Publications by authors named "Peter Schirmacher"

Background And Aims: RORc-expressing immune cells play important roles in inflammation, autoimmune disease and cancer. They are required for lymphoid organogenesis and have been implicated in tertiary lymphoid structure (TLS) formation. TLSs are formed in many cancer types and have been correlated with better prognosis and response to immunotherapy.

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Clinical trials in oncology are important tools to identify and establish new effective drugs for cancer treatment. Since the development of the concept of precision oncology, a huge number of multi-centric biomarker-driven clinical trials have been performed and promoted by either academic institutions or pharmaceutical companies. In this scenario, the role of pathologists is essential in multiple aspects, with new challenges that should be addressed.

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The adoption of comprehensive genomic profiling in oncology has rapidly increased the demand for standardized tumor sample processing in diagnostic laboratories. Automation of DNA and RNA library preparation workflows offers the possibility to scale-up and standardize sample processing. We report on the clinical implementation of the automated TruSight Oncology 500 High-Throughput library preparation workflow from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor samples using the Biomek i7 hybrid Workstation.

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Institutes for pathology act as operators, users and in-house manufacturers of in vitro diagnostic medical devices and are subject to national and European regulations depending on their function. The entry into force of the EU regulation on medical devices (Regulation (EU) 2017/745, MDR) and the EU regulation on in vitro diagnostic medical devices (Regulation (EU) 2017/746, IVDR) resulted in a need for regulatory adjustments to German medical device law. This has created a new legal framework in which institutes for pathology operate, depending on their function as users, operators or in-house manufacturers of in vitro diagnostic medical devices.

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Since CRISPR/Cas systems can be easily used to establish new genetically engineered mouse models, application of these models in the translational research field to explore predictive and therapeutic approaches for human diseases is rising.Integrative centers for experimental animal pathology, such as the CMCP in Heidelberg and the CEP in Munich, link the veterinary and human pathology discipline and contribute substantially to meaningful study results by combining the technical, research, and diagnostic expertise for phenotyping, evaluating, and interpretating complex animal models in the context of human pathology. They provide high-quality tissue processing in a broad spectrum of standard and specialized tissue-based technologies.

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Gallbladder cancer (GBC) presents as an aggressive malignancy with poor patient outcome. Like other epithelial cancers, the mechanisms of GBC cancer progression remain vague and efforts in finding targeted therapies fall below expectations. This study combined proteomic analysis of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) GBC samples, functional and molecular characterization of potential oncogenes and identification of potential therapeutic strategies for GBC.

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Background: The determinants of the response to checkpoint immunotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain poorly understood. The organisation of the immune response in the tumour microenvironment (TME) is expected to govern immunotherapy outcomes but spatial immunotypes remain poorly defined.

Objective: We hypothesised that the deconvolution of spatial immune network architectures could identify clinically relevant immunotypes in HCC.

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Alterations within the tryptophan-kynurenine metabolic pathway have been linked to the etiology of colorectal cancer (CRC), but the relevance of this pathway for prognostic outcomes in CRC patients needs further elucidation. Therefore, we investigated associations between circulating concentrations of tryptophan-kynurenine pathway metabolites and all-cause mortality among CRC patients. This study utilizes data from 2102 stage I-III CRC patients participating in six prospective cohorts involved in the international FOCUS Consortium.

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Background: Combined Immuno-chemotherapy consisting of gemcitabine, cisplatin and the programmed death-ligand one inhibitor durvalumab (GCD) is the new standard of care for patients with biliary tract cancers (BTC) based on positive results of the TOPAZ-1 study.

Objective: We here evaluated the efficacy and safety of GCD for BTC in a German multicenter real-world patient cohort.

Methods: Patients with BTC treated with GCD from 9 German centers were included.

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Article Synopsis
  • Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) is a powerful tool in cancer diagnostics that allows for comprehensive analysis of genes, improving the detection of complex biomarkers compared to traditional panel-based methods.
  • A study analyzing tissue specimens across 21 NGS centers showed that, although there was a 76% agreement in somatic variant calling, refining filtering criteria improved this to 88%, highlighting the importance of filter settings in variant detection.
  • The reliability of detecting specific genomic changes (like CNAs and complex biomarkers) varied among labs, emphasizing the need for improved bioinformatics processes and collaborative testing to minimize discrepancies in future analyses.
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Introduction: Molecular profiling of lung cancer is essential to identify genetic alterations that predict response to targeted therapy. While deep learning shows promise for predicting oncogenic mutations from whole tissue images, existing studies often face challenges such as limited sample sizes, a focus on earlier stage patients, and insufficient analysis of robustness and generalizability.

Methods: This retrospective study evaluates factors influencing mutation prediction accuracy using the large Heidelberg Lung Adenocarcinoma Cohort (HLCC), a cohort of 2356 late-stage FFPE samples.

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Purpose: Superior sulcus tumors are frequently treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy (nCRT) followed by surgery via a trimodal approach. The INKA study evaluated the replacement of photon irradiation by carbon ion radiation therapy (C12-RT) in this regimen.

