Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) after complete surgical resection is often followed by distant metastatic relapse for reasons that remain unclear. In this study, we investigated how the ...immune response at secondary sites affects tumor spread in murine models of metastatic PDAC. Early metastases were associated with dense networks of CD11b
CD11c
MHC-II
CD24
CD64
F4/80
dendritic cells (DC), which developed from monocytes in response to tumor-released GM-CSF. These cells uniquely expressed MGL2 and PD-L2 in the metastatic microenvironment and preferentially induced the expansion of T regulatory cells (Treg)
and
Targeted depletion of this DC population in
hosts activated cytotoxic lymphocytes, reduced Tregs, and inhibited metastasis development. Moreover, blocking PD-L2 selectively activated CD8 T cells at secondary sites and suppressed metastasis, suggesting that the DCs use this particular pathway to inhibit CD8 T-cell-mediated tumor immunity. Phenotypically similar DCs accumulated at primary and secondary sites in other models and in human PDAC. These studies suggest that a discrete DC subset both expands Tregs and suppresses CD8 T cells to establish an immunosuppressive microenvironment conducive to metastasis formation. Therapeutic strategies to block the accumulation and immunosuppressive activity of such cells may help prevent PDAC progression and metastatic relapse after surgical resection.
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•NanoVelcro CTC Chip is highly efficient in enumeration of CTCs in prostate cancer.•NanoVelcro CTC Chip is replicated to another institute with similar performance.•CTC decrease when patients had ...clinical responses to treatments.•Serial CTC enumerations across 460 days showed clinically relevant results.
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are one of the most crucial topics in rare cell biology and have become the focus of a significant and emerging area of cancer research. While CTC enumeration is a valid biomarker in prostate cancer, the current FDA-approved CTC technology is unable to detect CTCs in a large portion of late stage prostate cancer patients. Here we introduce the NanoVelcro CTC Chip, a device composed of a patterned silicon nanowire substrate (SiNW) and an overlaid polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chaotic mixer. Validated by two institutions participating in the study, the NanoVelcro Chip assay exhibits very consistent efficiency in CTC-capture from patient samples. The utilized protocol can be easily replicated at different facilities. We demonstrate the clinical utility of the NanoVelcro Chip by performing serial enumerations of CTCs in prostate cancer patients after undergoing systemic therapy. Changes in CTC numbers after 4–10weeks of therapy were compared with their clinical responses. We observed a statistically significant reduction in CTCs counts in the clinical responders. We performed long-term follow up with serial CTC collection and enumeration in one patient observing variations in counts correlating with treatment response. This study demonstrates the consistency of the NanoVelcro Chip assay over time for CTC enumeration and also shows that continuous monitoring of CTC numbers can be employed to follow responses to different treatments and monitor disease progression.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Soft tissue sarcoma (STS) is a biologically heterogeneous malignancy with over 50 subtypes. Historically, there have been few systemic treatment options for this relatively rare disease. Traditional ...cytotoxic agents, such as anthracyclines, alkylating agents, and taxanes have limited clinical benefit beyond the first-line setting; across all high-grade STS subtypes, median overall survival remains approximately 12–18 months for advanced metastatic disease. The development of targeted therapies has led to recent US Food and Drug Administration approval of four new treatments for high-grade STS in the advanced metastatic setting. Among these, olaratumab is most notable for its improvement in overall survival for patients with anthracycline-naïve disease. Further progress in STS management will rely on novel trial design, subtype-specific therapies and validation of biomarkers to tailor therapy. Immunotherapy has shown promise as a new, but yet undiscovered frontier in the management of STS.
Surgery is the cornerstone of treatment for retroperitoneal sarcoma (RPS). Surgery should be performed by a surgical oncologist with sub-specialization in this disease and in the context of a ...multidisciplinary team of sarcoma specialists. For primary RPS, the goal of surgery is to achieve the complete en bloc resection of the tumor along with involved organs and structures to maximize the clearance of the disease. The extent of resection also needs to consider the risk of complications. Unfortunately, the overarching challenge in primary RPS treatment is that even with optimal surgery, tumor recurrence occurs frequently. The pattern of recurrence after surgery (e.g., local versus distant) is strongly associated with the specific histologic type of RPS. Radiation and systemic therapy may improve outcomes in RPS and there is emerging data studying the benefit of non-surgical treatments in primary disease. Topics in need of further investigation include criteria for unresectability and management of locally recurrent disease. Moving forward, global collaboration among RPS specialists will be key for continuing to advance our understanding of this disease and find more effective treatments.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
Background
In extremity or trunk liposarcoma, the implications of a dedifferentiated (DD) component within a well‐differentiated (WD) tumor are unclear. We evaluated outcomes after surgery and ...identified potential predictors of survival in these patients compared to those with an entirely WD tumor.
Methods
Retrospective data were collected for patients who underwent complete resection from 2009 to 2019. Cumulative incidences of local recurrence (LR) and distant metastasis (DM) were calculated, and overall survival (OS) was estimated. Associations between OS and clinicopathologic variables were evaluated by univariable models.
Results
A total of 210 patients with MDM2‐verified tumors were studied, including 58 (27.6%) with DD. In primary disease, LR occurred only in DD and worse OS was observed versus WD (p < 0.001). In recurrent disease, the LR incidences were similar between WD and DD (p = 0.559); however, worse OS persisted in DD (p = 0.004). The incidence of DM was extremely low (3.8%) and limited to DD. Higher grade (p < 0.001) and DD size (p = 0.043), but not overall tumor size were associated with worse OS.
Conclusions
In extremity or trunk liposarcoma, the presence of DD leads to significantly worse outcomes in both primary and recurrence diseases. Further study is needed to determine if these patients benefit from adjunct therapies (e.g., radiation).
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK