Project description:Immunotherapy has recently emerged as a novel strategy for treating different types of solid tumors, with promising results. However, still a large fraction of patients do not primarily respond to such approaches, and even responders sooner or later develop resistance. Moreover, immunotherapy is a promising strategy for certain malignancies but not for others, with this discrepancy having been attributed to a more immunogenic microenvironment of some tumors. As abnormal and augmented tumor vessels often occur in cancerogenesis, anti-angiogenic drugs have already demonstrated their effectiveness both in preclinical and in clinical settings. By targeting abnormal formation of tumor vessels, anti-angiogenetic agents potentially result in an enhanced infiltration of immune effector cells. Moreover, crosstalks downstream of the immune checkpoint axis and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) signaling may result in synergistic effects of combined treatment in tumor cells. In this review, we will describe and discuss the biological rationale of a combined therapy, underlying the modification in tumor microenvironment as well as in tumor cells after exposure to checkpoint inhibitors and anti-angiogenic drugs. Moreover, we will highlight this strategy as a possible way for overcoming drug resistance. By first discussing potential prognostic and predictive factors for combined treatment, we will then turn to clinical settings, focusing on clinical trials where this strategy is currently being investigated.
Project description:Despite recent therapeutic advances, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains the leading cause of cancer-related death. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a transcription factor (TF) with multiple tumor-promoting effects in NSCLC, including proliferation, anti-apoptosis, angiogenesis, invasion, metastasis, immunosuppression, and drug resistance. Recent studies suggest that STAT3 activation contributes to resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Thus, STAT3 represents an attractive target whose pharmacological modulation in NSCLC may assist in enhancing the efficacy of or overcoming resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors. In this review, we discuss the biological mechanisms through which STAT3 inhibition synergizes with or overcomes resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors and highlight the therapeutic strategy of using drugs that target STAT3 as potential combination partners for immune checkpoint inhibitors in the management of NSCLC patients.
Project description:Background: Immune checkpoint blockade has revolutionized the treatment of multiple malignancies. Currently, however, the effect is not universal, with objective response rates (ORR) of about 15-25%, and even lower for some cancers. Abnormal vasculature is a hallmark of most solid tumors and plays a role in immune evasion. Growing body of evidence suggests that vascular normalization and immune reprogramming could operate synergistic effect, resulting in an enhanced therapeutic efficacy. However, the benefit of antitumor efficacy must be weighed against the risk of added toxicity. In this systematic review, we summarize severe toxicity observed in such a kind of combination regimen. Methods: PubMed and Embase were searched for English references published up to May 31, 2019, with MeSH and keywords search terms of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and antiangiogenic agents approved for using in solid tumors. Studies performing concomitant use of ICIs and antiangiogenic agents, and also reporting severe treatment-related adverse events (trAEs) (≥grade 3), were included for further analysis. Results: A total of 32 studies including a total of 2,324 participants were analyzed. Limited available data suggests that both antiangiogenic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) show potential risk of increasing treatment-related toxicity when combined with ICIs. Overall, the total incidence of severe adverse events (AEs) associated with ICIs plus mAbs (44.5%) is lower than that of ICIs plus TKIs (60.1%). However, the trAEs observed in combination therapy are mostly consistent with the known safety profiles of corresponding monotherapy, and they seem to be largely related to antiangiogenic agents, rather than a true immune-related adverse event (irAE) predominantly due to ICIs. The majority of trAEs are intervened by holding ICI treatment and adding corticosteroids, as well as reducing dose or adjusting administration frequency of the antiangiogenic drugs. Conclusions: Concurrent use of ICIs and antiangiogenic agents shows potential treatment-related toxicity. Further research is required to compare the efficacy and safety of the combination regimen and corresponding monotherapy and identify predictive biomarkers, as well as explore dose, duration, and sequencing schedules of drugs.