Methods And Materials: The prospective INKA study included patients with locally advanced non-small cell superior sulcus tumors ( View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tumour mutational burden (TMB), defined as the total number of somatic non-synonymous mutations present within the cancer genome, varies across and within cancer types. A first wave of retrospective and prospective research identified TMB as a predictive biomarker of response to immune-checkpoint inhibitors and culminated in the disease-agnostic approval of pembrolizumab for patients with TMB-high tumours based on data from the Keynote-158 trial. Although the applicability of outcomes from this trial to all cancer types and the optimal thresholds for TMB are yet to be ascertained, research into TMB is advancing along three principal avenues: enhancement of TMB assessments through rigorous quality control measures within the laboratory process, including the mitigation of confounding factors such as limited panel scope and low tumour purity; refinement of the traditional TMB framework through the incorporation of innovative concepts such as clonal, persistent or HLA-corrected TMB, tumour neoantigen load and mutational signatures; and integration of TMB with established and emerging biomarkers such as PD-L1 expression, microsatellite instability, immune gene expression profiles and the tumour immune contexture.

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The Hippo pathway transducers yes-associated protein (YAP) and WW-domain containing transcription regulator 1 (WWTR1/TAZ) are key regulators of liver tumorigenesis, promoting tumor formation and progression. Although the first inhibitors are in clinical trials, targeting the relevant upstream regulators of YAP/TAZ activity could prove equally beneficial. To identify regulators of YAP/TAZ activity in hepatocarcinoma (HCC) cells, we carried out a proximity labelling approach (BioID) coupled with mass spectrometry.

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Article Synopsis
  • People with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are at a significant risk of developing biliary tract cancer (BTC), and this study used whole-exome sequencing to analyze the genetic changes in BTC associated with PSC.
  • The researchers identified 53 candidate cancer genes, including some that had not been previously linked to BTC, while also recognizing genes known to be involved in other cancers.
  • Their findings reveal specific and common genetic alterations that could improve understanding of BTC development in PSC, paving the way for personalized treatment strategies.
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Background: The accuracy of blood-based early tumour recognition is compromised by signal production at non-tumoral sites, low amount of signal produced by small tumours, and variable tumour production. Here we examined whether tumour-specific enhancement of vascular permeability by the particular tumour homing peptide, iRGD, which carries dual function of binding to integrin receptors overexpressed in the tumour vasculature and is known to promote extravasation via neuropilin-1 receptor upon site-specific cleavage, might be useful to improve blood-based tumour detection by inducing a yet unrecognised vice versa tumour-to-blood transport.

Methods: To detect an iRGD-induced tumour-to-blood transport, we examined the effect of intravenously injected iRGD on blood levels of α-fetoprotein (AFP) and autotaxin in several mouse models of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or in mice with chronic liver injury without HCC, and on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in mice with prostate cancer.

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Histological subtyping of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is challenging in the presence of histological heterogeneity, where distinctly different morphological patterns are present within the same tumor. Current approaches rely on percent cut-offs. We hypothesized that morphologic intratumor heterogeneity is a non-random biological feature and that incorporating recurrent patterns would improve histological subtyping of HCC.

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Background: Predictive biomarkers in use for immunotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer are of limited sensitivity and specificity. We analysed the potential of activating KRAS and pathogenic TP53 mutations to provide additional predictive information.

Methods: The study cohort included 713 consecutive immunotherapy patients with advanced lung adenocarcinomas, negative for actionable genetic alterations.

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Article Synopsis
  • Liver biopsies have been crucial in understanding the causes and development of acute liver diseases, although their role has evolved with new diagnostic methods.
  • While they are not mandatory in clinical guidelines for acute liver failure (ALF) and acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), many medical centers continue to perform them because they are relatively safe and provide important prognostic information.
  • The increasing use of liver biopsies for diagnosing less severe acute liver injuries has led to a shift in the types of specimens analyzed, emphasizing the need for histopathologists to be prepared for these complex cases.
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Aims: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) is a diagnosis of exclusion that can pose a challenge to the pathologist despite thorough clinical workup. Although several immunohistochemical markers have been proposed for iCCA, none of them reached clinical practice. We here assessed the combined usage of two promising diagnostic approaches, albumin in situ hybridisation (Alb-ISH) and C reactive protein (CRP) immunohistochemistry, for distinguishing iCCA from other adenocarcinoma primaries.

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Article Synopsis
  • Stereotactic carbon ion radiotherapy (CIRT) is a promising treatment for inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), showing better results in sparing surrounding healthy liver tissue compared to traditional methods.
  • A study involving 20 patients revealed no severe side effects from CIRT, achieving an 80% objective response rate and a median overall survival of 30.8 months, with consistent follow-up results indicating effective disease management.
  • The findings suggest that CIRT is a safe and efficient option for HCC treatment, especially in older patients with liver cirrhosis, without significant increase in liver dysfunction post-therapy.
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Background & Aims: High expression of phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase III alpha (PI4KIIIα) correlates with poor survival rates in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. In addition, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections activate PI4KIIIα and contribute to hepatocellular carcinoma progression. We aimed at mechanistically understanding the impact of PI4KIIIα on the progression of liver cancer and the potential contribution of HCV in this process.

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Targeted tumor only sequencing has become a standard practice in cancer diagnostics. This study aims to develop an approach for robust copy number variant calling in tumor samples using only off-target region (OTR) reads. We also established a clinical use case for homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) score estimation (HRDest) using the sum of telomeric-allelic imbalance and large-scale state transition scores without the need for loss of heterozygosity information.

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Article Synopsis
  • PARP inhibitors have shown effectiveness in treating ovarian cancer, particularly benefiting patients with homologous recombination deficiency (HRD), and various assays can be used to assess these biomarkers.
  • The study compares the performance of multiple molecular assays for genomic instability (GI) against the standard Myriad myChoice assay using DNA from high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) samples.
  • Results indicate high concordance between different assays for assessing GI, supporting their use in clinical settings for HRD evaluation, which aligns with European Medicines Agency guidelines for PARP inhibitor treatment.
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