Cancer Biology Commons^™

Pd-L1 Expression On Circulating Tumor Cells May Be Predictive Of Response To Pembrolizumab In Advanced Melanoma: Results From A Pilot Study, Muhammad K. Khattak, Anna L. Reid, James Freeman, Michelle Pereira, Ashleigh Mcevoy, Johnny Lo, Markus Frank, Tarek Meniawy, Ali Didan, Isaac Spencer, Benhur Amanuel, Michael Millward, Mel Ziman, Elin Gray

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

BACKGROUND: PD-1 inhibitors are routinely used for the treatment of advanced melanoma. This study sought to determine whether PD-L1 expression on circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can serve as a predictive biomarker of clinical benefit and response to treatment with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab.

METHODS: Blood samples were collected from patients with metastatic melanoma receiving pembrolizumab, prior to treatment and 6-12 weeks after initiation of therapy. Multiparametric flow cytometry was used to identify CTCs and evaluate the expression of PD-L1.

RESULTS: CTCs were detected in 25 of 40 patients (63%). Patients with detectable PD-L1

CONCLUSION: Our results reveal the potential of …

Micrornas Associated With Melanoma Inflammation And Response To Pd-1 Inhibition, Robert Szczepaniak Sloane

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Melanoma is an aggressive malignancy of melanocytes with historically poor outcomes. Melanoma therapy has improved markedly over the past decade with advances in molecularly targeted agents and immunotherapies. Immune checkpoint inhibitors achieve T-cell mediated anti-tumor efficacy by blocking engagement of inhibitory checkpoints on T-cells to overcome immunosuppressive signals from tumor cells and the broader microenvironment. Despite these advances, there are a significant proportion of patients who do not benefit from existing immunotherapy strategies making it a priority to identify and target the mechanisms that confer resistance to therapy. We demonstrate that microRNAs are accurate markers of microenvironment composition with prognostic …

Exploiting The Immunomodulatory Potentials Of Inkt Cells In Sepsis And Cancer., Joshua Choi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are a unique unconventional T cell subset that recognize glycolipids presented by CD1d expressing cells. The prototypical glycolipid agonist of iNKT cells, α-Galactosylceramide (α-GalCer), can induce the rapid release of an arsenal of cytotoxic effector molecules and enormous amounts of immunomodulatory cytokines as early as two hours after activation. In addition to α-GalCer, various glycolipid agonists are available that allow for specific, in vivo targeting of iNKT cells, and can exert divergent T-helper (T_H)1 and/or T_H2 immune responses. Therefore, the type of response instigated by iNKT cells can profoundly influence …

Putative Roles Of Cd200 In The Leukemogenesis And Immune Evasion Of Leukemia Stem Cells, Shelley Herbrich

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) stem cells (LSC) are capable of surviving current standard chemotherapy and are the likely source of deadly, relapsed disease. While stem cell transplant serves as proof-of-principle that AML LSCs can be eliminated by the immune system, the translation of existing immunotherapies to AML have been met with limited success. Consequently, understanding and exploiting the unique immune mechanisms of AML LSCs is critical. To identify novel immunotherapeutic targets, we sourced multiple large, publicly available datasets and identified CD200 as a potential stem-cell specific immune checkpoint in AML. We hypothesized that CD200 was a stem-cell specific mechanism of …

Role Of Bet Inhibitors In Triple Negative Breast Cancers, Durga Khandekar, Venkataswarup Tiriveedhi

Biology Faculty Research

Bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) proteins have evolved as key multifunctional super-regulators that control gene expression. These proteins have been shown to upregulate transcriptional machinery leading to over expression of genes involved in cell proliferation and carcinogenesis. Based on favorable preclinical evidence of BET inhibitors in various cancer models; currently, 26 clinical trials are underway in various stages of study on various hematological and solid organ cancers. Unfortunately, preliminary evidence for these clinical studies does not support the application of BET inhibitors as monotherapy in cancer treatment. Furthermore, the combinatorial efficiency of BET inhibitors with other chemo-and immunotherapeutic agents remain …

Editorial: The Role Of Breast Cancer Stem Cells In Clinical Outcomes, Dayanidhi Raman, Amit K. Tiwari, Venkataswarup Tiriveedhi, Julie A. Rhoades

Biology Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

10th Annual Postdoctoral Science Symposium, University Of Texas Md Anderson Cancer Center Postdoctoral Association

Annual Postdoctoral Science Symposium Abstracts

The Annual Postdoctoral Science Symposium (APSS) was initiated on August 4, 2011, by the MD Anderson Postdoctoral Association to provide a platform for talented postdoctoral fellows throughout the Texas Medical Center to present their work to a wider audience.

APSS is a scientific symposium organized by postdoctoral fellows from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center that welcomes submissions and presentations from postdoctoral fellows from all Texas Medical Center affiliated institutions and other Houston area institutions. The APSS provides a professional venue for postdoctoral scientists to develop, clarify and refine their research as result of formal reviews and critiques …

Identification Of Imiquimod As A Potential Combination For Anti-Cd47 Antibodies In Cancer Therapy, Nicole Brittaney Pang

Scripps Senior Theses

The avenues of targeted immunotherapy offers a promise of less toxic treatment options for those battling different forms of cancer. Specifically, the process of hijacking a patient’s own immune system to fight cancer from within versus using external treatments like chemotherapy which is extremely damaging to the patient. One such avenue includes the usage of monoclonal antibodies as an effective modality for immunotherapy. Cluster of Differentiation 47 (CD47), also known as the ‘don’t eat me signal’, aids in cell proliferation and evasion of phagocytosis and has been found to be a target for stopping tumorigenesis. Previous research has been successful …