2023
March
Predicting immunotherapy responses using circulating tumor DNA
March 29, 2023
It remains a challenge to determine which patients might benefit from immunotherapy, and in drug trials, early endpoints, such as progression-free survival (PFS) and overall response rates, may not correspond with overall survival (OS). Therefore, trials may take many years to conduct to show a benefit in OS. Looking into other early measures...
Tumor PD-L1 promotes metastasis through a myeloid middle man
March 22, 2023
PD-L1 on tumors (tPD-L1) is a well known antagonist of antitumor immune responses, and a biomarker of improved clinical outcomes and survival following PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint blockade. However, recent research has shown that PD-L1 on other immune cells in the tumor microenvironment may be responsible for suppressing cytotoxic T cells. Taking another look at...
Turning tumor cells against themselves as a new vaccination approach
March 15, 2023
A major challenge for cancer vaccination is the choice of which tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) to target to elicit tumor-specific T cell responses, given the large tumor heterogeneity. To overcome this issue, Linde et al. developed a cancer vaccination approach in which cancer cells are reprogrammed into myeloid lineage cells, which are phagocytic and...
Targeting type 1 NKT and Vγ9Vδ2-T cells with a bsTCE
March 8, 2023
Bispecific T cell engagers (bsTCE) are powerful immunotherapeutic tools, but they come with issues of toxicity and Treg activation. In an effort to overcome some of these challenges, Lameris et al. developed a CD1d-Vδ2 bsTCE to activate both type 1 NKT cells and Vγ9Vδ2-T cells against cancers expressing CD1d – a non-polymorphic MHC-I-like...
CD5 on DCs brings antitumor T cell responses to life
March 1, 2023
To induce effective antitumor T cell responses in response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) treatment, effective priming by dendritic cells (DCs) is essential. However, the characteristics of effective DC responses during ICB remain largely unclear. Having previously shown that migratory CD5+ DCs in the skin can prime CD4+ and CD8+ T cells more...
