Project description:Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a rapidly increasing and highly lethal cancer worldwide, with many patients diagnosed at advanced stages and early-stage patients often experiencing high recurrence rates. The combination of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab emerged as a groundbreaking immunotherapy, establishing a new standard of care for advanced HCC. There's an urgent need for reliable biomarkers to predict patient responses and personalize treatment. We collected tumor samples from advanced HCC patients wirth atezolizumab plus bevacizumab therapy and performed comprehensive analyses of the tumor microenvironment using bulk RNA sequencing to identify key features influencing the effectiveness of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab.
Project description:This phase II trial studies how well cobimetinib and atezolizumab work in treating participants with rare tumors that have spread to other places in the body (advanced) or that does not respond to treatment (refractory). Cobimetinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as atezolizumab, may help the body’s immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Giving cobimetinib and atezolizumab may work better in treating participants with advanced or refractory rare tumors.
Project description:Background and aims: Immune checkpoint inhibitors have promising outcomes in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, there is no reliable biomarker for predicting disease progression. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) derived from peripheral blood have attracted attention in monitoring therapeutic efficacy. In this study, CTCs were serially collected from patients with HCC undergoing atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (Atezo+Bev) treatment, and changes in molecular expression and CTC numbers were analyzed to identify effective biomarkers. Approach and results: The peripheral blood samples were collected serially from 22 patients with HCC treated with Atezo+Bev, and CTCs were enriched using RosetteSep. The CD45(-)PanCK(+) cell counts were measured using flow cytometry. RNA extracted from enriched CTCs underwent targeted RNA sequencing with next-generation sequencing (NGS) and performed unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis. Changes in CTC numbers during Atezo+Bev treatment reflected the tumor volume. NGS analysis revealed that patients with elevated transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling molecules had a poorer response, whereas those with elevated apoptosis signaling molecules had a favorable response (p < 0.05). In addition, compared with changes in CTC counts, changes in TGF-β signaling molecule expression in CTCs accurately and promptly predicted treatment response. Conclusions: NGS analysis of CTC-derived RNA showed that changes in TGF-β signaling molecules predict treatment response earlier than changes in CTC counts. These findings suggest that changes in the expression of TGF-β molecules in CTCs could serve as novel biomarkers for the early prediction of therapeutic response in patients with unresectable HCC undergoing Atezo+Bev therapy.
Project description:We examined pre-treatment tumors from participants of the IMmotion150 trial. Biomarker analyses indicate that high angiogenesis gene expression was associated with improved PFS within the sunitinib arm, and high T-effector/IFNγ response (Teff) gene expression with longer PFS in atezolizumab + bevacizumab vs sunitinib patients. In high Teff tumors, concomitant high myeloid inflammation was associated with worse PFS in the atezolizumab monotherapy arm; adding bevacizumab to atezolizumab in this subgroup improved PFS vs atezolizumab. Molecular profiles suggest that prediction of outcomes with VEGF inhibitors and immunotherapy may be possible in mRCC, and bevacizumab may overcome myeloid inflammation-associated atezolizumab resistance.
Project description:This randomized phase II trial studies how well capecitabine and bevacizumab with or without atezolizumab work in treating patients with colorectal cancer that is not responding to treatment and has spread to other places. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as atezolizumab and bevacizumab, may help the body?s immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as capecitabine, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Giving atezolizumab with capecitabine and bevacizumab may be a better way in treating colorectal cancer.