Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are thought to be particularly effective against tumors that contain a relatively high number of mutations in their DNA, such as melanoma and lung cancer. Mutations can lead to the production of neoantigens, which, in turn, can be recognized and eradicated by stimulation of the immune system by ICIs. Some tumor types, however, have been shown to respond well to ICIs despite appearing to have a relatively low mutational burden. A team led by Aaron Mansfield at the Mayo Clinic showed that mesothelioma, an ICI-responsive lung cancer with relatively few traditional mutations, instead contains numerous chromosomal rearrangements, a type of DNA alteration that is not readily detectable by traditional sequencing methods.
In this project, Mansfield’s team is analyzing tumor samples from mesothelioma patients using mate-pair sequencing (MPseq) to identify chromosomal rearrangements that are missed by conventional next-generation sequencing techniques. Their hypothesis is that the chromosomal rearrangements may induce the expression of neoantigens and that the frequency of these lesions may correlate with patient response to immune checkpoint inhibition. Early results suggest that MPseq is over 300-fold more sensitive for detecting chromosomal rearrangements than next-generation sequencing. The investigators are also determining whether the neoantigens resulting from the rearrangements are expressed and whether patient T cells are responsive to the identified neoantigens. Results from a recent clinical trial suggest that the combination of two ICIs, nivolumab and ipilimumab, significantly extends overall survival for mesothelioma, an outcome that is likely to change the standard of care. This finding highlights the importance of understanding which patients are likely to benefit from ICI therapy and of determining genomic predictors of response.
PUBLISHED RESEARCH
Kosari F, Disselhorst M, Yin J, Peikert T, Udell J, Johnson S, Smadbeck J, Murphy S, McCune A, Karagouga G, Desai A, Schaefer-Klein J, Borad MJ, Cheville J, Vasmatzis G, Baas P, Mansfield AS. Tumor Junction Burden and Antigen Presentation as Predictors of Survival in Mesothelioma Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors. J Thorac Oncol. 2021.
Kanakkanthara A, Hou X, Ekstrom TL, Zanfagnin V, Huehls AM, Kelly RL, Ding H, Larson MC, Vasmatzis G, Oberg AL, Kaufmann SH, Mansfield AS, Weroha SJ, Karnitz LM. Repurposing Ceritinib Induces DNA Damage and Enhances PARP Inhibitor Responses in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma. Cancer Res. 2022.
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Peters S, Scherpereel A, Cornelissen R, Oulkhouir Y, Greillier L, Kaplan MA, Talbot T, Monnet I, Hiret S, Baas P, Nowak AK, Fujimoto N, Tsao AS, Mansfield AS, Popat S, Zhang X, Hu N, Balli D, Spires T, Zalcman G. First-line nivolumab plus ipilimumab versus chemotherapy in patients with unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma: 3-year outcomes from CheckMate 743. Ann Oncol. 2022.
Carbone M, Pass HI, Ak G, Alexander HR Jr, Baas P, Baumann F, Blakely AM, Bueno R, Bzura A, Cardillo G, Churpek JE, Dianzani I, De Rienzo A, Emi M, Emri S, Felley-Bosco E, Fennell DA, Flores RM, Grosso F, Hayward NK, Hesdorffer M, Hoang CD, Johansson PA, Kindler HL, Kittaneh M, Krausz T, Mansfield A, Metintas M, Minaai M, Mutti L, Nielsen M, O’Byrne K, Opitz I, Pastorino S, Pentimalli F, de Perrot M, Pritchard A, Ripley RT, Robinson B, Rusch V, Taioli E, Takinishi Y, Tanji M, Tsao AS, Tuncer AM, Walpole S, Wolf A, Yang H, Yoshikawa Y, Zolodnick A, Schrump DS, Hassan R. Medical and surgical care of mesothelioma patients and their relatives carrying germline BAP1 mutations. J Thorac Oncol. 2022.
Smith KER, Mansfield AS. Validating chemoimmunotherapy in small-cell lung cancer. Lancet Oncol. 2022.
Perera ND, Mansfield AS. The Evolving Therapeutic Landscape for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma. Curr Oncol Rep. 2022.
Dolezal JM, Srisuwananukorn A, Karpeyev D, Ramesh S, Kochanny S, Cody B, Mansfield AS, Rakshit S, Bansal R, Bois MC, Bungum AO, Schulte JJ, Vokes EE, Garassino MC, Husain AN, Pearson AT. Uncertainty-informed deep learning models enable high-confidence predictions for digital histopathology. Nat Commun. 2022.
Desai AP, Kosari F, Disselhorst M, Yin J, Agahi A, Peikert T, Udell J, Johnson SH, Smadbeck J, Murphy S, Karagouga G, McCune A, Schaefer-Klein J, Borad MJ, Cheville J, Vasmatzis G, Baas P, Mansfield A. Dynamics and survival associations of T cell receptor clusters in patients with pleural mesothelioma treated with immunotherapy. J Immunother Cancer. 2023.
Desai A, Rakshit S, Bansal R, Ashara Y, Potter A, Manochakian R, Lou Y, Zhao Y, Ernani V, Savvides P, Schwecke A, Moffett N, Hocum C, Leventakos K, Adjei A, Marks R, Molina J, Mansfield AS, Chen ZM, Dimou A. Time from immune checkpoint inhibitor to sotorasib use correlates with risk of hepatotoxicity in non-small cell lung cancer: A brief report. Cancer Treat Res Commun. 2023.
Mansfield AS, Vivien Yin J, Bradbury P, Kwiatkowski DJ, Patel S, Bazhenova LA, Forde P, Lou Y, Dizona P, Villaruz LC, Arnold SM, Khalil M, Kindler HL, Koczywas M, Pacheco J, Rolfo C, Xia B, Mikula E, Chen L, Patel K, Smith KER, Cao L, Shapiro G, Costello BA, Adjei A, Sharon E, Moscow JA, Zamboni W, Hassan R. Randomized trial of anetumab ravtansine and pembrolizumab compared to pembrolizumab for mesothelioma. Lung Cancer. 2024.