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Castorina P, Castiglione F, Ferini G, Forte S, Martorana E, Giuffrida D. Mathematical modeling of the synergistic interplay of radiotherapy and immunotherapy in anti-cancer treatments. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1373738. [PMID: 38779678 PMCID: PMC11109403 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1373738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction While radiotherapy has long been recognized for its ability to directly ablate cancer cells through necrosis or apoptosis, radiotherapy-induced abscopal effect suggests that its impact extends beyond local tumor destruction thanks to immune response. Cellular proliferation and necrosis have been extensively studied using mathematical models that simulate tumor growth, such as Gompertz law, and the radiation effects, such as the linear-quadratic model. However, the effectiveness of radiotherapy-induced immune responses may vary among patients due to individual differences in radiation sensitivity and other factors. Methods We present a novel macroscopic approach designed to quantitatively analyze the intricate dynamics governing the interactions among the immune system, radiotherapy, and tumor progression. Building upon previous research demonstrating the synergistic effects of radiotherapy and immunotherapy in cancer treatment, we provide a comprehensive mathematical framework for understanding the underlying mechanisms driving these interactions. Results Our method leverages macroscopic observations and mathematical modeling to capture the overarching dynamics of this interplay, offering valuable insights for optimizing cancer treatment strategies. One shows that Gompertz law can describe therapy effects with two effective parameters. This result permits quantitative data analyses, which give useful indications for the disease progression and clinical decisions. Discussion Through validation against diverse data sets from the literature, we demonstrate the reliability and versatility of our approach in predicting the time evolution of the disease and assessing the potential efficacy of radiotherapy-immunotherapy combinations. This further supports the promising potential of the abscopal effect, suggesting that in select cases, depending on tumor size, it may confer full efficacy to radiotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Castorina
- Genomics and molecular oncology unit, Istituto Oncologico del Mediterraneo, Viagrande, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Catania, Catania, Italy
- Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Filippo Castiglione
- Biotech Research Center, Technology Innovation Institute, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Institute for Applied Computing, National Research Council of Italy, Rome, Italy
| | - Gianluca Ferini
- Radiotherapy Unit, REM Radioterapia, Viagrande, Italy
- School of Medicine, University Kore of Enna, Enna, Italy
| | - Stefano Forte
- Genomics and molecular oncology unit, Istituto Oncologico del Mediterraneo, Viagrande, Italy
| | - Emanuele Martorana
- Genomics and molecular oncology unit, Istituto Oncologico del Mediterraneo, Viagrande, Italy
| | - Dario Giuffrida
- Genomics and molecular oncology unit, Istituto Oncologico del Mediterraneo, Viagrande, Italy
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2
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Hormuth DA, Farhat M, Christenson C, Curl B, Chad Quarles C, Chung C, Yankeelov TE. Opportunities for improving brain cancer treatment outcomes through imaging-based mathematical modeling of the delivery of radiotherapy and immunotherapy. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2022; 187:114367. [PMID: 35654212 PMCID: PMC11165420 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2022.114367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Revised: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
Immunotherapy has become a fourth pillar in the treatment of brain tumors and, when combined with radiation therapy, may improve patient outcomes and reduce the neurotoxicity. As with other combination therapies, the identification of a treatment schedule that maximizes the synergistic effect of radiation- and immune-therapy is a fundamental challenge. Mechanism-based mathematical modeling is one promising approach to systematically investigate therapeutic combinations to maximize positive outcomes within a rigorous framework. However, successful clinical translation of model-generated combinations of treatment requires patient-specific data to allow the models to be meaningfully initialized and parameterized. Quantitative imaging techniques have emerged as a promising source of high quality, spatially and temporally resolved data for the development and validation of mathematical models. In this review, we will present approaches to personalize mechanism-based modeling frameworks with patient data, and then discuss how these techniques could be leveraged to improve brain cancer outcomes through patient-specific modeling and optimization of treatment strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Hormuth
- Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Departments of Livestrong Cancer Institutes, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
| | - Maguy Farhat
- Departments of Radiation Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77230, USA
| | - Chase Christenson
- Departments of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Brandon Curl
- Departments of Radiation Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77230, USA
| | - C Chad Quarles
- Barrow Neuroimaging Innovation Center, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ 85013, USA
| | - Caroline Chung
- Departments of Radiation Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77230, USA
| | - Thomas E Yankeelov
- Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Departments of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Departments of Diagnostic Medicine, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Departments of Oncology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Departments of Livestrong Cancer Institutes, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Departments of Imaging Physics, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77230, USA
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3
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Chemoimmunotherapy Administration Protocol Design for the Treatment of Leukemia through Mathematical Modeling and In Silico Experimentation. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:pharmaceutics14071396. [PMID: 35890295 PMCID: PMC9316854 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14071396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 06/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer with all its more than 200 variants continues to be a major health problem around the world with nearly 10 million deaths recorded in 2020, and leukemia accounted for more than 300,000 cases according to the Global Cancer Observatory. Although new treatment strategies are currently being developed in several ongoing clinical trials, the high complexity of cancer evolution and its survival mechanisms remain as an open problem that needs to be addressed to further enhanced the application of therapies. In this work, we aim to explore cancer growth, particularly chronic lymphocytic leukemia, under the combined application of CAR-T cells and chlorambucil as a nonlinear dynamical system in the form of first-order Ordinary Differential Equations. Therefore, by means of nonlinear theories, sufficient conditions are established for the eradication of leukemia cells, as well as necessary conditions for the long-term persistence of both CAR-T and cancer cells. Persistence conditions are important in treatment protocol design as these provide a threshold below which the dose will not be enough to produce a cytotoxic effect in the tumour population. In silico experimentations allowed us to design therapy administration protocols to ensure the complete eradication of leukemia cells in the system under study when considering only the infusion of CAR-T cells and for the combined application of chemoimmunotherapy. All results are illustrated through numerical simulations. Further, equations to estimate cytotoxicity of chlorambucil and CAR-T cells to leukemia cancer cells were formulated and thoroughly discussed with a 95% confidence interval for the parameters involved in each formula.
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Luo MC, Nikolopoulou E, Gevertz JL. From Fitting the Average to Fitting the Individual: A Cautionary Tale for Mathematical Modelers. Front Oncol 2022; 12:793908. [PMID: 35574407 PMCID: PMC9097280 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.793908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
An outstanding challenge in the clinical care of cancer is moving from a one-size-fits-all approach that relies on population-level statistics towards personalized therapeutic design. Mathematical modeling is a powerful tool in treatment personalization, as it allows for the incorporation of patient-specific data so that treatment can be tailor-designed to the individual. Herein, we work with a mathematical model of murine cancer immunotherapy that has been previously-validated against the average of an experimental dataset. We ask the question: what happens if we try to use this same model to perform personalized fits, and therefore make individualized treatment recommendations? Typically, this would be done by choosing a single fitting methodology, and a single cost function, identifying the individualized best-fit parameters, and extrapolating from there to make personalized treatment recommendations. Our analyses show the potentially problematic nature of this approach, as predicted personalized treatment response proved to be sensitive to the fitting methodology utilized. We also demonstrate how a small amount of the right additional experimental measurements could go a long way to improve consistency in personalized fits. Finally, we show how quantifying the robustness of the average response could also help improve confidence in personalized treatment recommendations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael C Luo
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ, United States
| | - Elpiniki Nikolopoulou
- School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Jana L Gevertz
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ, United States
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de los Reyes AA, Kim Y. Optimal regulation of tumour-associated neutrophils in cancer progression. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:210705. [PMID: 35127110 PMCID: PMC8808100 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
In a tumour microenvironment, tumour-associated neutrophils could display two opposing differential phenotypes: anti-tumour (N1) and pro-tumour (N2) effector cells. Converting N2 to N1 neutrophils provides innovative therapies for cancer treatment. In this study, a mathematical model for N1-N2 dynamics describing the cancer survival and immune inhibition in response to TGF-β and IFN-β is considered. The effects of exogenous intervention of TGF-β inhibitor and IFN-β are examined in order to enhance N1 recruitment to combat tumour progression. Our approach employs optimal control theory to determine drug infusion protocols that could minimize tumour volume with least administration cost possible. Four optimal control scenarios corresponding to different therapeutic strategies are explored, namely, TGF-β inhibitor control only, IFN-β control only, concomitant TGF-β inhibitor and IFN-β controls, and alternating TGF-β inhibitor and IFN-β controls. For each scheme, different initial conditions are varied to depict different pathophysiological condition of a cancer patient, leading to adaptive treatment schedule. TGF-β inhibitor and IFN-β drug dosages, total drug amount, infusion times and relative cost of drug administrations are obtained under various circumstances. The control strategies achieved could guide in designing individualized therapeutic protocols.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurelio A. de los Reyes
- Biomedical Mathematics Group, Pioneer Research Center for Mathematical and Computational Sciences, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon 34126, Republic of Korea
- Institute of Mathematics, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines
| | - Yangjin Kim
- Department of Mathematics, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
- Mathematical Biosciences Institute, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
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Pin C, Collins T, Gibbs M, Kimko H. Systems Modeling to Quantify Safety Risks in Early Drug Development: Using Bifurcation Analysis and Agent-Based Modeling as Examples. AAPS JOURNAL 2021; 23:77. [PMID: 34018069 PMCID: PMC8137611 DOI: 10.1208/s12248-021-00580-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Quantitative Systems Toxicology (QST) models, recapitulating pharmacokinetics and mechanism of action together with the organic response at multiple levels of biological organization, can provide predictions on the magnitude of injury and recovery dynamics to support study design and decision-making during drug development. Here, we highlight the application of QST models to predict toxicities of cancer treatments, such as cytopenia(s) and gastrointestinal adverse effects, where narrow therapeutic indexes need to be actively managed. The importance of bifurcation analysis is demonstrated in QST models of hematologic toxicity to understand how different regions of the parameter space generate different behaviors following cancer treatment, which results in asymptotically stable predictions, yet highly irregular for specific schedules, or oscillating predictions of blood cell levels. In addition, an agent-based model of the intestinal crypt was used to simulate how the spatial location of the injury within the crypt affects the villus disruption severity. We discuss the value of QST modeling approaches to support drug development and how they align with technological advances impacting trial design including patient selection, dose/regimen selection, and ultimately patient safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Pin
- Clinical Pharmacology and Quantitative Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge, UK
| | - Teresa Collins
- Clinical Pharmacology and Quantitative Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge, UK
| | - Megan Gibbs
- Clinical Pharmacology and Quantitative Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA
| | - Holly Kimko
- Clinical Pharmacology and Quantitative Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA.
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Agur Z, Elishmereni M, Foryś U, Kogan Y. Accelerating the Development of Personalized Cancer Immunotherapy by Integrating Molecular Patients' Profiles with Dynamic Mathematical Models. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2020; 108:515-527. [PMID: 32535891 DOI: 10.1002/cpt.1942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
We review the evolution, achievements, and limitations of the current paradigm shift in medicine, from the "one-size-fits-all" model to "Precision Medicine." Precision, or personalized, medicine-tailoring the medical treatment to the personal characteristics of each patient-engages advanced statistical methods to evaluate the relationships between static patient profiling (e.g., genomic and proteomic), and a simple clinically motivated output (e.g., yes/no responder). Today, precision medicine technologies that have facilitated groundbreaking advances in oncology, notably in cancer immunotherapy, are approaching the limits of their potential, mainly due to the scarcity of methods for integrating genomic, proteomic and clinical patient information. A different approach to treatment personalization involves methodologies focusing on the dynamic interactions in the patient-disease-drug system, as portrayed in mathematical modeling. Achievements of this scientific approach, in the form of algorithms for predicting personal disease dynamics in individual patients under immunotherapeutic drugs, are reviewed as well. The contribution of the dynamic approaches to precision medicine is limited, at present, due to insufficient applicability and validation. Yet, the time is ripe for amalgamating together these two approaches, for maximizing their joint potential to personalize and improve cancer immunotherapy. We suggest the roadmap toward achieving this goal, technologically, and urge clinicians, pharmacologists, and computational biologists to join forces along the pharmaco-clinical track of this development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zvia Agur
- Institute for Medical Biomathematics (IMBM), Bene Ataroth, Israel
| | | | - Urszula Foryś
- Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Yuri Kogan
- Institute for Medical Biomathematics (IMBM), Bene Ataroth, Israel
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Toroghi MK, Cluett WR, Mahadevan R. A Personalized Multiscale Modeling Framework for Dose Selection in Precision Medicine. Ind Eng Chem Res 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.0c01070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Masood Khaksar Toroghi
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 3E5
| | - William R. Cluett
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 3E5
| | - Radhakrishnan Mahadevan
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 3E5
- Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 3E5
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9
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Assessing the interactions between radiotherapy and antitumour immunity. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 2019; 16:729-745. [PMID: 31243334 DOI: 10.1038/s41571-019-0238-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 163] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Immunotherapy, specifically the introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors, has transformed the treatment of cancer, enabling long-term tumour control even in individuals with advanced-stage disease. Unfortunately, only a small subset of patients show a response to currently available immunotherapies. Despite a growing consensus that combining immune checkpoint inhibitors with radiotherapy can increase response rates, this approach might be limited by the development of persistent radiation-induced immunosuppression. The ultimate goal of combining immunotherapy with radiotherapy is to induce a shift from an ineffective, pre-existing immune response to a long-lasting, therapy-induced immune response at all sites of disease. To achieve this goal and enable the adaptation and monitoring of individualized treatment approaches, assessment of the dynamic changes in the immune system at the patient level is essential. In this Review, we summarize the available clinical data, including forthcoming methods to assess the immune response to radiotherapy at the patient level, ranging from serum biomarkers to imaging techniques that enable investigation of immune cell dynamics in patients. Furthermore, we discuss modelling approaches that have been developed to predict the interaction of immunotherapy with radiotherapy, and highlight how they could be combined with biomarkers of antitumour immunity to optimize radiotherapy regimens and maximize their synergy with immunotherapy.
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Salvucci M, Zakaria Z, Carberry S, Tivnan A, Seifert V, Kögel D, Murphy BM, Prehn JHM. System-based approaches as prognostic tools for glioblastoma. BMC Cancer 2019; 19:1092. [PMID: 31718568 PMCID: PMC6852738 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-019-6280-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The evasion of apoptosis is a hallmark of cancer. Understanding this process holistically and overcoming apoptosis resistance is a goal of many research teams in order to develop better treatment options for cancer patients. Efforts are also ongoing to personalize the treatment of patients. Strategies to confirm the therapeutic efficacy of current treatments or indeed to identify potential novel additional options would be extremely beneficial to both clinicians and patients. In the past few years, system medicine approaches have been developed that model the biochemical pathways of apoptosis. These systems tools incorporate and analyse the complex biological networks involved. For their successful integration into clinical practice, it is mandatory to integrate systems approaches with routine clinical and histopathological practice to deliver personalized care for patients. RESULTS We review here the development of system medicine approaches that model apoptosis for the treatment of cancer with a specific emphasis on the aggressive brain cancer, glioblastoma. CONCLUSIONS We discuss the current understanding in the field and present new approaches that highlight the potential of system medicine approaches to influence how glioblastoma is diagnosed and treated in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuela Salvucci
- Centre for Systems Medicine, Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 123 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Zaitun Zakaria
- Centre for Systems Medicine, Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 123 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Steven Carberry
- Centre for Systems Medicine, Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 123 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Amanda Tivnan
- Centre for Systems Medicine, Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 123 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Volker Seifert
- Department of Neurosurgery, Frankfurt University Hospital, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Donat Kögel
- Department of Neurosurgery, Frankfurt University Hospital, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Brona M. Murphy
- Centre for Systems Medicine, Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 123 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Jochen H. M. Prehn
- Centre for Systems Medicine, Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 123 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
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Tsur N, Kogan Y, Avizov-Khodak E, Vaeth D, Vogler N, Utikal J, Lotem M, Agur Z. Predicting response to pembrolizumab in metastatic melanoma by a new personalization algorithm. J Transl Med 2019; 17:338. [PMID: 31590677 PMCID: PMC6781362 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-019-2081-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND At present, immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as pembrolizumab, are widely used in the therapy of advanced non-resectable melanoma, as they induce more durable responses than other available treatments. However, the overall response rate does not exceed 50% and, considering the high costs and low life expectancy of nonresponding patients, there is a need to select potential responders before therapy. Our aim was to develop a new personalization algorithm which could be beneficial in the clinical setting for predicting time to disease progression under pembrolizumab treatment. METHODS We developed a simple mathematical model for the interactions of an advanced melanoma tumor with both the immune system and the immunotherapy drug, pembrolizumab. We implemented the model in an algorithm which, in conjunction with clinical pretreatment data, enables prediction of the personal patient response to the drug. To develop the algorithm, we retrospectively collected clinical data of 54 patients with advanced melanoma, who had been treated by pembrolizumab, and correlated personal pretreatment measurements to the mathematical model parameters. Using the algorithm together with the longitudinal tumor burden of each patient, we identified the personal mathematical models, and simulated them to predict the patient's time to progression. We validated the prediction capacity of the algorithm by the Leave-One-Out cross-validation methodology. RESULTS Among the analyzed clinical parameters, the baseline tumor load, the Breslow tumor thickness, and the status of nodular melanoma were significantly correlated with the activation rate of CD8+ T cells and the net tumor growth rate. Using the measurements of these correlates to personalize the mathematical model, we predicted the time to progression of individual patients (Cohen's κ = 0.489). Comparison of the predicted and the clinical time to progression in patients progressing during the follow-up period showed moderate accuracy (R2 = 0.505). CONCLUSIONS Our results show for the first time that a relatively simple mathematical mechanistic model, implemented in a personalization algorithm, can be personalized by clinical data, evaluated before immunotherapy onset. The algorithm, currently yielding moderately accurate predictions of individual patients' response to pembrolizumab, can be improved by training on a larger number of patients. Algorithm validation by an independent clinical dataset will enable its use as a tool for treatment personalization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neta Tsur
- Optimata Ltd., Hate’ena St. 10, POB 282, 6099100 Bene-Ataroth, Israel
| | - Yuri Kogan
- Optimata Ltd., Hate’ena St. 10, POB 282, 6099100 Bene-Ataroth, Israel
- Institute for Medical BioMathematichs (IMBM), Hate’ena St. 10, 6099100 Bene-Ataroth, Israel
| | - Evgenia Avizov-Khodak
- Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Kiryat Hadassah, PO Box 12000, 91120 Jerusalem, Israel
- Present Address: Radiology Department, Maccabi Healthcare Services, Yigal Alon Street 96, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Désirée Vaeth
- Institute of Clinical Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
- Present Address: Netzwerk Radiologie, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, Rorschacher Strasse 95, 9007 St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Nils Vogler
- Institute of Clinical Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jochen Utikal
- Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, 68167 Mannheim, Germany
- German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Michal Lotem
- Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Kiryat Hadassah, PO Box 12000, 91120 Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Zvia Agur
- Optimata Ltd., Hate’ena St. 10, POB 282, 6099100 Bene-Ataroth, Israel
- Institute for Medical BioMathematichs (IMBM), Hate’ena St. 10, 6099100 Bene-Ataroth, Israel
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Houy N, Le Grand F. Personalized oncology with artificial intelligence: The case of temozolomide. Artif Intell Med 2019; 99:101693. [DOI: 10.1016/j.artmed.2019.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2018] [Revised: 07/09/2019] [Accepted: 07/09/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Ozik J, Collier N, Heiland R, An G, Macklin P. Learning-accelerated discovery of immune-tumour interactions. MOLECULAR SYSTEMS DESIGN & ENGINEERING 2019; 4:747-760. [PMID: 31497314 PMCID: PMC6690424 DOI: 10.1039/c9me00036d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2019] [Accepted: 04/18/2019] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
We present an integrated framework for enabling dynamic exploration of design spaces for cancer immunotherapies with detailed dynamical simulation models on high-performance computing resources. Our framework combines PhysiCell, an open source agent-based simulation platform for cancer and other multicellular systems, and EMEWS, an open source platform for extreme-scale model exploration. We build an agent-based model of immunosurveillance against heterogeneous tumours, which includes spatial dynamics of stochastic tumour-immune contact interactions. We implement active learning and genetic algorithms using high-performance computing workflows to adaptively sample the model parameter space and iteratively discover optimal cancer regression regions within biological and clinical constraints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Ozik
- Decision and Infrastructure Sciences , Argonne National Laboratory , 9700 S. Cass Ave , Lemont , IL 60439 , USA .
- Consortium for Advanced Science and Engineering , University of Chicago , 5801 S. Ellis Ave. , Chicago , IL 60637 , USA
| | - Nicholson Collier
- Decision and Infrastructure Sciences , Argonne National Laboratory , 9700 S. Cass Ave , Lemont , IL 60439 , USA .
- Consortium for Advanced Science and Engineering , University of Chicago , 5801 S. Ellis Ave. , Chicago , IL 60637 , USA
| | - Randy Heiland
- Intelligent Systems Engineering , Indiana University , 700 N. Woodlawn Avenue Bloomington , IN 47408 , USA
| | - Gary An
- The University of Vermont Medical Center , 111 Colchester Avenue , Burlington , VT 05401 , USA
| | - Paul Macklin
- Intelligent Systems Engineering , Indiana University , 700 N. Woodlawn Avenue Bloomington , IN 47408 , USA
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Gillis A, Beil M, Halevi-Tobias K, van Heerden PV, Sviri S, Agur Z. Alleviation of exhaustion-induced immunosuppression and sepsis by immune checkpoint blockers sequentially administered with antibiotics-analysis of a new mathematical model. Intensive Care Med Exp 2019; 7:32. [PMID: 31187301 PMCID: PMC6560115 DOI: 10.1186/s40635-019-0260-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2018] [Accepted: 05/27/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Sepsis-associated immune dysregulation, involving hyper-inflammation and immunosuppression, is common in intensive care patients, often leading to multiple organ dysfunction and death. The aim of this study was to identify the main driving force underlying immunosuppression in sepsis, and to suggest new therapeutic avenues for controlling this immune impairment and alleviating excessive pathogen load. Methods We developed two minimalistic (skeletal) mathematical models of pathogen-associated inflammation, which focus on the dynamics of myeloid, lymphocyte, and pathogen numbers in blood. Both models rely on the assumption that the presence of the pathogen causes a bias in hematopoietic stem cell differentiation toward the myeloid developmental line. Also in one of the models, we assumed that continuous exposure to pathogens induces lymphocyte exhaustion. In addition, we also created therapy models, both by antibiotics and by immunotherapy with PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors. Assuming realistic parameter ranges, we simulated the pathogen-associated inflammation models in silico with or without various antibiotic and immunotherapy schedules. Results Computer simulations of the two models show that the assumption of lymphocyte exhaustion is a prerequisite for attaining sepsis-associated immunosuppression, and that the ability of the innate and adaptive immune systems to control infections depends on the pathogen’s replication rate. Simulation results further show that combining antibiotics with immune checkpoint blockers can suffice for defeating even an aggressive pathogen within a relatively short period. This is so as long as the drugs are administered soon after diagnosis. In contrast, when applied as monotherapies, antibiotics or immune checkpoint blockers fall short of eliminating aggressive pathogens in reasonable time. Conclusions Our results suggest that lymphocyte exhaustion crucially drives immunosuppression in sepsis, and that one can efficiently resolve both immunosuppression and pathogenesis by timely coupling of antibiotics with an immune checkpoint blocker, but not by either one of these two treatment modalities alone. Following experimental validation, our model can be adapted to explore the potential of other therapeutic options in this field. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s40635-019-0260-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avi Gillis
- Institute for Medical BioMathematics, 10 Hate'ena St, P.O.B. 282, 60991, Bene Ataroth, Israel
| | - Michael Beil
- Medical Intensive Care Unit, Hadassah University Hospital, PO Box 12000, 9112001, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Karin Halevi-Tobias
- Institute for Medical BioMathematics, 10 Hate'ena St, P.O.B. 282, 60991, Bene Ataroth, Israel
| | - Peter Vernon van Heerden
- General Intensive Care Unit, Hadassah University Hospital, PO Box 12000, 9112001, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Sigal Sviri
- Medical Intensive Care Unit, Hadassah University Hospital, PO Box 12000, 9112001, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Zvia Agur
- Institute for Medical BioMathematics, 10 Hate'ena St, P.O.B. 282, 60991, Bene Ataroth, Israel.
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Agur Z, Halevi-Tobias K, Kogan Y, Shlagman O. Employing dynamical computational models for personalizing cancer immunotherapy. Expert Opin Biol Ther 2016; 16:1373-1385. [PMID: 27564141 DOI: 10.1080/14712598.2016.1223622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Recently, cancer immunotherapy has shown considerable success, but due to the complexity of the immune-cancer interactions, clinical outcomes vary largely between patients. A possible approach to overcome this difficulty may be to develop new methodologies for personal predictions of therapy outcomes, by the integration of patient data with dynamical mathematical models of the drug-affected pathophysiological processes. AREAS COVERED This review unfolds the story of mathematical modeling in cancer immunotherapy, and examines the feasibility of using these models for immunotherapy personalization. The reviewed studies suggest that response to immunotherapy can be improved by patient-specific regimens, which can be worked out by personalized mathematical models. The studies further indicate that personalized models can be constructed and validated relatively early in treatment. EXPERT OPINION The suggested methodology has the potential to raise the overall efficacy of the developed immunotherapy. If implemented already during drug development it may increase the prospects of the technology being approved for clinical use. However, schedule personalization, per se, does not comply with the current, 'one size fits all,' paradigm of clinical trials. It is worthwhile considering adjustment of the current paradigm to involve personally tailored immunotherapy regimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zvia Agur
- a Institute for Medical BioMathematics (IMBM) , Bene Ataroth , Israel
| | | | - Yuri Kogan
- a Institute for Medical BioMathematics (IMBM) , Bene Ataroth , Israel
| | - Ofer Shlagman
- a Institute for Medical BioMathematics (IMBM) , Bene Ataroth , Israel
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16
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Murphy H, Jaafari H, Dobrovolny HM. Differences in predictions of ODE models of tumor growth: a cautionary example. BMC Cancer 2016; 16:163. [PMID: 26921070 PMCID: PMC4768423 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-016-2164-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2015] [Accepted: 02/14/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND While mathematical models are often used to predict progression of cancer and treatment outcomes, there is still uncertainty over how to best model tumor growth. Seven ordinary differential equation (ODE) models of tumor growth (exponential, Mendelsohn, logistic, linear, surface, Gompertz, and Bertalanffy) have been proposed, but there is no clear guidance on how to choose the most appropriate model for a particular cancer. METHODS We examined all seven of the previously proposed ODE models in the presence and absence of chemotherapy. We derived equations for the maximum tumor size, doubling time, and the minimum amount of chemotherapy needed to suppress the tumor and used a sample data set to compare how these quantities differ based on choice of growth model. RESULTS We find that there is a 12-fold difference in predicting doubling times and a 6-fold difference in the predicted amount of chemotherapy needed for suppression depending on which growth model was used. CONCLUSION Our results highlight the need for careful consideration of model assumptions when developing mathematical models for use in cancer treatment planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hope Murphy
- Department of Physics, Utica College, Utica, NY, USA.
| | - Hana Jaafari
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas Christian University, 2800 S. University Drive, TX, 76129, Fort Worth, USA.
| | - Hana M Dobrovolny
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas Christian University, 2800 S. University Drive, TX, 76129, Fort Worth, USA.
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17
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Foryś U, Bodnar M, Kogan Y. Asymptotic dynamics of some t-periodic one-dimensional model with application to prostate cancer immunotherapy. J Math Biol 2016; 73:867-83. [PMID: 26897354 PMCID: PMC5018042 DOI: 10.1007/s00285-016-0978-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2015] [Revised: 12/02/2015] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
In the case of some specific cancers, immunotherapy is one of the possible treatments that can be considered. Our study is based on a mathematical model of patient-specific immunotherapy proposed in Kronik et al. (PLoS One 5(12):e15,482, 2010). This model was validated for clinical trials presented in Michael et al. (Clin Cancer Res 11(12):4469–4478, 2005). It consists of seven ordinary differential equations and its asymptotic dynamics can be described by some t-periodic one-dimensional dynamical system. In this paper we propose a generalised version of this t-periodic system and study the dynamics of the proposed model. We show that there are three possible types of the model behaviour: the solution either converges to zero, or diverges to infinity, or it is periodic. Moreover, the periodic solution is unique, and it divides the phase space into two sub-regions. The general results are applied to the PC specific case, which allow to derive conditions guaranteeing successful as well as unsuccessful treatment. The results indicate that a single vaccination is not sufficient to cure the cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- U Foryś
- Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics, Institute of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, Warsaw University, Warsaw, Poland
| | - M Bodnar
- Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics, Institute of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, Warsaw University, Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Y Kogan
- Institute for Medical BioMathematics, Bene Ataroth, Israel
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18
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19
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Barbolosi D, Ciccolini J, Lacarelle B, Barlési F, André N. Computational oncology — mathematical modelling of drug regimens for precision medicine. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 2015; 13:242-54. [DOI: 10.1038/nrclinonc.2015.204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 144] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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20
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Lee L, Gupta M, Sahasranaman S. Immune Checkpoint inhibitors: An introduction to the next-generation cancer immunotherapy. J Clin Pharmacol 2015; 56:157-69. [PMID: 26183909 DOI: 10.1002/jcph.591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2015] [Accepted: 07/13/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Activating the immune system to eliminate cancer cells and produce clinically relevant responses has been a long-standing goal of cancer research. Most promising therapeutic approaches to activating antitumor immunity include immune checkpoint inhibitors. Immune checkpoints are numerous inhibitory pathways hardwired in the immune system. They are critical for maintaining self-tolerance and modulating the duration and amplitude of physiological immune responses in peripheral tissues to minimize collateral tissue damage. Tumors regulate certain immune checkpoint pathways as a major mechanism of immune resistance. Because immune checkpoints are initiated by ligand-receptor interactions, blockade by antibodies provides a rational therapeutic approach. Although targeted therapies are clinically successful, they are often short-lived due to rapid development of resistance. Immunotherapies offer one notable advantage. Enhancing the cell-mediated immune response against tumor cells leads to generation of a long-term memory lymphocyte population patrolling the body to attack growth of any new tumor cells, thereby sustaining the therapeutic effects. Furthermore, early clinical results suggest that combination immunotherapies offer even more potent antitumor activity. This review is intended to provide an introduction to immune checkpoint inhibitors and discusses the scientific overview of cancer immunotherapy, mechanisms of the inhibitors, clinical pharmacology considerations, advances in combination therapies, and challenges in drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy Lee
- Clinical Pharmacology, Immunomedics Inc., Morris Plains, NJ, USA
| | - Manish Gupta
- Clinical Pharmacology & Pharmacometrics, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ, USA
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21
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Rejniak KA, Lloyd MC, Reed DR, Bui MM. Diagnostic assessment of osteosarcoma chemoresistance based on Virtual Clinical Trials. Med Hypotheses 2015; 85:348-54. [PMID: 26130106 PMCID: PMC4549200 DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2015.06.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2015] [Revised: 05/28/2015] [Accepted: 06/17/2015] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone tumor in pediatric and young adult patients. Successful treatment of osteosarcomas requires a combination of surgical resection and systemic chemotherapy, both neoadjuvant (prior to surgery) and adjuvant (after surgery). The degree of necrosis following neoadjuvant chemotherapy correlates with the subsequent probability of disease-free survival. Tumors with less than 10% of viable cells after treatment represent patients with a more favorable prognosis. However, being able to predict early, such as at the time of the pre-treatment tumor biopsy, how the patient will respond to the standard chemotherapy would provide an opportunity for more personalized patient care. Patients with unfavorable predictions could be studied in a protocol, rather than a standard setting, towards improving therapeutic success. The onset of necrotic cells in osteosarcomas treated with chemotherapeutic agents is a measure of tumor sensitivity to the drugs. We hypothesize that the remaining viable cells, i.e., cells that have not responded to the treatment, are chemoresistant, and that the pathological characteristics of these chemoresistant tumor cells within the osteosarcoma pre-treatment biopsy can predict tumor response to the standard-of-care chemotherapeutic treatment. This hypothesis can be tested by comparing patient histopathology samples before, as well as after treatment to identify both morphological and immunochemical cellular features that are characteristic of chemoresistant cells, i.e., cells that survived treatment. Consequently, using computational simulations of dynamic changes in tumor pathology under the simulated standard of care chemotherapeutic treatment, one can couple the pre- and post-treatment morphological and spatial patterns of chemoresistant cells, and correlate them with patient clinical diagnoses. This procedure, that we named 'Virtual Clinical Trials', can serve as a potential predictive biomarker providing a novel value-added decision support tool for oncologists.
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Affiliation(s)
- K A Rejniak
- Integrated Mathematical Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, United States; Center of Excellence in Cancer Imaging and Technology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, United States; Oncologic Sciences Department, School of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States.
