Project description:Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with its incidence continuing to rise. Regorafenib, a multi-kinase inhibitor approved as a palliative treatment, extends survival in patients with metastatic CRC (mCRC) who have failed standard therapies. However, the clinical benefit of regorafenib is limited to a subset of patients, is typically short-lived, and is often accompanied by significant toxicity. The mechanisms by which CRC cells develop resistance to regorafenib remain poorly understood.In this study, we investigated resistance mechanisms to regorafenib using a preclinical mouse colon organoid model. Transcriptomic analysis of Apc wild-type and Apc-deficient organoids treated with regorafenib revealed an upregulation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), accompanied by alterations in the secretome and increased activation of phosphorylated Erk1/2. Notably, co-treatment with an autophagy inhibitor suppressed regorafenib-induced EMT and its associated secretory phenotype, resulting in reduced cell proliferation and enhanced apoptosis in mouse organoids. The effectiveness of this drug combination was further supported by cell viability assays in human CRC cell lines. In contrast, primary mouse colon fibroblasts displayed greater resistance to both single-agent and combination regorafenib treatments. In summary, our findings using a preclinical organoid model suggest that autophagy inhibition may offer a promising strategy to mitigate chemoresistance and reduce toxicity associated with regorafenib treatment in mCRC patients.
Project description:We report the RNA sequencing data from the REPEAT study, in which patients with beyond first-line esophagogastric cancer were treated with regorafenib and paclitaxel. For the RNA sequencing, biopsies from metastatic lesions were obtained on baseline (n=21) and fifteen days following treatment initiation (n=13). PURPOSE: Regorafenib monotherapy, a multikinase-inhibitor of angiogenesis, tumor microenvironment, and oncogenesis, showed promising results in gastric cancer. We aimed to assess the tolerability of regorafenib and paclitaxel in advanced esophagogastric cancer (EGC) patients refractory to first-line treatment, and explore potential biomarkers. METHODS: Patients received paclitaxel (80 mg/m2) on days 1, 8, and 15 of a 28-day cycle and regorafenib (80/120/160 mg) on day 1-21 in the dose-escalation cohort, and the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD) in the dose-expansion cohort. Exploratory, overall- (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were compared to a propensity-score matched cohort receiving standard second/third line systemic treatment. Paclitaxel pharmacokinetics were assessed using D1 and D15 samples. We performed ELISA measurements of galectin-1, RNA sequencing and shallow whole-genome sequencing of metastatic tumor biopsies for biomarker analyses. RESULTS: In the dose-escalation cohort (n=14), the MTD of regorafenib was 120 mg. Thirty-four patients were enrolled in the dose-expansion cohort. Most common toxicities (all grades; grade ≥3) were fatigue (79%; 4%) and sensory neuropathy (63%; 4%). Best responses achieved were partial response (28%) and stable disease (54%). Median OS and PFS were 7.8 and 4.2 months, respectively (median follow-up 7.8 months). OS (p=0.08) and PFS (p=0.81) were not significantly improved compared to the matched cohort. Paclitaxel concentrations were significantly increased with regorafenib (D15) compared with paclitaxel only (D1; p<0.05); no associations were observed with toxicity or efficacy. An increase in circulating galectin-1 compared to baseline was associated with shorter OS (p<0.01). Enrichment of angiogenesis-related gene expression was observed in short-survivors measured by RNA sequencing. Chromosome 19q13.12-q13.2 amplification was associated with shorter OS (p=0.02) and PFS (p=0.02). CONCLUSION: Treatment with regorafenib and paclitaxel is tolerable and shows promising efficacy in advanced EGC refractory to first-line treatment. Galectin-1 and chromosome 19q13.12-q13.2 amplification could serve as negative predictive biomarkers for treatment response.
Project description:The addition of anti-PD-1 antibody to pegaspargase, gemcitabine and oxaliplatin (P-GEMOX) showed promising activity as first-line therapy in patients with advanced extranodal natural killer/T cell lymphoma, nasal type (ENKTL) in our previous retrospective study. Here, we assessed the clinical outcomes and multi-omics tumor profiling of sintilimab plus P-GEMOX for patients with previously untreated advanced ENKTL in this phase 2 trial.
Project description:This is a randomized, controlled, multicenter phase Ⅲ study to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of chidamide + sintilimab + bevacizumab versus standard second-line FOLFIRI + bevacizumab therapy in subjects with advanced microsatellite stable colorectal cancer who have failed first-line oxaliplatin-containing standard therapy. The primary purpose is to compare the progression-free survival (PFS) of chidamide + sintilimab + bevacizumab versus standard second-line FOLFIRI + bevacizumab therapy for colorectal cancer, with a planned enrollment of 176 subjects with advanced microsatellite stable colorectal cancer who have failed first-line oxaliplatin-containing standard therapy.
