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Strum S, Andersen MH, Svane IM, Siu LL, Weber JS. State-Of-The-Art Advancements on Cancer Vaccines and Biomarkers. Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book 2024; 44:e438592. [PMID: 38669611 DOI: 10.1200/edbk_438592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
The origins of cancer vaccines date back to the 1800s. Since then, there have been significant efforts to generate vaccines against solid and hematologic malignancies using a variety of platforms. To date, these efforts have generally been met with minimal success. However, in the era of improved methods and technological advancements, supported by compelling preclinical and clinical data, a wave of renewed interest in the field offers the promise of discovering field-changing paradigms in the management of established and resected disease using cancer vaccines. These include novel approaches to personalized neoantigen vaccine development, as well as innovative immune-modulatory vaccines (IMVs) that facilitate activation of antiregulatory T cells to limit immunosuppression caused by regulatory immune cells. This article will introduce some of the limitations that have affected cancer vaccine development over the past several decades, followed by an introduction to the latest advancements in neoantigen vaccine and IMV therapy, and then conclude with a discussion of some of the newest technologies and progress that are occurring across the cancer vaccine space. Cancer vaccines are among the most promising frontiers for breakthrough innovations and strategies poised to make a measurable impact in the ongoing fight against cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott Strum
- Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Mads Hald Andersen
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy, Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Herlev and Gentofte, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Inge Marie Svane
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy, Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Herlev and Gentofte, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Lillian L Siu
- Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Jeffrey S Weber
- Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY
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Andersen MH. Novel immune modulatory vaccines targeting TGFβ. Cell Mol Immunol 2023; 20:551-553. [PMID: 36973484 PMCID: PMC10040921 DOI: 10.1038/s41423-023-01000-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Mads Hald Andersen
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT-DK), Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev, Herlev, Denmark.
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Mortensen REJ, Holmström MO, Lisle TL, Hasselby JP, Willemoe GL, Met Ö, Marie Svane I, Johansen J, Nielsen DL, Chen IM, Andersen MH. Pre-existing TGF-β-specific T-cell immunity in patients with pancreatic cancer predicts survival after checkpoint inhibitors combined with radiotherapy. J Immunother Cancer 2023; 11:jitc-2022-006432. [PMID: 36948507 PMCID: PMC10040073 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2022-006432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/24/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Circulating transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-specific T cells that recognize TGF-β-expressing immune regulatory cells have been described in patients with cancer. TGF-β-derived peptide vaccination modulates the tumor microenvironment and has shown clinical effects in animal models of pancreatic cancer (PC). TGF-β-expressing regulatory cells are especially elevated in PC and may prevent the clinical response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Thus, in the present study we investigated the significance of TGF-β-specific T-cell immunity in patients with PC treated with ICI combined with radiotherapy in a randomized phase 2 study (CheckPAC). METHODS Immune responses to a TGF-β-derived epitope entitled TGF-β-15 as well as epitopes from Clostridium tetani (tetanus) and influenza were measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with interferon-ɣ enzyme-linked immunospot assays. PBMCs were isolated before and after treatment. Correlations between immune response data and clinical data were evaluated with parametric and non-parametric statistical methods. Survival was analyzed with univariate and multivariate Cox-regression. TGF-β-15 specific T cells were isolated and expanded and examined for recognition of autologous regulatory immune cells by flow cytometry. RESULTS PBMCs from 32 patients were analyzed for immune responses to the TGF-β-derived epitope entitled TGF-β-15. Patients with a strong TGF-β-specific immune response at treatment initiation had longer progression-free and overall survival, compared with patients with a weak or no TGF-β-specific immune response. This remained significant in multivariate analysis. Patients with weak and strong TGF-β-specific responses displayed similar responses towards viral antigens. Furthermore, we show that TGF-β-specific T cells from a clinical responder specifically reacted to and lysed autologous, regulatory immune cells. Finally, mimicking a TGF-β-15 vaccination, we showed that repeated stimulations with the TGF-β-15 epitope in vitro enhanced the immune response to TGF-β-15. CONCLUSION A strong TGF-β-15 specific immune response was associated with clinical benefit and improved survival after ICI/radiotherapy for patients with PC. Importantly, the lack of TGF-β-specific T cells in some patients was not caused by a general immune dysfunction. TGF-β-specific T cells recognized regulatory immune cells and could be introduced in vitro in patients without spontaneous responses. Taken together, our data suggest that combining TGF-β-based vaccination with ICI/radiotherapy will be beneficial for patients with PC.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Morten Orebo Holmström
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy, Department of Oncology, Herlev Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Jane P Hasselby
- Department of Pathology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Gro L Willemoe
- Department of Pathology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Özcan Met
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy, Department of Oncology, Herlev Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Inge Marie Svane
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy, Department of Oncology, Herlev Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Julia Johansen
- Department of Oncology, Herlev Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Dorte L Nielsen
- Department of Oncology, Herlev Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Inna M Chen
- Department of Oncology, Herlev Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Mads Hald Andersen
