| 1. |
- Ferencz, Bence, et al.
(författare)
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Expression patterns of novel immunotherapy targets in intermediate- and high-grade lung neuroendocrine neoplasms
- 2024
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Ingår i: Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy. - 0340-7004. ; 73:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Advancements in immunotherapeutic approaches only had a modest impact on the therapy of lung neuroendocrine neoplasms (LNENs). Our multicenter study aimed to investigate the expression patterns of novel immunotherapy targets in intermediate- and high-grade LNENs. Methods: The expressions of V-domain Ig suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA), OX40L, Glucocorticoid-induced TNF receptor (GITR), and T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (TIM3) proteins were measured by immunohistochemistry in surgically resected tumor samples of 26 atypical carcinoid (AC), 49 large cell neuroendocrine lung cancer (LCNEC), and 66 small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients. Tumor and immune cells were separately scored. Results: Tumor cell TIM3 expression was the highest in ACs (p < 0.001), whereas elevated tumor cell GITR levels were characteristic for both ACs and SCLCs (p < 0.001 and p = 0.011, respectively). OX40L expression of tumor cells was considerably lower in ACs (vs. SCLCs; p < 0.001). Tumor cell VISTA expression was consistently low in LNENs, with no significant differences across histological subtypes. ACs were the least immunogenic tumors concerning immune cell abundance (p < 0.001). Immune cell VISTA and GITR expressions were also significantly lower in these intermediate-grade malignancies than in SCLCs or in LCNECs. Immune cell TIM3 and GITR expressions were associated with borderline prognostic significance in our multivariate model (p = 0.057 and p = 0.071, respectively). Conclusions: LNEN subtypes have characteristic and widely divergent VISTA, OX40L, GITR, and TIM3 protein expressions. By shedding light on the different expression patterns of these immunotherapy targets, the current multicenter study provides support for the future implementation of novel immunotherapeutic approaches.
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| 2. |
- Albert, Marie Christine, et al.
(författare)
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Identification of FasL as a crucial host factor driving COVID-19 pathology and lethality
- 2024
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Ingår i: Cell Death and Differentiation. - 1350-9047.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The dysregulated immune response and inflammation resulting in severe COVID-19 are still incompletely understood. Having recently determined that aberrant death-ligand-induced cell death can cause lethal inflammation, we hypothesized that this process might also cause or contribute to inflammatory disease and lung failure following SARS-CoV-2 infection. To test this hypothesis, we developed a novel mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 model (MA20) that recapitulates key pathological features of COVID-19. Concomitantly with occurrence of cell death and inflammation, FasL expression was significantly increased on inflammatory monocytic macrophages and NK cells in the lungs of MA20-infected mice. Importantly, therapeutic FasL inhibition markedly increased survival of both, young and old MA20-infected mice coincident with substantially reduced cell death and inflammation in their lungs. Intriguingly, FasL was also increased in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of critically-ill COVID-19 patients. Together, these results identify FasL as a crucial host factor driving the immuno-pathology that underlies COVID-19 severity and lethality, and imply that patients with severe COVID-19 may significantly benefit from therapeutic inhibition of FasL.
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| 3. |
- Berta, Judit, et al.
(författare)
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Apelin promotes blood and lymph vessel formation and the growth of melanoma lung metastasis
- 2021
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 11:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Apelin, a ligand of the APJ receptor, is overexpressed in several human cancers and plays an important role in tumor angiogenesis and growth in various experimental systems. We investigated the role of apelin signaling in the malignant behavior of cutaneous melanoma. Murine B16 and human A375 melanoma cell lines were stably transfected with apelin encoding or control vectors. Apelin overexpression significantly increased melanoma cell migration and invasion in vitro, but it had no impact on its proliferation. In our in vivo experiments, apelin significantly increased the number and size of lung metastases of murine melanoma cells. Melanoma cell proliferation rates and lymph and blood microvessel densities were significantly higher in the apelin-overexpressing pulmonary metastases. APJ inhibition by the competitive APJ antagonist MM54 significantly attenuated the in vivo pro-tumorigenic effects of apelin. Additionally, we detected significantly elevated circulating apelin and VEGF levels in patients with melanoma compared to healthy controls. Our results show that apelin promotes blood and lymphatic vascularization and the growth of pulmonary metastases of skin melanoma. Further studies are warranted to validate apelin signaling as a new potential therapeutic target in this malignancy.
