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Melanoma brain metastasis (MBM) frequently occurs in patients with advanced melanoma; yet, our understanding of the underlying salient biology is rudimentary. Here, we performed single-cell/nucleus RNA-seq in 22 treatment-naive MBMs and 10 extracranial melanoma metastases (ECMs) and matched spatial single-cell transcriptomics and T cell receptor (TCR)-seq. Cancer cells from MBM were more chromosomally unstable, adopted a neuronal-like cell state, and enriched for spatially variably expressed metabolic pathways. Key observations were validated in independent patient cohorts, patient-derived MBM/ECM xenograft models, RNA/ATAC-seq, proteomics, and multiplexed imaging. Integrated spatial analyses revealed distinct geography of putative cancer immune evasion and evidence for more abundant intra-tumoral B to plasma cell differentiation in lymphoid aggregates in MBM. MBM harbored larger fractions of monocyte-derived macrophages and dysfunctional TOX+CD8+ T cells with distinct expression of immune checkpoints. This work provides comprehensive insights into MBM biology and serves as a foundational resource for further discovery and therapeutic exploration.

Only a subset of recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM) responds to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. Previously, we reported enrichment of BRAF/PTPN11 mutations in 30% of rGBM that responded to PD-1 blockade. Given that BRAF and PTPN11 promote MAPK/ERK signaling, we investigated whether activation of this pathway is associated with response to PD-1 inhibitors in rGBM, including patients that do not harbor BRAF/PTPN11 mutations. Here we show that immunohistochemistry for ERK1/2 phosphorylation (p-ERK), a marker of MAPK/ERK pathway activation, is predictive of overall survival following adjuvant PD-1 blockade in two independent rGBM patient cohorts. Single-cell RNA-sequencing and multiplex immunofluorescence analyses revealed that p-ERK was mainly localized in tumor cells and that high-p-ERK GBMs contained tumor-infiltrating myeloid cells and microglia with elevated expression of MHC class II and associated genes. These findings indicate that ERK1/2 activation in rGBM is predictive of response to PD-1 blockade and is associated with a distinct myeloid cell phenotype.

Intraoperative diagnosis is essential for providing safe and effective care during cancer surgery1. The existing workflow for intraoperative diagnosis based on hematoxylin and eosin staining of processed tissue is time, resource and labor intensive2,3. Moreover, interpretation of intraoperative histologic images is dependent on a contracting, unevenly distributed, pathology workforce4. In the present study, we report a parallel workflow that combines stimulated Raman histology (SRH)5-7, a label-free optical imaging method and deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to predict diagnosis at the bedside in near real-time in an automated fashion. Specifically, our CNNs, trained on over 2.5 million SRH images, predict brain tumor diagnosis in the operating room in under 150 s, an order of magnitude faster than conventional techniques (for example, 20-30 min)2. In a multicenter, prospective clinical trial (n = 278), we demonstrated that CNN-based diagnosis of SRH images was noninferior to pathologist-based interpretation of conventional histologic images (overall accuracy, 94.6% versus 93.9%). Our CNNs learned a hierarchy of recognizable histologic feature representations to classify the major histopathologic classes of brain tumors. In addition, we implemented a semantic segmentation method to identify tumor-infiltrated diagnostic regions within SRH images. These results demonstrate how intraoperative cancer diagnosis can be streamlined, creating a complementary pathway for tissue diagnosis that is independent of a traditional pathology laboratory.

BackgroundCFI-400945 is a first-in-class oral inhibitor of polo-like kinase 4 (PLK4) that regulates centriole duplication. Primary objectives of this first-in-human phase 1 trial were to establish the safety and tolerability of CFI-400945 in patients with advanced solid tumours. Secondary objectives included pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, efficacy, and recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D).MethodsContinuous daily oral dosing of CFI-400945 was evaluated using a 3+3 design guided by incidence of dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) in the first 28-day cycle. Safety was assessed by CTCAE v4.0. ORR and CBR were evaluated using RECIST v1.1.ResultsForty-three patients were treated in dose escalation from 3 to 96 mg/day, and 9 were treated in 64 mg dose expansion. After DLT occurred at 96 and 72 mg, 64 mg was established as the RP2D. Neutropenia was a common high-grade (19%) treatment-related adverse event at ≥ 64 mg. Half-life of CFI-400945 was 9 h, with Cmax achieved 2-4 h following dosing. One PR (45 cycles, ongoing) and two SD ≥ 6 months were observed (ORR = 2%; CBR = 6%).ConclusionsCFI-400945 is well tolerated at 64 mg with dose-dependent neutropenia. Favourable pharmacokinetic profiles were achieved with daily dosing. Response rates were low without biomarker pre-selection. Disease-specific and combination studies are ongoing.Trial registrationClinical Trials Registration Number - NCT01954316 (Oct 1st, 2013).

A diverse antibody repertoire is essential for humoral immunity. Antibody diversification requires the introduction of deoxyuridine (dU) mutations within immunoglobulin genes to initiate somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class switch recombination (CSR). dUs are normally recognized and excised by the base excision repair (BER) protein uracil-DNA glycosylase 2 (UNG2). However, FAM72A downregulates UNG2 permitting dUs to persist and trigger SHM and CSR. How FAM72A promotes UNG2 degradation is unknown. Here, we show that FAM72A recruits a C-terminal to LisH (CTLH) E3 ligase complex to target UNG2 for proteasomal degradation. Deficiency in CTLH complex components result in elevated UNG2 and reduced SHM and CSR. Cryo-EM structural analysis reveals FAM72A directly binds to MKLN1 within the CTLH complex to recruit and ubiquitinate UNG2. Our study further suggests that FAM72A hijacks the CTLH complex to promote mutagenesis in cancer. These findings show that FAM72A is an E3 ligase substrate adaptor critical for humoral immunity and cancer development. Antibody diversification relies on the intentional mutagenesis of immunoglobulin genes for adaptive immune responses. Here, the authors identified a CTLH E3 ubiquitin ligase complex that co-opts FAM72A to recruit and degrade the UNG2 base excision repair factor to permit mutagenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract BACKGROUND Heat shock protein vaccines can be used to stimulate anti-tumor immune responses. An autologous vaccine (HSPPC-96) generated from patient resected tumors has been previously studied in single arm phase I/II trials for newly diagnosed and recurrent GBM. Based on promising survival in these studies, a randomized, multi-centered phase II trial of HSPPC-96 for recurrent GBM compared to bevacizumab was undertaken (NCT01814813). METHODS Patients with 1st/2nd recurrence of resectable GBM were enrolled and underwent surgery with generation of HSPPC-96 from autologous tumors. Post-operative eligibility included a volumetric extent of resection ≥90% (by central review) and sufficient tumor to generate a minimum of 4 vaccine doses. Patients were randomized (1:1:1) to receive HSPPC-96 vaccine followed by bevacizumab at subsequent progression vs. concurrent HSPPC-96 vaccine and bevacizumab vs. bevacizumab alone. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) aiming to detect a 36% reduction in HR with 85% power and alpha=0.1 for pooled HSPPC-96 groups vs. bevacizumab alone. Planned enrollment was 165 patients (n=55/arm). An interim analysis was pre-planned at 50% of events (65 deaths). Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival and adverse events. RESULTS At final analysis, 90 patients were enrolled with a distribution of 29:30:31. The study was terminated for futility after the interim analysis. In the intention to treat population, OS for the HSPPC-96 treated groups was 7.5 vs. 10.7 months for bevacizumab alone (HR=2.06 [95% CI 1.18–3.60], p=0.008). Among patients treated per protocol (n=73), OS for HSPPC-96 patients was 8.6 vs. 12.3 months (HR=1.99 [95% CI 1.03–3.81], p=0.03). Trends were similar for progression-free survival between groups. HSPPC-96 toxicity was well tolerated with no attributable serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS The study failed to demonstrate a survival benefit for patients treated with HSPPC-96 alone or in combination with bevacizumab compared to bevacizumab alone. Correlative analyses are ongoing. SUPPORT: U10CA180882, U10CA180821, U10CA180868, U24CA196171.

