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Bei vielen Karzinomen spielt EGFR und das KRAS-Onkogen eine wichtige Rolle in der Tumorentstehung. Da bei den seltenen Karzinomen an Kopfspeicheldrüsen sehr wenig über molekulare Mechanismen der Tumorgenese bekannt ist, war es das Ziel der Arbeit den EGFR-Signalweg zu untersuchen. Es wurden Paraffinschnitte von 43 Speicheldrüsenkarzinomen von den Typen ACC, MEC und Adeno-Ca NOS mit dem phosphorylierten EGFR-Antikörper gefärbt und mit klinisch-pathologischen Daten korreliert. Weiterhin wurde eine Mutationsanalyse der kras-Gensequenz durchgeführt. In allen Fällen war das kras-Gen vom Wildtyp. Bei der Expressionsanalyse von EGFR stellte sich heraus, dass 79% der Proben einen aktivierten EGF-Rezeptor besitzen. Statistisch signifikante Korrelationen gab es zwischen der EGFR-Expression und dem Patientenalter, dem zervikalen Lymphknotenbefall und der Tumorgröße. Der EGF-Signaltransduktionsweg ist bei den untersuchten Karzinomen der Kopfspeicheldrüsen im überwiegenden Masse aktiviert, ohne dass eine autonome Aktivierung beim KRAS-Onkogen vorliegt.
Die Bedeutung von Ascorbinsäure als „Krebsschutzfaktor“ wird auch weiterhin kontrovers diskutiert. Seit einiger Zeit wird vermutet, dass Ascorbinsäure oxidativen Stress auslöst. In der vorliegenden Untersuchung wurde die Wirkung von Ascorbinsäure auf 12 maligne und 3 benigne Zelllinien in vitro untersucht. Die Zellen wurden für 2 bzw. 14 Stunden mit unterschiedlichen Konzentrationen von Ascorbinsäure (5 bis 100 mmol/L) inkubiert und 24, 48 und 72 Stunden nach Versuchsbeginn der Anteil vitaler Zellen bestimmt. Die hierfür verwendeten Assays, WST-8 und Kristallviolett-Assay, ließen zudem Aussagen über die Stoffwechselaktivität (WST-8) und Zellvitalität (Kristallviolett) zu. Die schädigende Wirkung von Ascorbinsäure wurde als EC50-Wert angegeben, bei dieser Ascorbinsäure-Konzentration sind 50 % der Zellen zerstört. Ascorbinsäure wirkte nach 2 Stunden Inkubation kaum zelltoxisch, während nach 14 Stunden Inkubation eindeutige zelltoxische Effekte bei 6 der 12 malignen Zelllinien zu beobachten waren. So waren die drei getesteten Glioblastomzelllinien allesamt bereits bei einer Ascorbinsäure-Konzentrationen von 5 mmol/L nahezu vollkommen zerstört (EC50: 2,6-5,5 mmol/L). Die Mammakarzinomzelllinie BT-20 hingegen war am widerstandsfähigsten gegenüber dem zelltoxischen Effekt der Ascorbinsäure (EC50: 95 mmol/L). Als wesentliches Effektormolekül der zelltoxischen Wirkung der Ascorbinsäure wurde Wasserstoffperoxid identifiziert. Die Zugabe von Katalase schützt Ascorbinsäure- sensitive Zellen, in dem es Wasserstoffperoxid abbaut. Ein weiteres Indiz hierfür ist, dass Zelllinien, die gegenüber dem Ascorbinsäure-vermittelten Effekt unempfindlich waren, dies auch gegenüber Wasserstoffperoxid waren. Umgekehrt waren Zelllinien, die empfindlich gegenüber dem Ascorbinsäurevermittelten zelltoxischen Effekt reagierten, auch empfindlich gegenüber Wasserstoffperoxid. 45 Eine wesentliche sich aus den Daten dieser Arbeit ergebende Frage ist die, worin sich Ascorbinsäure-resistente Tumorzellen von Ascorbinsäure-empfindlichen Tumorzellen unterscheiden. Da Ascorbinsäure-empfindliche Zellen durch Zugabe von Katalase vor der zelltoxischen Wirkung der Ascorbinsäure geschützt werden, liegt die Vermutung nahe, dass eine wesentliche Ursache hierfür in der zelleigenen Katalase begründet liegt. Somit sollten Ascorbinsäureresistente Zellen mehr bzw. aktivere Katalase aufweisen, als Ascorbinsäureempfindliche Zellen. Diese Vermutung ist in weiteren Experimenten zu überprüfen.
Background
Oncolytic viruses, including vaccinia virus (VACV), are a promising alternative to classical mono-cancer treatment methods such as surgery, chemo- or radiotherapy. However, combined therapeutic modalities may be more effective than mono-therapies. In this study, we enhanced the effectiveness of oncolytic virotherapy by matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-9)-mediated degradation of proteins of the tumoral extracellular matrix (ECM), leading to increased viral distribution within the tumors.
Methods
For this study, the oncolytic vaccinia virus GLV-1h255, containing the mmp-9 gene, was constructed and used to treat PC-3 tumor-bearing mice, achieving an intra-tumoral over-expression of MMP-9. The intra-tumoral MMP-9 content was quantified by immunohistochemistry in tumor sections. Therapeutic efficacy of GLV-1h255 was evaluated by monitoring tumor growth kinetics and intra-tumoral virus titers. Microenvironmental changes mediated by the intra-tumoral MMP-9 over-expression were investigated by microscopic quantification of the collagen IV content, the blood vessel density (BVD) and the analysis of lymph node metastasis formation.
Results
GLV-1h255-treatment of PC-3 tumors led to a significant over-expression of intra-tumoral MMP-9, accompanied by a marked decrease in collagen IV content in infected tumor areas, when compared to GLV-1h68-infected tumor areas. This led to considerably elevated virus titers in GLV-1h255 infected tumors, and to enhanced tumor regression. The analysis of the BVD, as well as the lumbar and renal lymph node volumes, revealed lower BVD and significantly smaller lymph nodes in both GLV-1h68- and GLV-1h255- injected mice compared to those injected with PBS, indicating that MMP-9 over-expression does not alter the metastasis-reducing effect of oncolytic VACV.
Conclusions
Taken together, these results indicate that a GLV-1h255-mediated intra-tumoral over-expression of MMP-9 leads to a degradation of collagen IV, facilitating intra-tumoral viral dissemination, and resulting in accelerated tumor regression. We propose that approaches which enhance the oncolytic effect by increasing the intra-tumoral viral load, may be an effective way to improve therapeutic outcome.
Background: Combination of oncolytic vaccinia virus therapy with conventional chemotherapy has shown promise for tumor therapy. However, side effects of chemotherapy including thrombocytopenia, still remain problematic. Methods: Here, we describe a novel approach to optimize combination therapy of oncolytic virus and chemotherapy utilizing virus-encoding hyper-IL-6, GLV-1h90, to reduce chemotherapy-associated side effects. Results: We showed that the hyper-IL-6 cytokine was successfully produced by GLV-1h90 and was functional both in cell culture as well as in tumor-bearing animals, in which the cytokine-producing vaccinia virus strain was well tolerated. When combined with the chemotherapeutic mitomycin C, the anti-tumor effect of the oncolytic virotherapy was significantly enhanced. Moreover, hyper-IL-6 expression greatly reduced the time interval during which the mice suffered from chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia. Conclusion: Therefore, future clinical application would benefit from careful investigation of additional cytokine treatment to reduce chemotherapy-induced side effects.
Oncolytic viruses refer to those that are able to eliminate malignancies by direct targeting and lysis of cancer cells, leaving non-cancerous tissues unharmed. Several oncolytic viruses including adenovirus strains, canine distemper virus and vaccinia virus strains have been used for canine cancer therapy in preclinical studies. However, in contrast to human studies, clinical trials with oncolytic viruses for canine cancer patients have not been reported. An ‘ideal’ virus has yet to be identified. This review is focused on the prospective use of oncolytic viruses in the treatment of canine tumors - a knowledge that will undoubtedly contribute to the development of oncolytic viral agents for canine cancer therapy in the future.
Background
Animal models are frequently used to assess new treatment methods in cancer research. MRI offers a non-invasive in vivo monitoring of tumour tissue and thus allows longitudinal measurements of treatment effects, without the need for large cohorts of animals. Tumour size is an important biomarker of the disease development, but to our knowledge, MRI based size measurements have not yet been verified for small tumours (10−2–10−1 g). The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of MRI based tumour size measurements of small tumours on mice.
Methods
2D and 3D T2-weighted RARE images of tumour bearing mice were acquired in vivo using a 7 T dedicated animal MR system. For the 3D images the acquired image resolution was varied. The images were exported to a PC workstation where the tumour mass was determined assuming a density of 1 g/cm3, using an in-house developed tool for segmentation and delineation. The resulting data were compared to the weight of the resected tumours after sacrifice of the animal using regression analysis.
Results
Strong correlations were demonstrated between MRI- and necropsy determined masses. In general, 3D acquisition was not a prerequisite for high accuracy. However, it was slightly more accurate than 2D when small (<0.2 g) tumours were assessed for inter- and intraobserver variation. In 3D images, the voxel sizes could be increased from 1603 μm3 to 2403 μm3 without affecting the results significantly, thus reducing acquisition time substantially.
Conclusions
2D MRI was sufficient for accurate tumour size measurement, except for small tumours (<0.2 g) where 3D acquisition was necessary to reduce interobserver variation. Acquisition times between 15 and 50 minutes, depending on tumour size, were sufficient for accurate tumour volume measurement. Hence, it is possible to include further MR investigations of the tumour, such as tissue perfusion, diffusion or metabolic composition in the same MR session.
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a highly aggressive skin cancer with an increasing incidence. The understanding of the molecular carcinogenesis of MCC is limited. Here, we scrutinized the PI3K/AKT pathway, one of the major pathways activated in human cancer, in MCC. Immunohistochemical analysis of 41 tumor tissues and 9 MCC cell lines revealed high levels of AKT phosphorylation at threonine 308 in 88% of samples. Notably, the AKT phosphorylation was not correlated with the presence or absence of the Merkel cell polyoma virus (MCV). Accordingly, knock-down of the large and small T antigen by shRNA in MCV positive MCC cells did not affect phosphorylation of AKT. We also analyzed 46 MCC samples for activating PIK3CA and AKT1 mutations. Oncogenic PIK3CA mutations were found in 2/46 (4%) MCCs whereas mutations in exon 4 of AKT1 were absent. MCC cell lines demonstrated a high sensitivity towards the PI3K inhibitor LY-294002. This finding together with our observation that the PI3K/AKT pathway is activated in the majority of human MCCs identifies PI3K/AKT as a potential new therapeutic target for MCC patients.
Background: Adaptive Radiotherapy aims to identify anatomical deviations during a radiotherapy course and modify the treatment plan to maintain treatment objectives. This requires regions of interest (ROIs) to be defined using the most recent imaging data. This study investigates the clinical utility of using deformable image registration (DIR) to automatically propagate ROIs.
Methods: Target (GTV) and organ-at-risk (OAR) ROIs were non-rigidly propagated from a planning CT scan to a per-treatment CT scan for 22 patients. Propagated ROIs were quantitatively compared with expert physician-drawn ROIs on the per-treatment scan using Dice scores and mean slicewise Hausdorff distances, and center of mass distances for GTVs. The propagated ROIs were qualitatively examined by experts and scored based on their clinical utility.
Results: Good agreement between the DIR-propagated ROIs and expert-drawn ROIs was observed based on the metrics used. 94% of all ROIs generated using DIR were scored as being clinically useful, requiring minimal or no edits. However, 27% (12/44) of the GTVs required major edits.
Conclusion: DIR was successfully used on 22 patients to propagate target and OAR structures for ART with good anatomical agreement for OARs. It is recommended that propagated target structures be thoroughly reviewed by the treating physician.
Virotherapy using oncolytic vaccinia virus (VACV) strains is one promising new strategy for cancer therapy. We have previously reported that oncolytic vaccinia virus strains expressing an anti-VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) single-chain antibody (scAb) GLAF-1 exhibited significant therapeutic efficacy for treatment of human tumor xenografts. Here, we describe the use of oncolytic vaccinia virus GLV-1h109 encoding GLAF-1 for canine cancer therapy. In this study we analyzed the virus-mediated delivery and production of scAb GLAF-1 and the oncolytic and immunological effects of the GLV-1h109 vaccinia virus strain against canine soft tissue sarcoma and canine prostate carcinoma in xenograft models. Cell culture data demonstrated that the GLV-1h109 virus efficiently infect, replicate in and destroy both tested canine cancer cell lines. In addition, successful expression of GLAF-1 was demonstrated in virus-infected canine cancer cells and the antibody specifically recognized canine VEGF. In two different xenograft models, the systemic administration of the GLV-1h109 virus was found to be safe and led to anti-tumor and immunological effects resulting in the significant reduction of tumor growth in comparison to untreated control mice. Furthermore, tumor-specific virus infection led to a continued production of functional scAb GLAF-1, resulting in inhibition of angiogenesis. Overall, the GLV-1h109-mediated cancer therapy and production of immunotherapeutic anti-VEGF scAb may open the way for combination therapy concept i.e. vaccinia virus mediated oncolysis and intratumoral production of therapeutic drugs in canine cancer patients.
Virotherapy using oncolytic vaccinia virus (VACV) strains is one promising new strategy for canine cancer therapy. In this study we describe the establishment of an in vivo model of canine soft tissue sarcoma (CSTS) using the new isolated cell line STSA-1 and the analysis of the virus-mediated oncolytic and immunological effects of two different Lister VACV LIVP1.1.1 and GLV-1h68 strains against CSTS. Cell culture data demonstrated that both tested VACV strains efficiently infected and destroyed cells of the canine soft tissue sarcoma line STSA-1. In addition, in our new canine sarcoma tumor xenograft mouse model, systemic administration of LIVP1.1.1 or GLV-1h68 viruses led to significant inhibition of tumor growth compared to control mice. Furthermore, LIVP1.1.1 mediated therapy resulted in almost complete tumor regression and resulted in long-term survival of sarcoma-bearing mice. The replication of the tested VACV strains in tumor tissues led to strong oncolytic effects accompanied by an intense intratumoral infiltration of host immune cells, mainly neutrophils. These findings suggest that the direct viral oncolysis of tumor cells and the virus-dependent activation of tumor-associated host immune cells could be crucial parts of anti-tumor mechanism in STSA-1 xenografts. In summary, the data showed that both tested vaccinia virus strains and especially LIVP1.1.1 have great potential for effective treatment of CSTS.