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy, Department of Oncology, Herlev Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Perez-Penco M, Weis-Banke SE, Schina A, Siersbæk M, Hübbe ML, Jørgensen MA, Lecoq I, Lara de la Torre L, Bendtsen SK, Martinenaite E, Holmström MO, Madsen DH, Donia M, Ødum N, Grøntved L, Andersen MH. TGFβ-derived immune modulatory vaccine: targeting the immunosuppressive and fibrotic tumor microenvironment in a murine model of pancreatic cancer. J Immunother Cancer 2022; 10:jitc-2022-005491. [PMID: 36600556 PMCID: PMC9730419 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2022-005491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is associated with very poor survival, making it the third and fourth leading cause of all cancer-related deaths in the USA and European Union, respectively. The tumor microenvironment (TME) in PDAC is highly immunosuppressive and desmoplastic, which could explain the limited therapeutic effect of immunotherapy in PDAC. One of the key molecules that contributes to immunosuppression and fibrosis is transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ). The aim of this study was to target the immunosuppressive and fibrotic TME in PDAC using a novel immune modulatory vaccine with TGFβ-derived peptides in a murine model of pancreatic cancer. METHODS C57BL/6 mice were subcutaneously inoculated with Pan02 PDAC cells. Mice were treated with TGFβ1-derived peptides (major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-I and MHC-II-restricted) adjuvanted with Montanide ISA 51VG. The presence of treatment-induced TGFβ-specific T cells was assessed by ELISpot (enzyme-linked immunospot). Changes in the immune infiltration and gene expression profile in tumor samples were characterized by flow cytometry, reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), and bulk RNA sequencing. RESULTS Treatment with immunogenic TGFβ-derived peptides was safe and controlled tumor growth in Pan02 tumor-bearing mice. Enlargement of tumor-draining lymph nodes in vaccinated mice positively correlated to the control of tumor growth. Analysis of immune infiltration and gene expression in Pan02 tumors revealed that TGFβ-derived peptide vaccine increased the infiltration of CD8+ T cells and the intratumoral M1/M2 macrophage ratio, it increased the expression of genes involved in immune activation and immune response to tumors, and it reduced the expression of myofibroblast-like cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF)-related genes and genes encoding fibroblast-derived collagens. Finally, we confirmed that TGFβ-derived peptide vaccine actively modulated the TME, as the ability of T cells to proliferate was restored when exposed to tumor-conditioned media from vaccinated mice compared with media from untreated mice. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates the antitumor activity of TGFβ-derived multipeptide vaccination in a murine tumor model of PDAC. The data suggest that the vaccine targets immunosuppression and fibrosis in the TME by polarizing the cellular composition towards a more pro-inflammatory phenotype. Our findings support the feasibility and potential of TGFβ-derived peptide vaccination as a novel immunotherapeutic approach to target immunosuppression in the TME.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Perez-Penco
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT-DK), Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Stine Emilie Weis-Banke
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT-DK), Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Aimilia Schina
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT-DK), Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Majken Siersbæk
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Mie Linder Hübbe
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT-DK), Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Mia Aaboe Jørgensen
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT-DK), Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Inés Lecoq
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT-DK), Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark,IO Biotech ApS, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Lucia Lara de la Torre
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT-DK), Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Simone Kloch Bendtsen
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT-DK), Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Evelina Martinenaite
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT-DK), Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark,IO Biotech ApS, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Morten Orebo Holmström
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT-DK), Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Daniel Hargbøl Madsen
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT-DK), Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark,Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Marco Donia
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT-DK), Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Niels Ødum
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Lars Grøntved
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Mads Hald Andersen
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT-DK), Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark,Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Abstract
The identification and characterization of tumor antigens are central objectives in developing anti-cancer immunotherapy. Traditionally, tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) are considered relatively restricted to tumor cells (i.e., overexpressed proteins in tumor cells), whereas tumor-specific antigens (TSAs) are considered unique to tumor cells. Recent studies have focused on identifying patient-specific neoantigens, which might be highly immunogenic because they are not expressed in normal tissues. The opposite strategy has emerged with the discovery of anti-regulatory T cells (anti-Tregs) that recognize and attack many cell types in the tumor microenvironment, such as regulatory immune cells, in addition to tumor cells. The term proposed in this review is "tumor microenvironment antigens" (TMAs) to describe the antigens that draw this attack. As therapeutic targets, TMAs offer several advantages that differentiate them from more traditional tumor antigens. Targeting TMAs leads not only to a direct attack on tumor cells but also to modulation of the tumor microenvironment, rendering it immunocompetent and tumor-hostile. Of note, in contrast to TAAs and TSAs, TMAs also are expressed in non-transformed cells with consistent human leukocyte antigen (HLA) expression. Inflammation often induces HLA expression in malignant cells, so that targeting TMAs could additionally affect tumors with no or very low levels of surface HLA expression. This review defines the characteristics, differences, and advantages of TMAs compared with traditional tumor antigens and discusses the use of these antigens in immune modulatory vaccines as an attractive approach to immunotherapy. Different TMAs are expressed by different cells and could be combined in anti-cancer immunotherapies to attack tumor cells directly and modulate local immune cells to create a tumor-hostile microenvironment and inhibit tumor angiogenesis. Immune modulatory vaccines offer an approach for combinatorial therapy with additional immunotherapy including checkpoint blockade, cellular therapy, or traditional cancer vaccines. These combinations would increase the number of patients who can benefit from such therapeutic measures, which all have optimal efficiency in inflamed tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mads Hald Andersen
- National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT-DK), Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev, Borgmester Ib Juuls Vej 25C, 5th floor, DK-2730, Herlev, Denmark.
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Chan MKK, Chung JYF, Tang PCT, Chan ASW, Ho JYY, Lin TPT, Chen J, Leung KT, To KF, Lan HY, Tang PMK. TGF-β signaling networks in the tumor microenvironment. Cancer Lett 2022; 550:215925. [DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2022.215925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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