bims-mesote 2022-12-11 papers

Issue of 2022–12–11
five papers selected by
Laura Mannarino, Humanitas Research

Med Lav. 2022 Dec 07. 113(6): e2022052

Identification of a new potential plasmatic biomarker panel for the diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Luca Ferrari, Simona Iodice, Laura Cantone, Barbara Dallari, Laura Dioni, Lorenzo Bordini, Alessandro Palleschi, Carolina Mensi, Angela Cecilia Pesatori.

BACKGROUND: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare highly aggressive tumor strongly associated with asbestos exposure and characterized by poor prognosis. Currently, diagnosis is based on invasive techniques, thus there is a need of identifying non-invasive biomarkers for early detection of the disease among asbestos-exposed subjects. In the present study, we measured the plasmatic concentrations of Mesothelin, Fibulin-3, and HMGB1 protein biomarkers, and of hsa-miR-30e-3p and hsa-miR-103a-3p Extracellular-Vesicles- embedded micro RNAs (EV-miRNAs). We tested the ability of these biomarkers to discriminate between MPM and PAE subjects alone and in combination.
METHODS: the study was conducted on a population of 26 patients with MPM and 54 healthy subjects with previous asbestos exposure (PAE). Mesothelin, Fibulin-3, and HMGB1 protein biomarkers were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique; the levels of hsa-miR-30e-3p and hsa-miR-103a-3p EV-miRNAs was assessed by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR).
RESULTS: the most discriminating single biomarker resulted to be Fibulin-3 (AUC 0.94 CI 95% 0.88-1.0; Sensitivity 88%; Specificity 87%). After investigating the different possible combinations, the best performance was obtained by the three protein biomarkers Mesothelin, Fibulin-3, and HMGB1 (AUC 0.99 CI 95% 0.97-1.0; Sensitivity 96%; Specificity 93%).
CONCLUSIONS: the results obtained contribute to identifying new potential non-invasive biomarkers for the early diagnosis of MPM in high-risk asbestos-exposed subjects. Further studies are needed to validate the evidence obtained, in order to assess the reliability of the proposed biomarker panel.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23749/mdl.v113i6.13522

ESMO Open. 2022 Dec 01. pii: S2059-7029(22)00278-2. [Epub ahead of print]7(6): 100644

Final results of DIADEM, a phase II study to investigate the efficacy and safety of durvalumab in advanced pretreated malignant pleural mesothelioma.

DIADEM groupD

BACKGROUND: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a cancer with a high mortality rate and few therapeutic options. After platinum-pemetrexed combination, no further promising drug seems to be effective. Immune checkpoint inhibitors may have some activity in pretreated patients and no data are available in this population about durvalumab.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: DIADEM was a multicenter, open-label, single-arm, phase II trial aimed at evaluating the efficacy and safety of durvalumab. Patients with locally advanced/metastatic MPM who progressed after platinum-pemetrexed chemotherapy were enrolled to receive durvalumab (1500 mg, intravenously Q4W) for 12 months or until evidence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients alive and free from progression at 16 weeks (PFS16wks) calculated from treatment initiation. Secondary endpoints were progression-free survival, overall survival, overall response rate, and safety.
RESULTS: Sixty-nine patients with a median age of 69 years (range 44-82 years) were enrolled; 62 patients (89.9%) had epithelioid histotype. As first-line treatment, all patients received platinum derivatives-pemetrexed combination (60.9% with carboplatin and 39.1% with cisplatin). As of March 2021, the median follow-up was 9.2 months (interquartile range 5.2-11.1 months). Six patients (8.7%) completed the 12-month treatment; 60 patients discontinued, of whom 42 for progressive disease, and 4 died. Seventeen patients (28.3%; 95% confidence interval 17.5% to 41.4%) were alive or free from progression at 16 weeks. Eleven patients (18.6%) had a grade 3 or 4 treatment-related adverse event (AE), and one (1.4%) had a grade ≥3 immune-related, treatment-related AE. There was one drug-related death.
CONCLUSION: Durvalumab alone in pretreated non-selected MPM did not reach a meaningful clinical activity, showing any new major safety issue signals.

Keywords: durvalumab; immune checkpoint inhibitors; malignant pleural mesothelioma; second line

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esmoop.2022.100644

Clin Cancer Res. 2022 Dec 05. pii: CCR-22-2566. [Epub ahead of print]

A Phase II Window of Opportunity Study of Neoadjuvant PD-L1 versus PD-L1 plus CTLA-4 Blockade for Patients with Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma.

Hyun-Sung Lee, Hee-Jin Jang, Maheshwari Ramineni, Daniel Y Wang, Daniela Ramos, Jong Min Choi, Taylor Splawn, Monica Espinoza, Michelle Almarez, Leandria Hosey, Eunji Jo, Susan G Hilsenbeck, Christopher I Amos, R Taylor Ripley, Bryan M Burt.

