Transcriptomic analysis and mutational status of IDH1 in paired primary-recurrent intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Effective target therapies for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) have not been identified so far. One of the reasons may be the genetic evolution from primary (PR) to recurrent (REC) tumors. We aim to identify peculiar characteristics and to select potential targets specific for recurrent tumors. Eighteen ICC paired PR and REC tumors were collected from 5 Italian Centers. Eleven pairs were analyzed for gene expression profiling and 16 for mutational status of IDH1. For one pair, deep mutational analysis by Next Generation Sequencing was also carried out. An independent cohort of patients was used for validation. RESULTS: Two class-paired comparison yielded 315 differentially expressed genes between REC and PR tumors. Up-regulated genes in RECs are involved in RNA/DNA processing, cell cycle, epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), resistance to apoptosis, and cytoskeleton remodeling. Down-regulated genes participate to epithelial cell differentiation, proteolysis, apoptotic, immune response, and inflammatory processes. A 24 gene signature is able to discriminate RECs from PRs in an independent cohort; FANCG is statistically associated with survival in the chol-TCGA dataset. IDH1 was mutated in the RECs of five patients; 4 of them displayed the mutation only in RECs. Deep sequencing performed in one patient confirmed the IDH1 mutation in REC. CONCLUSIONS: RECs are enriched for genes involved in EMT, resistance to apoptosis, and cytoskeleton remodeling. Key players of these pathways might be considered druggable targets in RECs. IDH1 is mutated in 30% of RECs, becoming both a marker of progression and a target for therapy.

CD44v6 as innovative sarcoma target for CAR-redirected CIK cells.

Purpose of our study was to explore a new immunotherapy for high grade soft tissue sarcomas (STS) based on cytokine-induced killer cells (CIK) redirected with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) against the tumor-promoting antigen CD44v6. We aimed at generating bipotential killers, combining the CAR specificity with the intrinsic tumor-killing ability of CIK cells (CAR+.CIK). We set a patient-derived experimental platform. CAR+.CIK were generated by transduction of CIK precursors with a lentiviral vector encoding for anti-CD44v6-CAR. CAR+.CIK were characterized and assessed in vitro against multiple histotypes of patient-derived STS. The anti-sarcoma activity of CAR+.CIK was confirmed in a STS xenograft model. CD44v6 was expressed by 40% (11/27) of patient-derived STS. CAR+.CIK were efficiently expanded from patients (n = 12) and killed multiple histotypes of STS (including autologous targets, n = 4). The killing activity was significantly higher compared with unmodified CIK, especially at low effector/target (E/T) ratios: 98% vs 82% (E/T = 10:1) and 68% vs 26% (1:4), (p<0.0001). Specificity of tumor killing was confirmed by blocking with anti-CD44v6 antibody. CAR+.CIK produced higher amounts of IL6 and IFN-γ compared to control CIK. CAR+.CIK were highly active in mice bearing subcutaneous STS xenografts, with significant delay of tumor growth (p<0.0001) without toxicities. We report first evidence of CAR+.CIK's activity against high grade STS and propose CD44v6 as an innovative target in this setting. CIK are a valuable platform for the translation of CAR-based strategies to challenging field of solid tumors. Our findings support the exploration of CAR+.CIK in clinical trials against high grade STS.

Cabozantinib Affects Osteosarcoma Growth Through A Direct Effect On Tumor Cells and Modifications In Bone Microenvironment.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignant tumor of the bone. Due to its high heterogeneity and to survival signals from bone microenvironment, OS can resist to standard treatments, therefore novel therapies are needed. c-MET oncogene, a tyrosine-kinase receptor, plays a crucial role in OS initiation and progression. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of c-MET inhibitor cabozantinib (CBZ) on OS both directly and through its action on bone microenvironment. We tested different doses of CBZ in in vitro models of OS alone or in co-culture with bone cells in order to reproduce OS-tumor microenvironment interactions. CBZ is able to decrease proliferation and migration of OS cells, inhibiting ERK and AKT signaling pathways. Furthermore, CBZ leads to the inhibition of the proliferation of OS cells expressing receptor activator of nuclear factor κB (RANK), due to its effect on bone microenvironment, where it causes an overproduction of osteoprotegerin and a decrease of production of RANK ligand by osteoblasts. Overall, our data demonstrate that CBZ might represent a new potential treatment against OS, affecting both OS cells and their microenvironment. In this scenario, RANK expression in OS cells could represent a predictive factor of better response to CBZ treatment.

A phase II trial of sorafenib in relapsed and unresectable high-grade osteosarcoma after failure of standard multimodal therapy: an Italian Sarcoma Group study.

PURPOSE: After standard multimodal therapy, the prognosis of relapsed and unresectable high-grade osteosarcoma is dismal and unchanged over the last decades. Recently, mitogen-activated protein kinases were shown to be activated in osteosarcoma specimens, suggesting, therefore, they are suitable targets for the multikinase inhibitor sorafenib. Thus, we explored sorafenib activity in patients with relapsed and unresectable osteosarcoma. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Patients > 14 years, progressing after standard treatment, were eligible to receive 400 mg of sorafenib twice daily until progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS) at 4 months. Secondary objectives were PFS, overall survival (OS), clinical benefit rate (CBR), defined as no progression at 6 months and safety. This nonrandomized phase II study used a Simon two-stage design. PFS and OS at 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. All tests were two sided. RESULTS: Thirty-five patients were enrolled. PFS at 4 months was 46% (95% CI 28% to 63%). Median PFS and OS were 4 (95% CI 2-5) and 7 (95% CI 7-8) months, respectively. The CBR was 29% (95% CI 13% to 44%). We observed 3 (8%) partial responses (PRs), 2 (6%) minor responses (< 30% tumor shrinkage) and 12 (34%) stable diseases (SDs). For six patients (17%), PR/SD lasted ≥ 6 months. Noteworthy, tumor density reduction and [(18)F]2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose-positron emission tomography responses were observed among SD patients. Sorafenib was reduced or briefly interrupted in 16 (46%) patients and permanently discontinued in one (3%) case due to toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: Sorafenib demonstrated activity as a second- or third-line treatment in terms of PFS at 4 months with some unprecedented long-lasting responses. Sorafenib, the first targeted therapy showing activity in osteosarcoma patients, deserves further investigations.