Purpose: Standard therapy for newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM) is surgical resection, followed by concurrent radiotherapy and temozolomide chemotherapy. In this phase II clinical trial, the addition of an autologous heat-shock protein vaccine to standard therapy was evaluated. Tumor-induced immunosuppression, mediated by expression of PD-L1 on tumor and circulating immune cells, may impact the efficacy of vaccination. Expression of PD-L1 on peripheral myeloid cells was evaluated for the first time as a predictor of survival.Experimental Design: In this single arm, phase II study, adult patients with GBM underwent surgical resection followed by standard radiation and chemotherapy. Autologous vaccine (Prophage) was generated from resected tumors and delivered in weekly vaccinations after completion of radiotherapy. The primary endpoint was overall survival.Results: Forty-six patients received the vaccine with a median overall survival of 23.8 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 19.8-30.2]. Median overall survival for patients with high PD-L1 expression on myeloid cells was 18.0 months (95% CI, 10.0-23.3) as compared with 44.7 months (95% CI, incalculable) for patients with low PD-L1 expression (hazard ratio 3.3; 95% CI, 1.4-8.6; P = 0.007). A multivariate proportional hazards model revealed MGMT methylation, Karnofsky performance status, and PD-L1 expression as the primary independent predictors of survival.Conclusions: Vaccination with autologous tumor-derived heat shock proteins may improve survival for GBM patients when combined with standard therapy and warrants further study. Systemic immunosuppression mediated by peripheral myeloid expression of PD-L1 is a recently identified factor that may significantly impact vaccine efficacy. Clin Cancer Res; 23(14); 3575-84. ©2017 AACR.

PurposeDespite significant progress in cancer research, many tumor entities still have an unfavorable prognosis. Activating transcription factor 5 (ATF5) is upregulated in various malignancies and promotes apoptotic resistance. We evaluated the efficacy and mechanisms of the first described synthetic cell-penetrating inhibitor of ATF5 function, CP-d/n-ATF5-S1.Experimental designPreclinical drug testing was performed in various treatment-resistant cancer cells and in vivo xenograft models.ResultsCP-d/n-ATF5-S1 reduced the transcript levels of several known direct ATF5 targets. It depleted endogenous ATF5 and induced apoptosis across a broad panel of treatment-refractory cancer cell lines, sparing non-neoplastic cells. CP-d/n-ATF5-S1 promoted tumor cell apoptotic susceptibility in part by reducing expression of the deubiquitinase Usp9X and led to diminished levels of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family members Mcl-1 and Bcl-2. In line with this, CP-d/n-ATF5-S1 synergistically enhanced tumor cell apoptosis induced by the BH3-mimetic ABT263 and the death ligand TRAIL. In vivo, CP-d/n-ATF5-S1 attenuated tumor growth as a single compound in glioblastoma, melanoma, prostate cancer, and triple receptor-negative breast cancer xenograft models. Finally, the combination treatment of CP-d/n-ATF5-S1 and ABT263 significantly reduced tumor growth in vivo more efficiently than each reagent on its own.ConclusionsOur data support the idea that CP-d/n-ATF5-S1, administered as a single reagent or in combination with other drugs, holds promise as an innovative, safe, and efficient antineoplastic agent against treatment-resistant cancers. Clin Cancer Res; 22(18); 4698-711. ©2016 AACR.

BackgroundStudies have shown racial differences in cancer outcomes. We investigate whether survival differences existed in Hispanic patients with glioblastoma (GBM) compared with other ethnicities from our modern radiotherapy series, because no study to date has focused on outcomes in this group after radiation therapy.MethodsWe retrospectively evaluated 428 patients diagnosed with GBM from 1996 to 2014 at our institution, divided into 4 groups based on self-report: white, black, Hispanic, and Asian/Indian. The primary outcome was overall survival. We analyzed differences in prognostic factors among the whole cohort compared with the Hispanic cohort alone.ResultsBaseline characteristics of the 4 racial groups were comparable. With a median follow-up of 387 days, no survival differences were seen by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Median overall survival for Hispanic patients was 355 days versus 450 days for the entire cohort. Factors significant for patient outcomes in the entire cohort differed slightly from those specific to Hispanic patients. Low Karnofsky Performance Status was significant on multivariate analysis in the whole population, but not in Hispanic patients. Extent of resection, recursive partitioning analysis class, and radiation therapy total dose were significant on multivariate analysis in both the whole population and Hispanic patients.ConclusionsWe found that Hispanic patients with GBM had no difference in survival compared with other ethnicities in our cohort. Differences exist in factors associated with outcomes on single and multivariate analysis for Hispanic patients with GBM compared with the entire cohort. Additional studies focusing on Hispanic patients will aid in more personalized treatment approaches in this group.