Project description:Tumor organoids of a patient with microsatellite stable (MSS) colorectal cancer were co-incubated with primary bile acids (CA, GCA, TCA; 100 µM) to analyze the effect of bile acids on tumorigenesis of colorectal cancer.
Project description:PD-1 blockade has demonstrated impressive clinical outcomes in colorectal cancers that have high microsatellite instability. However, the therapeutic efficacy for patients with tumors with low microsatellite instability or stable microsatellites needs further improvement. Here, we have demonstrated that low-dose decitabine could increase the expression of immune-related genes such as major histocompatibility complex genes and cytokine-related genes as well as the number of lymphocytes at the tumor site in CT26 colorectal cancer-bearing mice. A more significant inhibition of tumor growth and a prolongation of survival were observed in the CT26 mouse model after treatment with a combination of PD-1 blockade and decitabine than in mice treated with decitabine or PD-1 blockade alone. The anti-tumor effect of the PD-1 blockade was enhanced by low-dose decitabine. The results of RNA sequencing and whole-genome bisulfite sequencing of decitabine-treated CT26 cells and tumor samples with microsatellite stability from the patient tumor-derived xenograft model have shown that many immune-related genes, including antigen processing and antigen-presenting genes, were upregulated, whereas the promoter demethylation was downregulated after decitabine exposure. Therefore, decitabine-based tumor microenvironment re-modulation could improve the effect of the PD-1 blockade. The application of decitabine in PD-1 blockade-based immunotherapy may elicit more potent immune responses, which can provide clinical benefits to the colorectal cancer patients with low microsatellite instability or stable microsatellites.
Project description:PD-1 blockade has demonstrated impressive clinical outcomes in colorectal cancers that have high microsatellite instability. However, the therapeutic efficacy for patients with tumors with low microsatellite instability or stable microsatellites needs further improvement. Here, we have demonstrated that low-dose decitabine could increase the expression of immune-related genes such as major histocompatibility complex genes and cytokine-related genes as well as the number of lymphocytes at the tumor site in CT26 colorectal cancer-bearing mice. A more significant inhibition of tumor growth and a prolongation of survival were observed in the CT26 mouse model after treatment with a combination of PD-1 blockade and decitabine than in mice treated with decitabine or PD-1 blockade alone. The anti-tumor effect of the PD-1 blockade was enhanced by low-dose decitabine. The results of RNA sequencing and whole-genome bisulfite sequencing of decitabine-treated CT26 cells and tumor samples with microsatellite stability from the patient tumor-derived xenograft model have shown that many immune-related genes, including antigen processing and antigen-presenting genes, were upregulated, whereas the promoter demethylation was downregulated after decitabine exposure. Therefore, decitabine-based tumor microenvironment re-modulation could improve the effect of the PD-1 blockade. The application of decitabine in PD-1 blockade-based immunotherapy may elicit more potent immune responses, which can provide clinical benefits to the colorectal cancer patients with low microsatellite instability or stable microsatellites.
Project description:PD-1 blockade has demonstrated impressive clinical outcomes in colorectal cancers that have high microsatellite instability. However, the therapeutic efficacy for patients with tumors with low microsatellite instability or stable microsatellites needs further improvement. Here, we have demonstrated that low-dose decitabine could increase the expression of immune-related genes such as major histocompatibility complex genes and cytokine-related genes as well as the number of lymphocytes at the tumor site in CT26 colorectal cancer-bearing mice. A more significant inhibition of tumor growth and a prolongation of survival were observed in the CT26 mouse model after treatment with a combination of PD-1 blockade and decitabine than in mice treated with decitabine or PD-1 blockade alone. The anti-tumor effect of the PD-1 blockade was enhanced by low-dose decitabine. The results of RNA sequencing and whole-genome bisulfite sequencing of decitabine-treated CT26 cells and tumor samples with microsatellite stability from the patient tumor-derived xenograft model have shown that many immune-related genes, including antigen processing and antigen-presenting genes, were upregulated, whereas the promoter demethylation was downregulated after decitabine exposure. Therefore, decitabine-based tumor microenvironment re-modulation could improve the effect of the PD-1 blockade. The application of decitabine in PD-1 blockade-based immunotherapy may elicit more potent immune responses, which can provide clinical benefits to the colorectal cancer patients with low microsatellite instability or stable microsatellites.