Project description:Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have widely reshaped the treatment paradigm of advanced cancer patients. Although multiple studies are currently evaluating these drugs as monotherapies or in combination, the choice of the most accurate statistical methods, endpoints and clinical trial designs to estimate the benefit of ICI remains an unsolved methodological issue. Considering the unconventional patterns of response or progression [i.e., pseudoprogression, hyperprogression (HPD)] observed with ICI, the application in clinical trials of novel response assessment tools (i.e., iRECIST) able to capture delayed benefit of immunotherapies and/or to quantify tumor dynamics and kinetics over time is an unmet clinical need. In addition, the proportional hazard model and the conventional measures of survival [i.e., median overall or progression free survival (PFS) and hazard ratios (HR)] might usually result inadequate in the estimation of the long-term benefit observed with ICI. For this reason, innovative methodologies such as milestone analysis, restricted mean survival time (RMST), parametric models (i.e., Weibull distribution, weighted log rank test), should be systematically investigated in clinical trials in order to adequately quantify the fraction of patients who are "cured", represented by the tails of the survival curves. Regarding predictive biomarkers, in particular PD-L1 expression, the integration and harmonization of the existing assays are urgently needed to provide clinicians with reliable diagnostic tests and to improve patient selection for immunotherapy. Finally, developing original and high-quality study designs, such as adaptive or basket biomarker enriched clinical trials, included in large collaborative platforms with multiple active sites and cross-sector collaboration, represents the successful strategy to optimally assess the benefit of ICI in the next future.
Project description:Over the past decade, major advances have been made in the treatment of advanced and metastatic renal cell carcinomas, specifically clear cell carcinomas. For many years the optimal approach was sequential; thus, monotherapies [principally tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs)] targeting angiogenesis until toxicity or progressive disease developed. The rationale was the common mechanisms of action of the targeting agents and avoidance of the risk of overlapping toxicities. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are effective monotherapies, and combinations thereof with anti-angiogenic agents were thus later considered. Synergistic interactions were reported in vitro. Clinical efficacy was evident in three pivotal phase III trials with axitinib-pembrolizumab, cabozantinib-nivolumab, and lenvatinib-pembrolizumab combinations. Two other combinations showed interesting results but did not improve overall survival. However, the data aided our understanding of the new therapeutic approaches. A combination of the ICIs nivolumab and ipilimumab was the first to evidence better progression-free and overall survival compared to sunitinib in patients with intermediate or unfavourable prognoses as evaluated by the International mRCC Database Consortium (IMDC). Here we focus on the TKI-ICI combinations, emphasising the rationale of their use and the clinical results. To date, no biomarker facilitating the selection of an optimal treatment by disease and patient status has been reported.
Project description:Advances in cancer immunity have promoted a major breakthrough in the field of cancer therapy. This is mainly associated with the successful development of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for multiple types of human tumors. Blockade with different ICIs, including programmed cell death 1 (PD-1), programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) inhibitors, may activate the immune system of the host against malignant cells. However, only a subgroup of patients with cancer would benefit from immune checkpoint blockade. Some patients experience primary resistance to initial immunotherapy, and a majority eventually develop acquired resistance to ICIs. However, the mechanisms involved in the development of drug resistance to immune checkpoint blockade remain unclear. Recent studies supported that combination of ICIs and anti-angiogenic agents could be a promising therapeutic strategy for overcoming the low efficacy of ICIs. Moreover, through their direct anti-cancer effect by inhibiting tumor growth and metastasis, anti-angiogenic drugs reprogram the tumor milieu from an immunosuppressive to an immune permissive microenvironment. Activated immunity by immune checkpoint blockade also facilitates anti-angiogenesis by downregulating the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and alleviating hypoxia condition. Many clinical trials showed an improved anti-cancer efficacy and prolonged survival following the addition of anti-angiogenic agents to ICIs. This review summarizes the current understanding and clinical development of combination therapy with immune checkpoint blockade and anti-angiogenic strategy.
