME, that adding the toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) agonist polyICLC (pICLC) would enhance markers of immune activation, and that the immune signatures would be enhanced further by repeated vaccination in the same skin site rather than after multiple vaccines in different skin locations. Methods Using RNA sequencing, we evaluated VSME biopsies from patients undergoing subcutaneous/intradermal peptide vaccination against melanoma, with incomplete Freund’s adjuvant (IFA) with or without pICLC. Differential gene expression analyses and gene set enrichment analyses were performed using R. False discovery rate corrected p values <0.05 were considered significant. Results We found that addition of peptide antigens to IFA enhanced antigen presentation pathways and a tertiary lymphoid structure gene-signature locally at the VSME. Addition of pICLC to IFA + peptide induced an immunologically favorable VSME 1 week after injection but had little impact on the VSME after three injections, compared with IFA + peptide alone. Repeated same-site injection of IFA + peptide antigens induced a VSME with more dendritic cell activation, Th1 dominance, and TLR adaptor protein gene expression than that induced by injections at different, rotating skin locations. Conclusions These data suggest that the vaccine-site itself may be a critically important location contributing to vaccine immunity rather than just the draining lymph node, that IFA induces a favorable VSME with TLR agonist being most beneficial early in the vaccine course, and that same-site injections lead to persistent stimulation of immune pathways that may be beneficial in eliciting antigen specific T cell expansion.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Max O Meneveau
- Department of Surgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Pankaj Kumar
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Kevin T Lynch
- Department of Surgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Sapna P Patel
- Department of Melanoma/Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Craig L Slingluff
- Department of Surgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
- University of Virginia Cancer Center, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Analyzing Prognostic Hub Genes in the Microenvironment of Cutaneous Melanoma by Computer Integrated Bioinformatics. COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND NEUROSCIENCE 2022; 2022:4493347. [PMID: 35300397 PMCID: PMC8923759 DOI: 10.1155/2022/4493347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2021] [Accepted: 01/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Cutaneous melanoma (CM) is attracting increasing attention due to high mortality. In response to this, we synthetically analyze the CM dataset from the TCGA database and explore microenvironment-related genes that effectively predict patient prognosis. Immune/stromal scores of cases are calculated using the ESTIMATE algorithm and are significantly associated with overall patient survival. Then, differentially expressed genes are identified by comparing the immune score and stromal score, also prognostic genes are subsequently screened. Functional analysis shows that these genes are enriched in different activities of immune system. Moreover, 19 prognosis-related hub genes are extracted from the protein-protein interaction network, of which four unreported genes (IL7R, FLT3, C1QC, and HLA-DRB5) are chosen for validation. A significant negative relationship is found between the expression levels of the 4 genes and pathological stages, notably T grade. Furthermore, the K-M plots and TIMER results show that these genes have favorable value for CM prognosis. In conclusion, these results give a novel insight into CM and identify IL7R, FLT3, C1QC, and HLA-DRB5 as crucial roles for the diagnosis and treatment of CM.
Collapse
|