A Mesoporous Gold Sensor Unveils Phospho PD-L1 in Extracellular Vesicles as a Proxy for PD-L1 Expression in Lung Cancer Tissue.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) targeting programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1), or its receptor, PD-1 have improved survival in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Assessment of PD-L1 expression requires tissue biopsy or fine needle aspiration that are currently used to identify patients most likely to respond to single agent anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. However, obtaining sufficient tissue to generate a PD-L1 tissue proportion score (TPS) ≥ 50% using immunohistochemistry remains a challenge that potentially may be overcome by liquid biopsies.

Liquid Biopsy Snapshots of Key Phosphoproteomic Pathways in Lung Cancer Patients for Diagnosis and Therapy Monitoring.

Phosphorylation is a post-translational modification in proteins that changes protein conformation and activity for regulating signal transduction pathways. This mechanism is frequently impaired in lung cancer, resulting in permanently active constitutive phosphorylation to initiate tumor growth and/or reactivate pathways in response to therapy. We developed a multiplexed phosphoprotein analyzer chip (MPAC) that enables rapid (detection time: 5 min) and sensitive (LOD: 2 pg/μL) detection of protein phosphorylation and presents phosphoproteomic profiling of major phosphorylation pathways in lung cancer.

Harnessing gene fusion-derived neoantigens for 'cold' breast and prostate tumor immunotherapy.

Breast and prostate cancers are generally considered immunologically 'cold' tumors due to multiple mechanisms rendering them unresponsive to immune checkpoint blockade therapies. With little success in garnering positive outcomes in modern immunotherapeutic clinical trials, it is prudent to re-examine the role of immunogenic neoantigens in these cold tumors. Gene fusions are driver mutations in hormone-driven cancers that can result in alternative mutation-specific neoantigens to promote immunotherapy sensitivity.

Combination of Anti-Angiogenics and Checkpoint Inhibitors for Renal Cell Carcinoma: Is the Whole Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts?

Anti-angiogenic agents, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors and anti-VEGF antibodies, and immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) are standard treatments for advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC). In the past, these agents were administered as sequential monotherapies. Recently, combinations of anti-angiogenic agents and CPIs have been approved for the treatment of aRCC, based on evidence that they provide superior efficacy when compared with sunitinib monotherapy.

A digital single-molecule nanopillar SERS platform for predicting and monitoring immune toxicities in immunotherapy.

The introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors has demonstrated significant improvements in survival for subsets of cancer patients. However, they carry significant and sometimes life-threatening toxicities. Prompt prediction and monitoring of immune toxicities have the potential to maximise the benefits of immune checkpoint therapy.