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Combination immunotherapy and radiation therapy strategies for pancreatic cancer-targeting multiple steps in the cancer immunity cycle.

ABSTRACT: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a deadly disease, with its mortality rate approaching its incidence rate every year. Accordingly, much interest has been generated in harnessing the immune system in order to improve survival outcomes for these patients. Pancreatic cancer is not thought to be as immunogenic as other cancers that have seen promising results with immune checkpoint inhibitors alone, therefore likely several targets within the cancer-immunity cycle will need to be employed for successful treatment. We sought to investigate both the current state of the field in immunotherapy in PDAC with a special emphasis on combined approaches with radiation therapy (RT). We also summarized ongoing clinical trials that are examining the use of radiotherapy with other immune-stimulating agents in the treatment of PDAC. A PubMed and clinicaltrials.gov search was conducted using the following search terms, either alone or in combination: "pancreatic cancer", "immunotherapy", and "abscopal effect". Open clinical trials were reviewed and included if they involved both RT and other immune-stimulating agents. Pancreatic cancers tend to reside within immune-suppressive tumor microenvironments (TME), express PD-L1, and secrete several immuno-suppressive agents, such as TGF-B, IL-10, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, galectin-1. Whole-cell vaccine therapies, peptide and protein vaccines, dendritic cell vaccines, and vaccines with micro-organisms have been investigated by themselves with promising results. Open clinical trials are currently investigating the use of these vaccines, which increase antigen presentation, with treatments that stimulate release of tumor antigens including RT. There are currently at least 21 open clinical trials investigating the combination of RT with other immune-stimulating agents. The combination of RT and immunotherapy may be a promising avenue for PDAC treatment and deserves further research.

SUBMITTER: Gajiwala S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6286952 | biostudies-other | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Combination immunotherapy and radiation therapy strategies for pancreatic cancer-targeting multiple steps in the cancer immunity cycle.

Gajiwala Snehal S Torgeson Anna A Garrido-Laguna Ignacio I Kinsey Conan C Lloyd Shane S

Journal of gastrointestinal oncology 20181201 6

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a deadly disease, with its mortality rate approaching its incidence rate every year. Accordingly, much interest has been generated in harnessing the immune system in order to improve survival outcomes for these patients. Pancreatic cancer is not thought to be as immunogenic as other cancers that have seen promising results with immune checkpoint inhibitors alone, therefore likely several targets within the cancer-immunity cycle will need to be employed ...[more]

PMID: 30603120

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Project description:Pancreatic cancer (PC) induced cachexia is a complex metabolic syndrome associated with significantly increased morbidity and mortality and reduced quality of life. The pathophysiology of cachexia is complex and poorly understood. Many molecular signaling pathways are involved in PC and cachexia. Though our understanding of cancer cachexia is growing, therapeutic options remain limited. Thus, further discovery and investigation of the molecular signaling pathways involved in the pathophysiology of cachexia can be applied to development of targeted therapies. This review focuses on three main pathophysiologic processes implicated in the development and progression of cachexia in PC, as well as their utility in the discovery of novel targeted therapies. Skeletal muscle wasting is the most prominent pathophysiologic anomaly in cachectic patients and driven by multiple regulatory pathways. Several known molecular pathways that mediate muscle wasting and cachexia include transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-?), myostatin and activin, IGF-1/PI3K/AKT, and JAK-STAT signaling. TGF-? antagonism in cachectic mice reduces skeletal muscle catabolism and weight loss, while improving overall survival. Myostatin/activin inhibition has a great therapeutic potential since it plays an essential role in skeletal muscle regulation. Overexpression of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) leads to increased ubiquitination associated proteolysis, inhibition of myogenesis, and decreased muscle mass in PC induced cachexia. IGFBP-3 antagonism alleviates muscle cell wasting. Another component of cachexia is profound systemic inflammation driven by pro-cachectic cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-?), and interferon gamma (INF-?). IL-6 antagonism has been shown to reduce inflammation, reduce skeletal muscle loss, and ameliorate cachexia. While TNF-? inhibitors are clinically available, blocking TNF-? signaling is not effective in the treatment of cancer cachexia. Blocking the synthesis or action of acute phase reactants and cytokines is a feasible therapeutic strategy, but no anti-cytokine therapies are currently approved for use in PC. Metabolic alterations such as increased energy expenditure and gluconeogenesis, insulin resistance, fat tissue browning, excessive oxidative stress, and proteolysis with amino acid mobilization support tumor growth and the development of cachexia. Current innovative nutritional strategies for cachexia management include ketogenic diet, utilization of natural compounds such as silibinin, and supplementation with ?3-polyunsaturated fatty acids. Elevated ketone bodies exhibit an anticancer and anticachectic effect. Silibinin has been shown to inhibit growth of PC cells, induce metabolic alterations, and reduce myofiber degradation. Consumption of ?3-polyunsaturated fatty acids has been shown to significantly decrease resting energy expenditure and regulate metabolic dysfunction.

Dataset Information

Combination immunotherapy and radiation therapy strategies for pancreatic cancer-targeting multiple steps in the cancer immunity cycle.

Publications

Combination immunotherapy and radiation therapy strategies for pancreatic cancer-targeting multiple steps in the cancer immunity cycle.

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