Ex Vivo Profiling of PD-1 Blockade Using Organotypic Tumor Spheroids.

Ex vivo systems that incorporate features of the tumor microenvironment and model the dynamic response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) may facilitate efforts in precision immuno-oncology and the development of effective combination therapies. Here, we demonstrate the ability to interrogate ex vivo response to ICB using murine- and patient-derived organotypic tumor spheroids (MDOTS/PDOTS). MDOTS/PDOTS isolated from mouse and human tumors retain autologous lymphoid and myeloid cell populations and respond to ICB in short-term three-dimensional microfluidic culture. Response and resistance to ICB was recapitulated using MDOTS derived from established immunocompetent mouse tumor models. MDOTS profiling demonstrated that TBK1/IKKε inhibition enhanced response to PD-1 blockade, which effectively predicted tumor response in vivo Systematic profiling of secreted cytokines in PDOTS captured key features associated with response and resistance to PD-1 blockade. Thus, MDOTS/PDOTS profiling represents a novel platform to evaluate ICB using established murine models as well as clinically relevant patient specimens.Significance: Resistance to PD-1 blockade remains a challenge for many patients, and biomarkers to guide treatment are lacking. Here, we demonstrate feasibility of ex vivo profiling of PD-1 blockade to interrogate the tumor immune microenvironment, develop therapeutic combinations, and facilitate precision immuno-oncology efforts. Cancer Discov; 8(2); 196-215. ©2017 AACR.See related commentary by Balko and Sosman, p. 143See related article by Deng et al., p. 216This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 127.

Fine needle aspirate flow cytometric phenotyping characterizes immunosuppressive nature of the mesothelioma microenvironment.

With the emergence of checkpoint blockade and other immunotherapeutic drugs, and the growing adoption of smaller, more flexible adaptive clinical trial designs, there is an unmet need to develop diagnostics that can rapidly immunophenotype patient tumors. The ability to longitudinally profile the tumor immune infiltrate in response to immunotherapy also presents a window of opportunity to illuminate mechanisms of resistance. We have developed a fine needle aspirate biopsy (FNA) platform to perform immune profiling on thoracic malignancies. Matching peripheral blood, bulk resected tumor, and FNA were analyzed from 13 mesothelioma patients. FNA samples yielded greater numbers of viable cells when compared to core needle biopsies. Cell numbers were adequate to perform flow cytometric analyses on T cell lineage, T cell activation and inhibitory receptor expression, and myeloid immunosuppressive checkpoint markers. FNA samples were representative of the tumor as a whole as assessed by head-to-head comparison to single cell suspensions of dissociated whole tumor. Parallel analysis of matched patient blood enabled us to establish quality assurance criteria to determine the accuracy of FNA procedures to sample tumor tissue. FNA biopsies provide a diagnostic to rapidly phenotype the tumor immune microenvironment that may be of great relevance to clinical trials.

Multiparametric profiling of non-small-cell lung cancers reveals distinct immunophenotypes.

BACKGROUND. Immune checkpoint blockade improves survival in a subset of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but robust biomarkers that predict response to PD-1 pathway inhibitors are lacking. Furthermore, our understanding of the diversity of the NSCLC tumor immune microenvironment remains limited. METHODS. We performed comprehensive flow cytometric immunoprofiling on both tumor and immune cells from 51 NSCLCs and integrated this analysis with clinical and histopathologic characteristics, next-generation sequencing, mRNA expression, and PD-L1 immunohistochemistry (IHC). RESULTS. Cytometric profiling identified an immunologically "hot" cluster with abundant CD8+ T cells expressing high levels of PD-1 and TIM-3 and an immunologically "cold" cluster with lower relative abundance of CD8+ T cells and expression of inhibitory markers. The "hot" cluster was highly enriched for expression of genes associated with T cell trafficking and cytotoxic function and high PD-L1 expression by IHC. There was no correlation between immunophenotype and KRAS or EGFR mutation, or patient smoking history, but we did observe an enrichment of squamous subtype and tumors with higher mutation burden in the "hot" cluster. Additionally, approximately 20% of cases had high B cell infiltrates with a subset producing IL-10. CONCLUSIONS. Our results support the use of immune-based metrics to study response and resistance to immunotherapy in lung cancer. FUNDING. The Robert A. and Renée E. Belfer Family Foundation, Expect Miracles Foundation, Starr Cancer Consortium, Stand Up to Cancer Foundation, Conquer Cancer Foundation, International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, National Cancer Institute (R01 CA205150), and the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.

Cytotoxic T Cells in PD-L1-Positive Malignant Pleural Mesotheliomas Are Counterbalanced by Distinct Immunosuppressive Factors.

PD-L1 immunohistochemical staining does not always predict whether a cancer will respond to treatment with PD-1 inhibitors. We sought to characterize immune cell infiltrates and the expression of T-cell inhibitor markers in PD-L1-positive and PD-L1-negative malignant pleural mesothelioma samples. We developed a method for immune cell phenotyping using flow cytometry on solid tumors that have been dissociated into single-cell suspensions and applied this technique to analyze 43 resected malignant pleural mesothelioma specimens. Compared with PD-L1-negative tumors, PD-L1-positive tumors had significantly more infiltrating CD45+ immune cells, a significantly higher proportion of infiltrating CD3+ T cells, and a significantly higher percentage of CD3+ cells displaying the activated HLA-DR+/CD38+ phenotype. PD-L1-positive tumors also had a significantly higher proportion of proliferating CD8+ T cells, a higher fraction of FOXP3+/CD4+ Tregs, and increased expression of PD-1 and TIM-3 on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Double-positive PD-1+/TIM-3+ CD8+ T cells were more commonly found on PD-L1-positive tumors. Compared with epithelioid tumors, sarcomatoid and biphasic mesothelioma samples were significantly more likely to be PD-L1 positive and showed more infiltration with CD3+ T cells and PD-1+/TIM-3+ CD8+ T cells. Immunologic phenotypes in mesothelioma differ based on PD-L1 status and histologic subtype. Successful incorporation of comprehensive immune profiling by flow cytometry into prospective clinical trials could refine our ability to predict which patients will respond to specific immune checkpoint blockade strategies. Cancer Immunol Res; 4(12); 1038-48. ©2016 AACR.