摘要:
Blockade of immune checkpoints such as cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) and programmed death-1 (PD-1) shows promise in patients with cancer. Inhibitory antibodies directed at these receptors have been shown to break immune tolerance and promote anti-tumor immunity. These agents work particularly well in patients with a certain category of tumor. Such tumors may be particularly susceptible to treatment because of the multitude of neoantigens which they produce.
摘要:
A method to isolate nucleic acids from stool specimen which is used to detect mutations associated with gastrointestinal neoplasia. An exemplary result obtained is shown in the Figure. Reagents used to carry out the isolation of nucleic acids are also disclosed.
摘要:
Impressive responses have been observed in patients treated with checkpoint inhibitory anti-PD-1 or anti-CTLA-4 antibodies. However, immunotherapy against poorly immunogenic cancers remains a challenge. Treatment with both anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 antibodies were unable to eradicate large, modestly immunogenic CT26 tumors or metastatic 4T1 tumors. However, co-treatment with epigenetic modulating drugs and checkpoint inhibitors markedly improved treatment outcomes, curing more than 80% of them. Functional studies revealed that the primary targets of the epigenetic modulators were myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). A PI3K-inhibitor that reduced circulating MDSCs also cured 80% of mice with metastatic 4T1 tumors when combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Thus, cancers resistant to immune checkpoint blockade can be cured by eliminating MDSCs.
摘要:
The recently developed liquid-based Papanicolaou (Pap) smear allows not only cytologic evaluation but also collection of DNA for detection of HPV, the causative agent of cervical cancer. We tested these samples to detect somatic mutations present in rare tumor cells that might accumulate in the cervix once shed from endometrial and ovarian cancers. A panel of commonly mutated genes in endometrial and ovarian cancers was assembled and used to identify mutations in all 46 endometrial or cervical cancer tissue samples. We were able also able to identify the same mutations in the DNA from liquid Pap smears in 100% of endometrial cancers (24 of 24) and in 41% of ovarian cancers (9 of 22). We developed a sequence-based method to query mutations in 12 genes in a single liquid Pap smear without prior knowledge of the tumor's genotype.
摘要:
Massively parallel sequencing of cell-free, maternal plasma DNA was recently demonstrated to be a safe and effective screening method for fetal chromosomal aneuploidies. Here, we report an improved sequencing method achieving significantly increased throughput and decreased cost by replacing laborious sequencing library preparation steps with PCR employing a single primer pair. Using this approach, samples containing as little as 4% trisomy 21 DNA could be readily distinguished from euploid samples.
摘要:
Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases (PI3Ks) are known to be important regulators of signaling pathways. To determine whether PI3Ks are genetically altered in cancers, we analyzed the sequences of the P13K gene family and discovered that one family member, PIK3CA, is frequently mutated in cancers of the colon and other organs. The majority of mutations clustered near two positions within the P13K helical or kinase domains. PIK3CA represents one of the most highly mutated oncogenes yet identified in human cancers and is useful as a diagnostic and therapeutic target.