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| 4. |
- Berta, Judit, et al.
(författare)
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Thoracic irradiation as consolidation therapy in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer
- 2023
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Ingår i: Current Opinion in Oncology. - 1040-8746. ; 35:1, s. 54-60
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose of reviewSmall cell lung cancer (SCLC) is marked by an exceptionally high proliferative rate and poor prognosis. Given its high propensity to metastasize, nearly two-thirds of SCLC patients are diagnosed with extensive-stage (ES) disease when surgery is not a treatment option anymore. Over several decades, only minimal changes have been made in the therapeutic armamentarium of ES-SCLC. Recently, however, several new therapeutic avenues were defined, thus renewing the hope for patients with this recalcitrant cancer. Here, we present an overview of the most current therapeutic advances in ES-SCLC focusing in particular on consolidative thoracic radiation therapy (cTRT) and chemo-immunotherapy.Recent findingsThe incorporation of immunotherapy in the standard-of-care of ES-SCLC patients and the resulting outcomes are both a remarkable hallmark of progress and a disappointment. Indeed, chemo-immunotherapy with or without cTRT and prophylactic cranial irradiation contributes to longer survival outcomes with minimal toxicity rates in well selected and properly monitored patients. Nevertheless, the gain in overall survival is still modest relative to that seen in many other solid tumors.SummaryDespite the encouraging results, further clinical trials are needed to determine the efficacy and safety of these therapeutic approaches, and moreover, to identify new predictive biomarkers of response.
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| 5. |
- Dora, David, et al.
(författare)
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Computed Tomography-Based Quantitative Texture Analysis and Gut Microbial Community Signatures Predict Survival in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
- 2023
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Ingår i: Cancers. - 2072-6694. ; 15:20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study aims to combine computed tomography (CT)-based texture analysis (QTA) and a microbiome-based biomarker signature to predict the overall survival (OS) of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-treated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients by analyzing their CT scans (n = 129) and fecal microbiome (n = 58). One hundred and five continuous CT parameters were obtained, where principal component analysis (PCA) identified seven major components that explained 80% of the data variation. Shotgun metagenomics (MG) and ITS analysis were performed to reveal the abundance of bacterial and fungal species. The relative abundance of Bacteroides dorei and Parabacteroides distasonis was associated with long OS (>6 mo), whereas the bacteria Clostridium perfringens and Enterococcus faecium and the fungal taxa Cortinarius davemallochii, Helotiales, Chaetosphaeriales, and Tremellomycetes were associated with short OS (≤6 mo). Hymenoscyphus immutabilis and Clavulinopsis fusiformis were more abundant in patients with high (≥50%) PD-L1-expressing tumors, whereas Thelephoraceae and Lachnospiraceae bacterium were enriched in patients with ICI-related toxicities. An artificial intelligence (AI) approach based on extreme gradient boosting evaluated the associations between the outcomes and various clinicopathological parameters. AI identified MG signatures for patients with a favorable ICI response and high PD-L1 expression, with 84% and 79% accuracy, respectively. The combination of QTA parameters and MG had a positive predictive value of 90% for both therapeutic response and OS. According to our hypothesis, the QTA parameters and gut microbiome signatures can predict OS, the response to therapy, the PD-L1 expression, and toxicity in NSCLC patients treated with ICI, and a machine learning approach can combine these variables to create a reliable predictive model, as we suggest in this research.
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| 6. |
- Ferencz, Bence, et al.
(författare)
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Comparative expression analysis of immune-related markers in surgically resected lung neuroendocrine neoplasms
- 2023
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Ingår i: Lung Cancer. - 0169-5002. ; 181
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Although immunotherapy has led to a paradigm shift in the treatment of lung cancer, the therapeutic approaches for lung neuroendocrine neoplasms (LNENs) are still limited. Our aim was to explore the immunological landscape and the expression of immune checkpoint markers in LNENs. Methods: Surgically removed tumor samples of 26 atypical carcinoid (AC), 30 large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) and 29 small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients were included. The immune phenotype of each tumor type was assessed by using a panel of 15 immune-related markers. As these markers are potentially expressed by immune cells and/or tumor cells, they might serve as putative targets for immunotherapy. Expression patterns were measured by immunohistochemistry and correlated with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis. Results: Unsupervised hierarchical clustering revealed distinct immunologic profiles across tumor types. Specifically, AC tumors were characterized by high tumor cell CD40 expression and low levels of immune infiltrates whereas SCLC samples had a high CD47 and Inducible T Cell Costimulator (ICOS) expression in tumor cells and immune cells, respectively. High CD70 and CD137 expression by tumor cells as well as elevated expression of CD27, Lymphocyte Activation Gene 3 (LAG3), and CD40 by immune cells were characteristic for LCNEC samples. Overall, SCLC and LCNEC tumors had a more immunogenic phenotype than AC samples. High tumor cell CD47 and CD40 expressions were associated with impaired and improved survival outcomes, respectively. Conclusions: By providing insights into the widely divergent immunologic profiles of LNENs, our results might serve as a basis for the development of novel immunotherapy-related approaches in these devastating malignancies.
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| 7. |
- Horvath, Lilla, et al.
(författare)
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Potential subtype-specific therapeutic approaches in small cell lung cancer
- 2024
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Ingår i: Current Opinion in Oncology. - 1040-8746. ; 36:1, s. 51-56
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) remains one of the most aggressive thoracic malignancies with an especially dismal prognosis. While the detection of various targetable driver mutations and immune checkpoints have revolutionized the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), there has been only modest therapeutic innovation over the past decades in SCLC. In this review, we aim to provide a brief summary on the clinical relevance of recent research findings, which could soon pave the way towards a more personalized and targeted management of SCLC patients. RECENT FINDINGS: Substantial research on the biological and molecular heterogeneity of SCLC has been conducted in the last years. Recent results from comprehensive profiling studies have shown that unique major SCLC subtypes can be distinguished based on the relative expression of key transcription regulators (ASCL1, NEUROD1, POU2F3) or distinct inflammatory features. Understanding the differing molecular characteristics of these distinct subtypes has resulted in the identification of specific therapeutic vulnerabilities. SUMMARY: The recently introduced molecular SCLC subtype classification represents a substantial progress towards a personalized and more efficacious approach in SCLC. The consequences of this paradigm shift provide hope for improved patient care and clinical outcomes in this exceptionally lethal thoracic malignancy.
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| 8. |
- Lang, Christian, et al.
(författare)
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C-Myc protein expression indicates unfavorable clinical outcome in surgically resected small cell lung cancer
- 2024
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Ingår i: World Journal of Surgical Oncology. - 1477-7819. ; 22:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: By being highly involved in the tumor evolution and disease progression of small cell lung cancer (SCLC), Myc family members (C-Myc, L-Myc, and N-Myc) might represent promising targetable molecules. Our aim was to investigate the expression pattern and prognostic relevance of these oncogenic proteins in an international cohort of surgically resected SCLC tumors. Methods: Clinicopathological data and surgically resected tissue specimens from 104 SCLC patients were collected from two collaborating European institutes. Tissue sections were stained by immunohistochemistry (IHC) for all three Myc family members and the recently introduced SCLC molecular subtype-markers (ASCL1, NEUROD1, POU2F3, and YAP1). Results: IHC analysis showed C-Myc, L-Myc, and N-Myc positivity in 48%, 63%, and 9% of the specimens, respectively. N-Myc positivity significantly correlated with the POU2F3-defined molecular subtype (r = 0.6913, p = 0.0056). SCLC patients with C-Myc positive tumors exhibited significantly worse overall survival (OS) (20 vs. 44 months compared to those with C-Myc negative tumors, p = 0.0176). Ultimately, in a multivariate risk model adjusted for clinicopathological and treatment confounders, positive C-Myc expression was confirmed as an independent prognosticator of impaired OS (HR 1.811, CI 95% 1.054–3.113, p = 0.032). Conclusions: Our study provides insights into the clinical aspects of Myc family members in surgically resected SCLC tumors. Notably, besides showing that positivity of Myc family members varies across the patients, we also reveal that C-Myc protein expression independently correlates with worse survival outcomes. Further studies are warranted to investigate the role of Myc family members as potential prognostic and predictive markers in this hard-to-treat disease.
