bims-mesote Biomed News
on Mesothelioma
Issue of 2023‒07‒30
three papers selected by
Laura Mannarino
Humanitas Research
  1. Expression of TILs and Patterns of Gene Expression from Paired Samples of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) Patients.
  2. Pleural Mesothelioma in the Era of Immunotherapy.
  3. Omics Overview of the SPARC Gene in Mesothelioma.
  1. Cancers (Basel). 2023 Jul 14. pii: 3611. [Epub ahead of print]15(14):
    Expression of TILs and Patterns of Gene Expression from Paired Samples of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) Patients.
    Susana Cedres, Garazi Serna, Alberto Gonzalez-Medina, Augusto Valdivia, Juan David Assaf-Pastrana, Patricia Iranzo, Ana Callejo, Nuria Pardo, Alejandro Navarro, Alex Martinez-Marti, Ilaria Priano, Roberta Fasani, Xavier Guardia, Javier Gonzalo, Caterina Carbonell, Joan Frigola, Ramon Amat, Victor Navarro, Rodrigo Dienstmann, Ana Vivancos, Paolo Nuciforo, Enriqueta Felip.
      MPM is an aggressive disease with an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, and interest in exploring immunotherapy in this disease has been increasing. In the first line of treatment, the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab demonstrated an improvement in survival over chemotherapy. The presence of TILs has been recognized as a marker of antitumor immune response to chemotherapy in solid tumors. The aim of our study is to identify the effect of treatment on immune cells and the immune gene profile in MPM. We investigated the changes in expression of TILs in 10 human MPM paired tumor tissues using immunohistochemistry and gene expression analysis from paired untreated and treated samples. In this small series, we demonstrated that during the evolution of disease without any treatment there was an increase in the inflammatory component in tumor samples. After systemic treatment there was a decrease in the number of TILs. We observed that after systemic treatment or disease progression immune gene signatures were suppressed. Our integrated analysis of paired samples with immune profile and genomic changes on MPM suggested that during the evolution of the disease the immune system tends to switch, turning off with treatment.
    Keywords:  TIL; gene expression; immunotherapy; malignant pleural mesothelioma
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15143611
  2. Clin Med Insights Oncol. 2023 ;17 11795549231178173
    Pleural Mesothelioma in the Era of Immunotherapy.
    Mathieu Chevallier, Floryane Kim, Alex Friedlaender, Alfredo Addeo.
      Over the course of the last decade, immunotherapy has revolutionised the management of a great number of cancer types. The treatment of pleural mesothelioma, a rare and highly aggressive cancer, is also being transformed by immunotherapy. The recent combination of ipilimumab and nivolumab improved overall survival compared with platinum-based chemotherapy, irrespective of the histology, establishing immunotherapy as a front-line standard of care in advanced pleural mesothelioma. Yet, most patients do not derive long-term benefit from any of the available therapies, and we note a significant lack of predictive and prognostic biomarkers. After progressing on first-line therapy, patients have limited therapeutic options, and data are scarce about optimal sequencing. In this perspective, we discuss the current management of pleural mesothelioma, defining what we consider to be the therapeutic sequence based on performance status and tumour histology. We also highlight promising ongoing trials that could further shape the management of this rare disease.
    Keywords:  Mesothelioma; chemotherapy; immunotherapy; palliative treatment; trials
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1177/11795549231178173
  3. Biomolecules. 2023 Jul 11. pii: 1103. [Epub ahead of print]13(7):
    Omics Overview of the SPARC Gene in Mesothelioma.
    Licun Wu, Marc de Perrot.
      The SPARC gene plays multiple roles in extracellular matrix synthesis and cell shaping, associated with tumor cell migration, invasion, and metastasis. The SPARC gene is also involved in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process, which is a critical phenomenon leading to a more aggressive cancer cell phenotype. SPARC gene overexpression has shown to be associated with poor survival in the mesothelioma (MESO) cohort from the TCGA database, indicating that this gene may be a powerful prognostic factor in MESO. Its overexpression is correlated with the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Here, we summarize the omics advances of the SPARC gene, including the summary of SPARC gene expression associated with prognosis in pancancer and MESO, the immunosuppressive microenvironment, and cancer cell stemness. In addition, SPARC might be targeted by microRNAs. Notably, despite the controversial functions on angiogenesis, SPARC may directly or indirectly contribute to tumor angiogenesis in MESO. In conclusion, SPARC is involved in tumor invasion, metastasis, immunosuppression, cancer cell stemness, and tumor angiogenesis, eventually impacting patient survival. Strategies targeting this gene may provide novel therapeutic approaches to the treatment of MESO.
    Keywords:  SPARC; epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT); mesothelioma (MESO); omics
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/biom13071103
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