PURPOSE: We report the results of a phase 2, randomized, window-of-opportunity trial of neoadjuvant durvalumab versus durvalumab plus tremelimumab followed by surgery in patients with resectable malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM)(NCT02592551).
PATIENTS AND METHODS: The primary objective was alteration of the intratumoral CD8/Treg ratio after combination immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy. Secondary and exploratory objectives included other changes in the tumor microenvironment, survival, safety, tumor pathologic response (PR), and systemic immune responses.
RESULTS: Nine patients received monotherapy and 11 received combination therapy. Seventeen of the 20 patients (85%) receiving ICB underwent planned thoracotomy. Both ICB regimens induced CD8 T cell infiltration into MPM tumors but did not alter CD8/Treg ratios. At 34.1 months follow-up, patients receiving combination ICB had longer median overall survival (not reached) compared to those receiving monotherapy(14.0 months). Grade≥3 immunotoxicity occurred in 8% of patients in the monotherapy group and 27% of patients in the combination group. Tumor PR occurred in 6 of 17 patients receiving ICB and thoracotomy (35.3%), among which major PR (>90% tumor regression) occurred in 2 (11.8%). Single-cell profiling of tumor, blood, and bone marrow revealed that combination ICB remodeled the immune contexture of MPM tumors; mobilized CD57+ effector memory T cells from the bone marrow to the circulation; and increased the formation of tertiary lymphoid structures in MPM tumors that were rich in CD57+T cells.
CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that neoadjuvant durvalumab plus tremelimumab orchestrates de novo systemic immune responses that extend to the tumor microenvironment and correlate with favorable clinical outcomes.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-22-2566

J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2022 Dec 05. 41(1): 333

Complexity of progranulin mechanisms of action in mesothelioma.

Elisa Ventura, Christopher Xie, Simone Buraschi, Antonino Belfiore, Renato V Iozzo, Antonio Giordano, Andrea Morrione.

BACKGROUND: Mesothelioma is an aggressive disease with limited therapeutic options. The growth factor progranulin plays a critical role in several cancer models, where it regulates tumor initiation and progression. Recent data from our laboratories have demonstrated that progranulin and its receptor, EphA2, constitute an oncogenic pathway in bladder cancer by promoting motility, invasion and in vivo tumor formation. Progranulin and EphA2 are expressed in mesothelioma cells but their mechanisms of action are not well defined. In addition, there are no data establishing whether the progranulin/EphA2 axis is tumorigenic for mesothelioma cells.
METHODS: The expression of progranulin in various mesothelioma cell lines derived from all major mesothelioma subtypes was examined by western blots on cell lysates, conditioned media and ELISA assays. The biological roles of progranulin, EphA2, EGFR, RYK and FAK were assessed in vitro by immunoblots, human phospho-RTK antibody arrays, pharmacological (specific inhibitors) and genetic (siRNAs, shRNAs, CRISPR/Cas9) approaches, motility, invasion and adhesion assays. In vivo tumorigenesis was determined by xenograft models. Focal adhesion turnover was evaluated biochemically using focal adhesion assembly/disassembly assays and immunofluorescence analysis with focal adhesion-specific markers.
RESULTS: In the present study we show that progranulin is upregulated in various mesothelioma cell lines covering all mesothelioma subtypes and is an important regulator of motility, invasion, adhesion and in vivo tumor formation. However, our results indicate that EphA2 is not the major functional receptor for progranulin in mesothelioma cells, where progranulin activates a complex signaling network including EGFR and RYK. We further characterized progranulin mechanisms of action and demonstrated that progranulin, by modulating FAK activity, regulates the kinetic of focal adhesion disassembly, a critical step for cell motility.
CONCLUSION: Collectively, our results highlight the complexity of progranulin oncogenic signaling in mesothelioma, where progranulin modulate functional cross-talks between multiple RTKs, thereby suggesting the need for combinatorial therapeutic approaches to improve treatments of this aggressive disease.

Keywords: EGFR; EphA2; FAK; Focal adhesion turnover; Invasion; Mesothelioma; Migration; Progranulin; RYK

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13046-022-02546-4

JTO Clin Res Rep. 2022 Dec;3(12): 100430

Viral Mimicry Response Is Associated With Clinical Outcome in Pleural Mesothelioma.

Suna Sun, Weihong Qi, Hubert Rehrauer, Manuel Ronner, Ananya Hariharan, Martin Wipplinger, Clément Meiller, Rolf Stahel, Martin Früh, Ferdinando Cerciello, Jean-François Fonteneau, Didier Jean, Emanuela Felley-Bosco.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate endogenous retrovirus (ERV) expression and type I interferon (IFN) activation in human pleural mesothelioma (PM) and their association with clinical outcome.
Methods: The expression of ERV was determined from PM cohorts and mesothelial precursor RNA sequencing data. The expression of ERV was confirmed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Methylation of genomic DNA was assessed by quantitative methylation-specific PCR. DNA demethylation was induced in cells by demethylating agent 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-Aza-CdR) treatment. To block type I IFN signaling, the cells were treated with ruxolitinib or MAVS silencing. The expression of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) was determined by qPCR and Western blot. Circulating ERVs were detected by qPCR.
Results: Long terminal repeats (LTRs) represent the most abundant transposable elements up-regulated in PM. Within the LTR, ERVmap_1248 and LTR7Y, which are specifically enriched in PM, were further analyzed. The 5-Aza-CdR treatment increased the levels of ERVmap_1248 expression and induced ERVmap_1248 promoter demethylation in mesothelial cells. In addition, ERVmap_1248 promoter was more demethylated in the mesothelioma tissue compared with nontumor tissue. The 5-Aza-CdR treatment of the mesothelial cells also increased the levels of ISGs. Basal ISG expression was higher in the mesothelioma cells compared with the mesothelial cells, and it was significantly decreased by ruxolitinib treatment or MAVS silencing. Furthermore, ISG expression was higher in the tumor tissue with high expression levels of ERVmap_1248. High expression of ERVmap_1248 was associated with longer overall survival and BAP1 mutations. ERVmap_1248 and LTR7Y can be detected in the PM plasma.
Conclusions: We provide clues for patient stratification especially for immunotherapy where best clinical responses are associated with an activated basal immune response.

Keywords: BRCA-associated protein 1; Endogenous retroviruses; Pleural mesothelioma; Type I interferon

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtocrr.2022.100430