| | - M C Lloyd
- Analytic Microscopy Core, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, United States; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois in Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - D R Reed
- Sarcoma Department, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, United States; Adolescent and Young Adult Program, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, United States; Chemical Biology and Molecular Medicine Program, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, United States; Oncologic Sciences Department, School of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States
| | - M M Bui
- Sarcoma Department, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, United States; Chemical Biology and Molecular Medicine Program, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, United States; Department of Anatomic Pathology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, United States; Analytic Microscopy Core, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, United States; Oncologic Sciences Department, School of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States
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22
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Agur Z, Vuk-Pavlović S. Personalizing immunotherapy: Balancing predictability and precision. Oncoimmunology 2014; 1:1169-1171. [PMID: 23170268 PMCID: PMC3494634 DOI: 10.4161/onci.20955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite great expectations and research efforts, anticancer immunotherapy has not yet become a definitive cure. Perhaps, this is because past reductionist approaches were too simplistic for the patient-specific complex system of co-evolving tumor cells and host immunity. Recent efforts based on a systems-based approach promise improved clinical outcomes engendered by a dynamic modification of personalized therapeutic regimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zvia Agur
- Institute of Medical BioMathematics; Bene Ataroth, Israel
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23
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dePillis LG, Eladdadi A, Radunskaya AE. Modeling cancer-immune responses to therapy. J Pharmacokinet Pharmacodyn 2014; 41:461-78. [DOI: 10.1007/s10928-014-9386-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2014] [Accepted: 09/17/2014] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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24
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Agur Z, Elishmereni M, Kheifetz Y. Personalizing oncology treatments by predicting drug efficacy, side-effects, and improved therapy: mathematics, statistics, and their integration. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-SYSTEMS BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE 2014; 6:239-53. [DOI: 10.1002/wsbm.1263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2013] [Revised: 12/23/2013] [Accepted: 01/03/2014] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Zvia Agur
- Institute for Medical BioMathematics; Hate'ena Bene Ataroth Israel
- Optimata Ltd.; Zichron Ya'akov; Tel Aviv Israel
| | - Moran Elishmereni
- Institute for Medical BioMathematics; Hate'ena Bene Ataroth Israel
- Optimata Ltd.; Zichron Ya'akov; Tel Aviv Israel
| | - Yuri Kheifetz
- Institute for Medical BioMathematics; Hate'ena Bene Ataroth Israel
- Optimata Ltd.; Zichron Ya'akov; Tel Aviv Israel
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25
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López Alfonso JC, Jagiella N, Núñez L, Herrero MA, Drasdo D. Estimating dose painting effects in radiotherapy: a mathematical model. PLoS One 2014; 9:e89380. [PMID: 24586734 PMCID: PMC3935877 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0089380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2013] [Accepted: 01/20/2014] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Tumor heterogeneity is widely considered to be a determinant factor in tumor progression and in particular in its recurrence after therapy. Unfortunately, current medical techniques are unable to deduce clinically relevant information about tumor heterogeneity by means of non-invasive methods. As a consequence, when radiotherapy is used as a treatment of choice, radiation dosimetries are prescribed under the assumption that the malignancy targeted is of a homogeneous nature. In this work we discuss the effects of different radiation dose distributions on heterogeneous tumors by means of an individual cell-based model. To that end, a case is considered where two tumor cell phenotypes are present, which we assume to strongly differ in their respective cell cycle duration and radiosensitivity properties. We show herein that, as a result of such differences, the spatial distribution of the corresponding phenotypes, whence the resulting tumor heterogeneity can be predicted as growth proceeds. In particular, we show that if we start from a situation where a majority of ordinary cancer cells (CCs) and a minority of cancer stem cells (CSCs) are randomly distributed, and we assume that the length of CSC cycle is significantly longer than that of CCs, then CSCs become concentrated at an inner region as tumor grows. As a consequence we obtain that if CSCs are assumed to be more resistant to radiation than CCs, heterogeneous dosimetries can be selected to enhance tumor control by boosting radiation in the region occupied by the more radioresistant tumor cell phenotype. It is also shown that, when compared with homogeneous dose distributions as those being currently delivered in clinical practice, such heterogeneous radiation dosimetries fare always better than their homogeneous counterparts. Finally, limitations to our assumptions and their resulting clinical implications will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Carlos López Alfonso
- Department of Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Nick Jagiella
- Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (INRIA), Domaine de Voluceau - Rocquencourt, Paris, France
- Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Luis Núñez
- Radiophysics Department, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel A. Herrero
- Department of Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- * E-mail:
| | - Dirk Drasdo
- Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (INRIA), Domaine de Voluceau - Rocquencourt, Paris, France
- University of Paris 6 (UPMC), CNRS UMR 7598, Laboratoire Jacques-Louis Lions, Paris, France
- Interdisciplinary Center for Bioinformatics (IZBI), University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
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26
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Parra-Guillen ZP, Berraondo P, Grenier E, Ribba B, Troconiz IF. Mathematical model approach to describe tumour response in mice after vaccine administration and its applicability to immune-stimulatory cytokine-based strategies. AAPS JOURNAL 2013; 15:797-807. [PMID: 23605806 DOI: 10.1208/s12248-013-9483-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2013] [Accepted: 03/26/2013] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Immunotherapy is a growing therapeutic strategy in oncology based on the stimulation of innate and adaptive immune systems to induce the death of tumour cells. In this paper, we have developed a population semi-mechanistic model able to characterize the mechanisms implied in tumour growth dynamic after the administration of CyaA-E7, a vaccine able to target antigen to dendritic cells, thus triggering a potent immune response. The mathematical model developed presented the following main components: (1) tumour progression in the animals without treatment was described with a linear model, (2) vaccine effects were modelled assuming that vaccine triggers a non-instantaneous immune response inducing cell death. Delayed response was described with a series of two transit compartments, (3) a resistance effect decreasing vaccine efficiency was also incorporated through a regulator compartment dependent upon tumour size, and (4) a mixture model at the level of the elimination of the induced signal vaccine (k 2) to model tumour relapse after treatment, observed in a small percentage of animals (15.6%). The proposed model structure was successfully applied to describe antitumor effect of IL-12, suggesting its applicability to different immune-stimulatory therapies. In addition, a simulation exercise to evaluate in silico the impact on tumour size of possible combination therapies has been shown. This type of mathematical approaches may be helpful to maximize the information obtained from experiments in mice, reducing the number of animals and the cost of developing new antitumor immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zinnia P Parra-Guillen
