This review explores spatial mapping technologies in cancer research, highlighting their crucial role in understanding the complexities of the tumor microenvironment (TME). The TME, which is an intricate ecosystem of diverse cell types, has a significant impact on tumor dynamics and treatment outcomes. This review closely examines cutting-edge spatial mapping technologies, categorizing them into capture-, imaging-, and antibody-based approaches. Each technology was scrutinized for its advantages and disadvantages, factoring in aspects such as spatial profiling area, multiplexing capabilities, and resolution. Additionally, we draw attention to the nuanced choices researchers face, with capture-based methods lending themselves to hypothesis generation, and imaging/antibody-based methods that fit neatly into hypothesis testing. Looking ahead, we anticipate a scenario in which multi-omics data are seamlessly integrated, artificial intelligence enhances data analysis, and spatiotemporal profiling opens up new dimensions.
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Distinctive Phenotypic and Microenvironmental Characteristics of Neuroendocrine Carcinoma and Adenocarcinoma Components in Gastric Mixed Adenoneuroendocrine Carcinoma Yoonjin Kwak, Soo Kyung Nam, Yujun Park, Yun-Suhk Suh, Sang-Hoon Ahn, Seong-Ho Kong, Do Joong Park, Hyuk-Joon Lee, Hyung-Ho Kim, Han-Kwang Yang, Hye Seung Lee Modern Pathology.2024; 37(10): 100568. CrossRef
Effector Function Characteristics of Exhausted CD8+ T-Cell in Microsatellite Stable and Unstable Gastric Cancer Dong-Seok Han, Yoonjin Kwak, Seungho Lee, Soo Kyung Nam, Seong-Ho Kong, Do Joong Park, Hyuk-Joon Lee, Nak-Jung Kwon, Hye Seung Lee, Han-Kwang Yang Cancer Research and Treatment.2024; 56(4): 1146. CrossRef
Purpose Patients with advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC) have a poor survival. We aim to evaluate the efficacy and safety of nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine and cisplatin regimen in Chinese advanced BTC patients.
Materials and Methods Eligible patients with locally advanced or metastatic BTC administrated intravenous 100 mg/m2 nab-paclitaxel, 800 mg/m2 gemcitabine, and 25 mg/m2 cisplatin every 3 weeks. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). The secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS) and adverse events, while exploratory endpoint was the association of biomarkers with efficacy.
Results After the median follow-up of 25.0 months, the median PFS and OS of 34 enrolled patients were 7.1 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.4 to 13.7) and 16.4 months (95% CI, 10.9 to 23.6), respectively. The most common treatment-related adverse events at ≥ 3 grade were neutropenia (26.5%) and leukopenia (26.5%). Survival analyses demonstrated that carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels could monitor patients’ survival outcomes. A significant increase in the number of infiltrating CD4+ cells (p=0.008) and a decrease in programmed death-1–positive (PD-1+) cells (p=0.032) were observed in the response patients.
Conclusion In advanced BTC patients, nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine and cisplatin regimen showed therapeutic potential. Potential prognostic factors of CEA levels, number of CD4+ cells and PD-1+ cells may help us maximize the efficacy benefit.
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Purpose Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) are epigenetic regulators and used clinically for hematopoietic malignancies. Recently, HDACis have received attention as a factor that modulates the immune system. In this study, the role of histone deacetylase (HDAC) expression as a predictive marker in lung cancer patients who were treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and the role of HDACi and ICI combination treatment in the mouse tumor model were analyzed.
Materials and Methods The overall response rate (ORR) and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed by the expression of HDAC. In vitro assay, the mRNA and protein expression levels of cytokines and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) were analyzed after HDACi treatment. In vivo assay, TC-1 tumor-bearing mice were treated with HDACi and mouse programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) inhibitor.
Results The HDAC6 low expression group showed high ORR and prolonged PFS. When the selective HDAC6 inhibitor was administered to the A549 cell line, the levels of interleukin-1β and interleukin-6 decreased and the expression of PD-L1 was reduced. Mice that received both the mouse PD-1 inhibitor and pan-HDACi had a smaller tumor size than that of the mice from the control group. Moreover, mice treated with the mouse PD-1 inhibitor and pan-HDACi generated greater numbers of E7-specific CD8+ T cells.
Conclusion HDAC6 expression can predict the prognosis of non–small cell lung cancerpatients who were treated with ICIs. Furthermore, co-treatment with HDACi and PD-1 inhibitor was shown to decrease the tumor growth rate and create a favorable tumor microenvironment for cytotoxic T lymphocytes in the TC-1 mouse model.
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Purpose
Forkhead box C1 (FOXC1) is critical for maintaining bone marrow microenvironments during hematopoiesis, but its role in hematological malignancies remains obscure. Here, we investigated whether FOXC1 regulates tumor dormancy and activation in the microenvironments of T and natural killer (NK) cell lymphomas.
Materials and Methods
One hundred and twenty cases of T and NK cell lymphomas were included; the immunohistochemical expression of FOXC1 was investigated in stromal cells, and numbers of FOXC1+ stromal cells were counted. Furthermore, the expression of phosphorylated p38 (p-p38) and phosphorylated ERK1/2 (p-ERK1/2) in tumor cells was investigated using immunohistochemistry.
Results
FOXC1 was variably expressed in C-X-C motif chemokine 12–associated reticular stromal cells, histiocytes, (myo)fibroblasts, and endothelial cells. The phenotypes of cases were categorized as dormant (high p-p38/low p-ERK1/2; n=30, 25.0%), active (high p-ERK1/2/low p-p38; n=25, 20.8%), or intermediate (others; n=65, 54.2%). Lower FOXC1+ stromal cell infiltration was associated with the dormant phenotype, the precursor T lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma subtype, and inferior overall survival rates, whereas higher FOXC1+ stromal cell infiltration was associated with the active phenotype and favorable patient prognosis (p < 0.05 for all).
Conclusion
These results suggested that FOXC1+ stromal cells within the microenvironments of T and NK cell lymphomas might be related to tumor phenotypes.
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Purpose
The aim of this study was to develop a formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue based multiplex immunochemistry (mIHC) method for high-throughput comprehensive tissue imaging and demonstrate its feasibility, validity, and usefulness.
Materials and Methods
The mIHC protocol was developed and tested on tissue microarray slides made from archived gastric cancer (GC) tissue samples. On a single FFPE slide, cyclic immunochemistry for multiple markers of immune cells and cytokeratin for tumor cells was performed; hematoxylin staining was used for demarcation of nuclei. Whole slides were digitally scanned after each cycle. For interpretation of mIHC results, we performed computer-assisted image analysis using publicly available software.
Results
Using mIHC, we were able to characterize the tumor microenvironment (TME) of GCs with accurate visualization of various immune cells harboring complex immunophenotypes. Spatial information regarding intratumoral and peritumoral TME could be demonstrated by digital segmentation of image guided by cytokeratin staining results. We further extended the application of mIHC by showing that subcellular localization of molecules can be achieved by image analysis of mIHC results.
Conclusion
We developed a robust method for high-throughput multiplex imaging of FFPE tissue slides. The feasibility and adaptability of mIHC suggest that it is an efficient method for in situ single-cell characterization and analysis.
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