Project description:BackgroundThe combination of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and anti-angiogenic agents has shown promising efficacy in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but until now no clinical prognostic models or predictive biomarkers have been established.MethodsFrom 2016 to 2021, a total of 258 HCCs treated with ICIs and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) were retrospectively enrolled, as the study cohort. Patients' baseline data was extracted by least absolute and shrinkage selection operator (LASSO) and Cox regression. Finally, a prognostic model in the form of nomogram was developed. Model performance was assessed in terms of discrimination, calibration, and clinical utility. A 5-fold cross-validation was used to evaluate the internal repeatability of the model. In addition, the patient cohort was divided into three subgroups according to nomogram scores. Their survivals were estimated by Kaplan-Meier methods and the differences were analyzed using log-rank tests.ResultsSeven clinical parameters were selected: Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS), combination of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), extrahepatic metastasis (EHM), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), and Child-Pugh score. The model had an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.777 at 1 year and 0.772 at 2 years. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration curve and decision curve analysis (DCA) showed that the discrimination, consistency and applicability of the model were good. In addition, cross-validation validated the discrimination of the model, and the C index value of the model is 0.7405. The median overall survival (OS) of the high-, medium- and low-risk subgroups was 7.58, 17.50 and 53.17 months, respectively, with a significant difference between the groups (P < 0.0001).ConclusionWe developed a comprehensive and simple prognostic model for the combination of ICIs plus TKIs. And it may predict the efficacy of the combination regimen for unresectable HCC.
Project description:Immunotherapy with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) for glioblastoma (GBM) is promising but its clinical efficacy is seriously challenged by the blood-tumor barrier (BTB) and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Here, anti-programmed death-ligand 1 antibodies (aPD-L1) are loaded into a redox-responsive micelle and the ICB efficacy is further amplified by paclitaxel (PTX)-induced immunogenic cell death (ICD) via a co-encapsulation approach for the reinvigoration of local anti-GBM immune responses. Consequently, the micelles cross the BTB and are retained in the reductive tumor microenvironment without altering the bioactivity of aPD-L1. The ICB efficacy is enhanced by the aPD-L1 and PTX combination with suppression of primary and recurrent GBM, accumulation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes, and induction of long-lasting immunological memory in the orthotopic GBM-bearing mice. The co-encapsulation approach facilitating efficient antibody delivery and combining with chemotherapeutic agent-induced ICD demonstrate that the chemo-immunotherapy might reprogram local immunity to empower immunotherapy against GBM.
Project description:The potential to harness the power of the immune system and effectively treat patients with metastatic melanoma is finally being realized with the advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors. These new therapies herald a new era in the treatment of melanoma with the potential to produce very durable responses and possible cure for a subset of patients, though bring with them challenges including novel toxicities and nonconventional response patterns. This article reviews the currently available immune checkpoint inhibitors, potential biomarkers to predict response and promising investigational approaches including combination therapies.
Project description:Large population-based studies examining differences in ICI-associated cardiotoxicity across cancer types and agents are limited. Data of 5518 cancer patients who received at least one cycle of ICIs were extracted from a large network of health care organizations. ICI treatment groups were classified by the first ICI agent(s) (ipilimumab, nivolumab, pembrolizumab, cemiplimab, avelumab, atezolizumab, or durvalumab) or its class (PD-1 inhibitors, PD-L1 inhibitors, CTLA4-inhibitors, or their combination (ipilimumab + nivolumab)). Time to first cardiac adverse event (CAE) (arrhythmia, acute myocardial infarction, myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, or pericarditis) developed within one year after ICI initiation was analyzed using a competing-risks regression model adjusting for ICI treatment groups, patient demographic and clinical characteristics, and cancer sites. By month 12, 12.5% developed cardiotoxicity. The most common cardiotoxicity was arrhythmia (9.3%) and 2.1% developed myocarditis. After adjusting for patient characteristics and cancer sites, patients who initiated on monotherapy with ipilimumab (adjusted Hazard Ratio (aHR): 2.00; 95% CI: 1.49-2.70; p < 0.001) or pembrolizumab (aHR: 1.21; 95% CI: 1.01-1.46; p = 0.040) had a higher risk of developing CAEs within one year compared to nivolumab monotherapy. Ipilimumab and pembrolizumab use may increase the risk of cardiotoxicity compared to other agents. Avelumab also estimated a highly elevated risk (aHR: 1.92; 95% CI: 0.85-4.34; p = 0.117) compared to nivolumab and other PD-L1 agents, although the estimate did not reach statistical significance, warranting future studies.