Editorial
Philip D. Greenberg, Robert D. Schreiber and Linda J. Miller
Cancer Immunol Res January 1 2016 4 (1) 1-2; DOI:10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-15-0304
The management of mRCC is being revolutionized by immune checkpoint inhibition. Patient response to anti–PD-1/PD-L1 agents is heterogeneous, and misleading CT scans might be common. Examples of five classes of patient responses and their images are presented and interpreted.
The possibility that short peptide vaccines induce antitumor CD4+ T-cell responses has been widely ignored. Peripheral blood from vaccinated patients revealed that short peptides often activate specific T helper cells, facilitating a strong combined CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell response.
IL17A and TH17 cells have been implicated in both tumor promotion and tumor protection. In this preclinical mouse study the IL17 produced by tumor-invading γδ T cells was found to promote transendothelial tumor invasion and lung metastasis.
Colon and rectal cancer cases in two U.S. nationwide prospective cohort studies were examined for an association of microRNA MIR21 (miR-21) and T-cell infiltration. MIR21 expression was inversely associated with densities of CD3+ and CD45RO+ T cells.
T-bet+ lymphoid cells are associated with adverse clinicopathologic features like the basal subgroup, yet confer a favorable outcome in invasive breast cancer. Thus, T-bet may prove to be an important prognostic and/or predictive marker for use in immunotherapy trials.
IL15 stimulates T-cell and NK-cell responses, but not Tregs. The antitumor efficacy, biodistribution, and toxicity of an IL15-based superagonist, ALT-803, was examined in animal models and was superior, supporting its clinical development for advanced hematologic or solid tumors.
Autologous transplantation prolongs disease-free survival in multiple myeloma but is not curative. Regulatory T cells decline early after transplant, and T-cell exhaustion/senescence signals imminent relapse, providing therapeutic opportunities to revive antimyeloma immunity and counteract relapse.
Black raspberries and their constituents effectively reduce carcinogen-induced tumorigenesis in the rat esophagus through the reduction of inflammation. Current findings show that these changes are associated with altered immune cell trafficking within the esophagus tissue as well.