Project description:Pemetrexed, a multi-folate inhibitor combined with a platinum compound is the first-line treatment of malignant mesothelioma, but median survival is still one year. Innate and acquired resistance to pemetrexed is common, but its biological basis is obscure. Here we report for the first time a genome-wide profile of acquired resistance in the tumour from an exceptional case with advanced pleural mesothelioma and almost six years survival after 39 cycles of second-line pemetrexed/carboplatin treatment.
Project description:Pemetrexed is a multitargeted antifolate, which primarily inhibits thymidylate synthase, dihydrofolate reductase, and glycinamide ribonucleotide formyltransferase in the folate-dependent metabolic process. Nowadays, pemetrexed is used to treat malignant pleural mesothelioma and non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer. Preclinical and clinical studies showed that pemetrexed had cytotoxic activity in many kinds of cancers including colorectal cancer. Erlotinib is a tyrosine-kinase inhibitor of EGFR, which was approved for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. Erlotinib also showed activity to colorectal cancer cells. Recently, Zhang et al. demonstrated synergistic cytotoxicity of pemetrexed and gefitinib in preclinical study.
In this multicenter, non randomized, open label phase II study, investigators aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Pemetrexed and Erlotinib combination.
Project description:Regional delivery of oncolytic viruses has been shown to promote immune responses. Malignant pleural effusions comprise an immunosuppressive microenvironment, and the ability of oncolytic viruses to generate immune responses following regional delivery in patients with malignant pleural effusions is unknown. We conducted a phase I clinical trial that studied the intrapleural administration of oncolytic vaccinia virus to establish the safety and feasibility in patients with malignant pleural effusion due to malignant pleural mesothelioma or metastatic disease. In patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma, by correlative analysis of pre- and post-treatment tumor biopsies, we provide insight into tumor-specific viral uptake and associated immune responses.
Project description:Since loss of the NF2 tumor suppressor gene results in p21-activated kinase (Pak) activation, PAK inhibitors hold promise for the treatment of NF2-deficient tumors. To test this possibility, we asked if loss of Pak2, a highly expressed group I PAK member, affects the development of malignant mesothelioma in Nf2;Cdkn2a-deficient (NC) mice and the growth properties of NC mesothelioma cells in culture. In vivo, deletion of Pak2 resulted in a markedly decreased incidence and delayed onset of both pleural and peritoneal malignant mesotheliomas in NC mice. In vitro, Pak2 deletion decreased malignant mesothelioma cell viability, migration, clonogenicity, and spheroid formation. RNA-seq analysis demonstrated downregulated expression of Hedgehog and Wnt pathway genes in NC;Pak2-/- mesothelioma cells versus NC;Pak2+/+ mesothelioma cells. Targeting of the Hedgehog signaling component Gli1 or its target gene Myc inhibited cell viability and spheroid formation in NC;P+/+ mesothelioma cells. Kinome profiling uncovered kinase changes indicative of EMT in NC;Pak2-/- mesothelioma cells, suggesting that Pak2-deficient malignant mesotheliomas can adapt by reprogramming their kinome in the absence of Pak activity. The identification of such compensatory pathways offers opportunities for rational combination therapies to circumvent resistance to anti-PAK drugs.
