Publications by authors named "Jaimie L Barth"

Article Synopsis
  • Scientists are trying to understand how immune cells are organized in human tumors, especially in lung cancer.
  • They found special areas called 'immunity hubs' in tumors that help attract T cells and can improve responses to a type of treatment called PD-1 blockade.
  • One important type of hub they discovered is called the 'stem-immunity hub,' which has a mix of special immune cells that work together in a way that can help fight the cancer better when patients get immunotherapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

While the development of multiple primary tumors in smokers with lung cancer can be attributed to carcinogen-induced field cancerization, the occurrence of multiple primary tumors in individuals with -mutant lung cancer who lack known environmental exposures remains unexplained. We identified ten patients with early-stage, resectable non-small cell lung cancer who presented with multiple anatomically distinct -mutant tumors. We analyzed the phylogenetic relationships among multiple tumors from each patient using whole exome sequencing (WES) and hypermutable poly-guanine (poly-G) repeat genotyping, as orthogonal methods for lineage tracing.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aims: Small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) can be classified into transcription factor-based subtypes (ASCL1, NeuroD1, POU2F3). While in-vitro studies suggest intratumoral heterogeneity in the expression of these markers, how SCLC subtypes vary over time and among locations in patients remains unclear.

Methods And Results: We searched a consecutive series of patients at our institution in 2006-22 for those with greater than one available formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded SCLC sample in multiple sites and/or time-points.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The organization of immune cells in human tumors is not well understood. Immunogenic tumors harbor spatially-localized multicellular 'immunity hubs' defined by expression of the T cell-attracting chemokines and abundant T cells. Here, we examined immunity hubs in human pre-immunotherapy lung cancer specimens, and found that they were associated with beneficial responses to PD-1-blockade.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

There is a need to develop effective therapies for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA), a highly lethal malignancy with increasing incidence and poor prognosis. Although targeting tumour metabolism has been the focus of intense investigation for more than a decade, tumour metabolic plasticity and high risk of toxicity have limited this anticancer strategy. Here we use genetic and pharmacological approaches in human and mouse in vitro and in vivo models to show that PDA has a distinct dependence on de novo ornithine synthesis from glutamine.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a deadly cancer with limited treatment options, and current methods for understanding its molecular characteristics are inadequate.
  • Researchers used advanced techniques, including single-nucleus RNA sequencing and digital spatial profiling, to analyze 43 PDAC tumors, revealing key cellular subtypes and their interactions.
  • They identified new malignant cell programs linked to poor outcomes and established three distinct multicellular communities, providing insights that could improve patient stratification in clinical trials and guide targeted therapies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Lorlatinib is the leading treatment for ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer, but patients can develop various mutations that make the drug less effective.
  • After studying these mutations, researchers found that the most common ones were ALK G1202R and I1171N/S/T, which contribute to resistance against lorlatinib.
  • The team also discovered new lorlatinib analogs that are more effective against specific mutations, suggesting a need for personalized treatment plans based on the type of mutation found in patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The leading cause of death in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is severe pneumonia, with many patients developing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and diffuse alveolar damage (DAD). Whether DAD in fatal COVID-19 is distinct from other causes of DAD remains unknown. To compare lung parenchymal and vascular alterations between patients with fatal COVID-19 pneumonia and other DAD-causing etiologies using a multidimensional approach.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

With increasing attention on the essential roles of the tumour microenvironment in recent years, the nervous system has emerged as a novel and crucial facilitator of cancer growth. In this Review, we describe the foundational, translational, and clinical advances illustrating how nerves contribute to tumour proliferation, stress adaptation, immunomodulation, metastasis, electrical hyperactivity and seizures, and neuropathic pain. Collectively, this expanding knowledge base reveals multiple therapeutic avenues for cancer neuroscience that warrant further exploration in clinical studies.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF