Immunotherapy
A type of cancer therapy that uses substances to stimulate or suppress the immune system to help the body fight cancer
SCLC molecular subtypes to predict targeted and immune therapy response
Dr. Gay and his team will test an immunotherapy-DNA damage response (DDR) inhibitor combination therapy in SCLC patients and validate a biomarker profile. Dr. Gay’s research aims to develop a new drug therapy combination and determine which patients are likely to benefit from it.
Development of markers to predict response to immunotherapy in NSCLC
Currently, three immune checkpoint inhibitors are approved by the FDA for the treatment of a subset of advanced-stage NSCLC. However, immunotherapy is a costly treatment regimen and comes with a unique side effect profile because of the inhibitors’ ability to cause inflammatory tissue damage. At present, the PD-L1 protein is used as a biomarker to predict which patients may respond to immunotherapy. Unfortunately, presence or absence of PD-L1 protein may not be an accurate predictor of response. Dr. Jeffrey Thompson is studying how we can develop more accurate biomarker signatures that may not only predict response to immunotherapy but may also determine which patients will develop treatment-related side effects. He will develop a novel blood-based liquid biopsy approach that will enable doctors to predict which patients will respond to immunotherapy drugs.
Immunometabolic T cell profiling as a prognostic liquid biopsy in NSCLC
Checkpoint inhibitors, a type of immunotherapy, are now available in the first-line and second-line settings for certain subsets of NSCLC patients. Furthermore, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved an immunotherapy-combination treatment regimen for the treatment of a subset of advanced-stage NSCLC patients. While we are making progress in combining and sequencing immunotherapy with other conventional treatments, it is still unclear which patients will respond to these combinations. Dr. Kellie Smith’s laboratory is studying immune cells in blood samples from patients who have received the recently approved combination therapy. She postulates that immune cells from patients receiving the combination behave very differently from immune cells from patients who have received single-agent immunotherapy. Dr. Smith’s team will identify and exploit these differences to develop a blood test that will help predict which patients may benefit from combination therapies, thereby sparing patients the exposure to ineffective treatments.
Targeting the Complement Pathway in ALK Positive Lung Cancer
Overcoming Innate Immune Resistance in ALK-Rearranged Lung Cancer
Characterization of Anti-ALK Immunologic Responses in ALK-Positive NSCLC
Intercept Lung Cancer Through Immune, Imaging & Molecular Evaluation-InTIME
The SU2C-LUNGevity Foundation-American Lung Association Lung Cancer Interception Dream Team, led by LUNGevity SAB member Dr. Avrum Spira, is developing a combination of diagnostic tools, such as non-invasive nasal swabs, blood tests, and radiological imaging, to confirm whether lung abnormalities found on chest imaging are benign lung disease or lung cancer.
Dynamics of neoantigen landscape during immunotherapy in lung cancer
The lung cancer treatment landscape is rapidly evolving with the advent of immunotherapy. Checkpoint inhibitors, a class of immune-targeted agents, are now available in both the first-line and second-line settings for certain subsets of lung cancer patients. However, the fraction of patients achieving a durable response remains low and, even among patients who respond, the majority develop resistance. Dr. Valsamo Anagnostou is using a comprehensive approach employing genome-wide and functional immune analyses to identify mechanisms of resistance to immune checkpoint blockade. In addition, she is developing a blood-based molecular assay utilizing serial blood samples of lung cancer patients to more accurately predict response and resistance to these therapies.
Identification of predictive markers of toxicity to immunotherapy
Side effects associated with immunotherapy (immune-related adverse events or irAEs) with checkpoint inhibitors are different from those seen in other treatment approaches, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and targeted therapies. Their onset is unpredictable, so irAEs require different side-effect management strategies. Dr. Altan is studying how we can predict which patients will develop irAEs so that the best therapy can be selected and symptom management can be proactive.