Browsing by Subject "Checkpoint inhibitors"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Association of heightened host and tumor immunity with prolonged duration of response to checkpoint inhibition across solid tumors
    (Springer Nature, 2025-04-16) Philips, Santosh; Lu, Pei; Fausel, Chris; Wagner, Thomas; Jiang, Guanglong; Shen, Fei; Cantor, Erica; Tran, Mya; Roland, Lauren M.; Schneider, Bryan P.; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Cancer immunotherapy is a beneficial therapy for many cancer types, but predictive pan-tumor biomarkers for clinical benefit are suboptimal. Our study, employing DNA and RNA based analysis, investigated the role of predicted neoantigens in the benefits of immunotherapy within a cohort of 88 patients of European descent with advanced solid tumors. Patients who had a prolonged (> 12 months) duration of immunotherapy exhibited heightened immune responses, characterized by increased levels of predicted neoantigens with strong HLA binding potential, elevated cytotoxic marker levels, and enhanced T cell activity. Furthermore, our analysis revealed associations between prolonged duration of therapy and rare variants, notably within the EPHA8 gene. These variants, exclusive to patients with a prolonged (> 12 months) duration of immunotherapy, suggest potential implications for immunotherapy response. In addition, the evolutionary conservation of these variants across vertebrate species underscores their functional importance in tumor biology and ultimately, treatment outcomes. Despite limitations in sample size and patient homogeneity, our findings emphasize the potential utility of understanding the molecular and immunological mechanisms underlying immunotherapy responses to further refine personalized treatment strategies.
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    Drug resistance and new therapies in colorectal cancer
    (Baishideng, 2018-09-14) Van der Jeught, Kevin; Xu, Han-Chen; Li, Yu-Jing; Lu, Xiong-Bin; Ji, Guang; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine
    Colorectal cancer (CRC) is often diagnosed at an advanced stage when tumor cell dissemination has taken place. Chemo- and targeted therapies provide only a limited increase of overall survival for these patients. The major reason for clinical outcome finds its origin in therapy resistance. Escape mechanisms to both chemo- and targeted therapy remain the main culprits. Here, we evaluate major resistant mechanisms and elaborate on potential new therapies. Amongst promising therapies is α-amanitin antibody-drug conjugate targeting hemizygous p53 loss. It becomes clear that a dynamic interaction with the tumor microenvironment exists and that this dictates therapeutic outcome. In addition, CRC displays a limited response to checkpoint inhibitors, as only a minority of patients with microsatellite instable high tumors is susceptible. In this review, we highlight new developments with clinical potentials to augment responses to checkpoint inhibitors.
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    Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Induced Colitis Presenting As Lymphocytic Colitis
    (Cureus, 2021-09-18) Khan, Jaffar; Katona, Terrence; Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine
    Checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) are a new class of drugs that have changed the treatment and prognosis of several malignancies, even in their advanced stages. These drugs have increased patient survival rates. CPIs stimulate the immune system and include cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 inhibitors (ipilimumab), programmed cell death inhibitors such as pembrolizumab, nivolumab, and avelumab, and programmed cell death protein ligand-1 inhibitors such as atezolizumab. Herein, we present a case of CPI-induced colitis in a 45-year-old woman with a history of melanoma. The melanoma was BRAF-positive with a V600 mutation. She had metastasis to the brain and the right 10th rib, which underwent surgery and radiation treatment, respectively. She was treated with nivolumab and denosumab. The patient presented with chronic watery diarrhea. Biopsy revealed lymphocytic colitis-like changes in the colon and terminal ileum. Thus, given the history of CPIs, a diagnosis of CPIS-induced colitis was made.
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    Practical challenges in patients with stage III NSCLC receiving checkpoint inhibitors after chemoradiation
    (Future Medicine, 2020-03) Shukla, Nikhil A.; Hanna, Nasser H.; Medicine, School of Medicine