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| 9. |
- Megyesfalvi, Zsolt, et al.
(författare)
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Clinical insights into small cell lung cancer : Tumor heterogeneity, diagnosis, therapy, and future directions
- 2023
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Ingår i: CA: a cancer journal for clinicians. - 0007-9235. ; 73:6, s. 620-652
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is characterized by rapid growth and high metastatic capacity. It has strong epidemiologic and biologic links to tobacco carcinogens. Although the majority of SCLCs exhibit neuroendocrine features, an important subset of tumors lacks these properties. Genomic profiling of SCLC reveals genetic instability, almost universal inactivation of the tumor suppressor genes TP53 and RB1, and a high mutation burden. Because of early metastasis, only a small fraction of patients are amenable to curative-intent lung resection, and these individuals require adjuvant platinum-etoposide chemotherapy. Therefore, the vast majority of patients are currently being treated with chemoradiation with or without immunotherapy. In patients with disease confined to the chest, standard therapy includes thoracic radiotherapy and concurrent platinum-etoposide chemotherapy. Patients with metastatic (extensive-stage) disease are treated with a combination of platinum-etoposide chemotherapy plus immunotherapy with an anti-programmed death-ligand 1 monoclonal antibody. Although SCLC is initially very responsive to platinum-based chemotherapy, these responses are transient because of the development of drug resistance. In recent years, the authors have witnessed an accelerating pace of biologic insights into the disease, leading to the redefinition of the SCLC classification scheme. This emerging knowledge of SCLC molecular subtypes has the potential to define unique therapeutic vulnerabilities. Synthesizing these new discoveries with the current knowledge of SCLC biology and clinical management may lead to unprecedented advances in SCLC patient care. Here, the authors present an overview of multimodal clinical approaches in SCLC, with a special focus on illuminating how recent advancements in SCLC research could accelerate clinical development.
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| 10. |
- Megyesfalvi, Zsolt, et al.
(författare)
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Expression patterns and prognostic relevance of subtype-specific transcription factors in surgically resected small-cell lung cancer : an international multicenter study
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Pathology. - : Wiley. - 0022-3417 .- 1096-9896. ; 257:5, s. 674-686
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The tissue distribution and prognostic relevance of subtype-specific proteins (ASCL1, NEUROD1, POU2F3, YAP1) present an evolving area of research in small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). The expression of subtype-specific transcription factors and P53 and RB1 proteins were measured by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 386 surgically resected SCLC samples. Correlations between subtype-specific proteins and in vitro efficacy of various therapeutic agents were investigated by proteomics and cell viability assays in 26 human SCLC cell lines. Besides SCLC-A (ASCL1-dominant), SCLC-AN (combined ASCL1/NEUROD1), SCLC-N (NEUROD1-dominant), and SCLC-P (POU2F3-dominant), IHC and cluster analyses identified a quadruple-negative SCLC subtype (SCLC-QN). No unique YAP1-subtype was found. The highest overall survival rates were associated with non-neuroendocrine subtypes (SCLC-P and SCLC-QN) and the lowest with neuroendocrine subtypes (SCLC-A, SCLC-N, SCLC-AN). In univariate analyses, high ASCL1 expression was associated with poor prognosis and high POU2F3 expression with good prognosis. Notably, high ASCL1 expression influenced survival outcomes independently of other variables in a multivariate model. High POU2F3 and YAP1 protein abundances correlated with sensitivity and resistance to standard-of-care chemotherapeutics, respectively. Specific correlation patterns were also found between the efficacy of targeted agents and subtype-specific protein abundances. In conclusion, we investigated the clinicopathological relevance of SCLC molecular subtypes in a large cohort of surgically resected specimens. Differential IHC expression of ASCL1, NEUROD1, and POU2F3 defines SCLC subtypes. No YAP1-subtype can be distinguished by IHC. High POU2F3 expression is associated with improved survival in a univariate analysis, whereas elevated ASCL1 expression is an independent negative prognosticator. Proteomic and cell viability assays of human SCLC cell lines revealed distinct vulnerability profiles defined by transcription regulators.
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