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, School of Pharmacy, University of Navarra, C/Irunlarrea 1, 31008, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain
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Kogan Y, Agur Z, Elishmereni M. A mathematical model for the immunotherapeutic control of the Th1/Th2 imbalance in melanoma. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013. [DOI: 10.3934/dcdsb.2013.18.1017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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28
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Parra-Guillen ZP, Janda A, Alzuguren P, Berraondo P, Hernandez-Alcoceba R, Troconiz IF. Target-mediated disposition model describing the dynamics of IL12 and IFNγ after administration of a mifepristone-inducible adenoviral vector for IL-12 expression in mice. AAPS J 2013; 15:183-94. [PMID: 23135926 PMCID: PMC3535095 DOI: 10.1208/s12248-012-9423-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2012] [Accepted: 10/18/2012] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Interleukin-12 (IL12) is a cytokine with potential applications in the treatment of cancer given the potent immune response that it triggers, in part due to its ability to stimulate expression of interferon-γ (IFNγ). To avoid the toxicity associated with systemic exposure to IL12, a high-capacity adenoviral vector carrying a liver-specific, mifepristone-inducible IL12 expression system (HC-Ad/RUmIL12) has been developed. However, the maintenance of IL12 expression at therapeutic levels is compromised by the inhibitory effect of IFNγ on inducible systems. The aim of this work is to develop a semi-mechanistic model to characterize the relationship between IL12 and IFNγ in wild-type and knock-out mice for the IFNγ receptor treated with HC-Ad/RUmIL12 under different dosing regimens in order to better understand the key mechanisms controlling the system. Rapid binding was considered to account for target-mediated disposition exhibited by both cytokines (equilibrium dissociation constant were 18 and 2.28 pM for IL12 and IFNγ, respectively). The final model included: (1) IFNγ receptor turnover, (2) irreversible free cytokine elimination from the serum compartment, (3) internalization of the IL12 receptor complex, (4) IL12 expression upregulated by the co-administration of the adenoviral vector and mifepristone and downregulated by the IFNγ receptor, and (5) synthesis of IFNγ controlled by the relative increments in the bound IL12. In conclusion, a model simultaneously describing the kinetics of IL12 and IFNγ in the context of gene therapy was developed and validated with additional data. The model was applied to design an experimental dosing protocol intended to maintain sustained therapeutic IL12 levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zinnia Patricia Parra-Guillen
- />Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, School of Pharmacy, University of Navarra, C/ Irunlarrea 1, 31008 Pamplona, Navarra Spain
| | - Alvaro Janda
- />Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, School of Pharmacy, University of Navarra, C/ Irunlarrea 1, 31008 Pamplona, Navarra Spain
| | - Pilar Alzuguren
- />Division of Hepatology and Gene Therapy, Centre for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), Pamplona, Navarra Spain
| | - Pedro Berraondo
- />Division of Hepatology and Gene Therapy, Centre for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), Pamplona, Navarra Spain
| | - Ruben Hernandez-Alcoceba
- />Division of Hepatology and Gene Therapy, Centre for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), Pamplona, Navarra Spain
| | - Iñaki F. Troconiz
- />Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, School of Pharmacy, University of Navarra, C/ Irunlarrea 1, 31008 Pamplona, Navarra Spain
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Parra-Guillen ZP, Fioravanti J, Medina-Echeverz J, Gomar C, Ardaiz N, Troconiz IF, Berraondo P. Kinetic and dynamic computational model-based characterization of new proteins in mice: application to interferon alpha linked to apolipoprotein A-I. PLoS One 2012; 7:e42100. [PMID: 22848716 PMCID: PMC3407104 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0042100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2012] [Accepted: 07/02/2012] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Interferon alpha linked to apolipoprotein A-I has been recently proposed as an improved interferon-based therapy. In the present study, we aimed to develop a computational model to gain further insight into the in vivo behaviour of this new fusion protein. In order to facilitate in vivo evaluation of interferon and the fusion protein without altering their biological properties, green fluorescent protein was incorporated into their structures. Kinetic and dynamic behaviour of both compounds was successfully described after plasmid hydrodynamic administration and in situ synthesis of the studied proteins. Results from the modelling exercise showed that apolipoprotein A-I conferred a modified kinetic behaviour, varying molecule distribution and prolonging half-life without altering liver dynamic performance. However, differences in the gene expression activity were observed at brain level between both compounds. Those differences could be explained by modifications in the dynamic, but also in the biodistribution properties, which would be worth evaluating in future experiments. Therefore, the modelling approach provided a global comprehension of a complex system and allowed us to compare the in vivo behaviour of both compounds and to identify critical aspects that might be important to understand the system better and suggests a need for new model-based experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zinnia Patricia Parra-Guillen
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, School of Pharmacy, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain
| | - Jessica Fioravanti
- Division of Hepatology and Gene Therapy, Centre for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), Pamplona, Navarra, Spain
| | - Jose Medina-Echeverz
- Division of Hepatology and Gene Therapy, Centre for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), Pamplona, Navarra, Spain
| | - Celia Gomar
- Division of Hepatology and Gene Therapy, Centre for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), Pamplona, Navarra, Spain
| | - Nuria Ardaiz
- Division of Hepatology and Gene Therapy, Centre for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), Pamplona, Navarra, Spain
| | - Iñaki F. Troconiz
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, School of Pharmacy, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain
| | - Pedro Berraondo
- Division of Hepatology and Gene Therapy, Centre for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), Pamplona, Navarra, Spain
- * E-mail:
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Reconsidering the Paradigm of Cancer Immunotherapy by Computationally Aided Real-time Personalization. Cancer Res 2012; 72:2218-27. [DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-11-4166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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