Expansion of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) from penile cancer patients.

Penile cancer is a rare but highly lethal cancer, and therapeutic options for patients presenting with lymph nodal disease are very limited. Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) using tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) was shown to provide durable objective response in patients with metastatic melanoma and TIL have been expanded from solid tumors at rates between 70 and 90% depending on the specific diagnosis. We evaluated whether TIL could be expanded from surgical specimens of patients with penile cancer.

Systemic and intravesical adoptive cell therapy of tumor-reactive T cells can decrease bladder tumor growth in vivo.

Background: The therapeutic armamentarium of bladder cancer has been recently enriched with the introduction of new therapies including immune checkpoint inhibitors, receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors and antibody drug conjugates, however treatment responses and duration of responses are still less than expected. Adoptive cellular therapy (ACT) using tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) has potential to treat bladder cancer, as previously demonstrated by successful expansion of tumor reactive T cells from human bladder tumors.

Methods: A model system using OT-I T cells and an ovalbumin expressing MB49 tumor cell line (MB49OVA) was developed to study ACT in bladder cancer.

Anti-tumor efficacy of plasmid encoding emm55 in a murine melanoma model.

Emm55 is a bacterial gene derived from Streptococcus pyogenes (S. pyogenes) that was cloned into a plasmid DNA vaccine (pAc/emm55). In this study, we investigated the anti-tumor efficacy of pAc/emm55 in a B16 murine melanoma model.

Vitamin D enhances the response to cisplatin in bladder cancer through VDR and TAp73 signaling crosstalk.

Background: Vitamin D (VitD) deficiency is linked to increased incidence and worse survival in bladder cancer (BCa). In addition to cystectomy, patients are treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy, however 30%-50% of patients do not benefit from this treatment. The effects of VitD deficiency on response to chemotherapy remain unknown.

Accurate Quantification of Residual Cancer Cells in Pelvic Washing Reveals Association with Cancer Recurrence Following Robot-Assisted Radical Cystectomy.

Purpose: Bladder cancer recurrence following cystectomy remains a significant cause of bladder cancer specific mortality. Residual cancer cells contribute to cancer recurrence due to tumor spillage or undetectable preexisting micrometastatic tumor clones. We detected and quantified residual cancer cells in pelvic washing using ultradeep targeted sequencing.

Expansion of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) from bladder cancer.

Advanced bladder cancer patients have limited therapeutic options resulting in a median overall survival (OS) between 12 and 15 months. Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) using tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) has been used successfully in treating patients with metastatic melanoma, resulting in a median OS of 52 months. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of expanding TIL from the tumors of bladder cancer patients.

1,25D differentially suppresses bladder cancer cell migration and invasion through the induction of miR-101-3p.

Metastasis is the major cause of bladder cancer death. 1,25D, the active metabolite of vitamin D, has shown anti-metastasis activity in several cancer model systems. However, the role of 1,25D in migration and invasion in bladder cancer is unknown.