JITC Digest July 2023

By JITC Publications posted 07-19-2023 00:00

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Inside this Issue:

Letter from the Editor JITC Editor Picks Editor-in-Chief Call for Applications JITC Featured in Excited by the Science Podcast Popular Archive Articles

Letter from the Editor

Dear JITC Readers,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the latest JITC Digest. If you haven’t heard yet, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) is now accepting applications in search of the next JITC Editor-in-Chief. I can honestly tell you from firsthand experience that it is an honor and a joy to lead such an exceptional journal. Though I will be relinquishing my duties with the journal at the end of 2024 as I step into my role as SITC President in 2025, I look forward to working closely with the incoming Editor-in-Chief throughout next year as we manage the formal transfer of leadership. See the special feature below to find out more about the roles and responsibilities of the Editor-in-Chief and how to apply.

I would also like to call your attention to “Battling Breast Cancer with High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound”, a special episode of the Excited by the Science podcast that features JITC Associate Editor Dr. Ravi Patel. The conversation with Dr. Patel centers on research published in JITC that shows encouraging developments in reducing late recurrence or metastasis in breast cancer. Check out their enlightening discussion and the original JITC article below.

As for the latest research, this month’s highlights include a study from Solvay and colleagues that proposes a molecular explanation for the combined roles of tryptophan deprivation and kynurenine production in mediating IDO1/TDO-induced immune suppression, while McGray et al demonstrate the therapeutic potential of T cells that secrete folate receptor alpha-directed bispecific T-cell engagers in ovarian cancer.

Regards,

James L. Gulley, MD, PhD, FACP

Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer Interim Editor-in-Chief

JITC Editor Picks

G-MDSC-derived exosomes mediate the differentiation of M-MDSC into M2 macrophages promoting colitis-to-cancer transition

Yungang Wang, Hongli Liu, Zhe Zhang, Dezhi Bian, Keke Shao, Shengjun Wang and Yanxia Ding
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2023;11:e006166 (26 June 2023)

Research

Summary:

The authors studied how granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (G-MDSCs) or exosomes regulate the cancer-promoting differentiation of monocytic MDSCs (M-MDSCs) into M2 macrophages in the colitis microenvironment. They found that chronic IL-6 generating inflammation promoted miR-93–5 p synthesis in G-MDSC via the IL-6R/JAK/STAT3 pathway leading to exosomal miR-93–5 p enrichment and promotion of differentiation from M-MDSC into M2 macrophages. Early use of IL-6 antibodies in colitis associated cancer (CAC) mice enhanced STAT3 inhibitor activity against CAC in vivo.

Tryptophan depletion sensitizes the AHR pathway by increasing AHR expression and GCN2/LAT1-mediated kynurenine uptake, and potentiates induction of regulatory T lymphocytes

Marie Solvay, Pauline Holfelder, Simon Klaessens, Luc Pilotte, Vincent Stroobant, Juliette Lamy, Stefan Naulaerts, Quentin Spillier, Raphaël Frédérick, Etienne De Plaen, Christine Sers, Christiane A Opitz, Benoit J Van den Eynde, and Jingjing Zhu
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2023;11:e006728 (21 June 2023)

Research

Summary:

The authors retrospectively analyzed the relationship of hematologic toxicities associated with cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity in patients who received CD22-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for relapsed/refractory CD22⁺hematologic malignancies. Among patients who experienced CRS, 34% developed coagulopathy, 6% developed thrombotic microangiopathy, and 65% had D28 grade 3–4 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia. However, neurotoxicity was less severe than previously seen with CD-19 targeted CAR T-cells potentially because, unlike CD19, CD22 was not expressed on oligodendrocyte precursor or neurovascular cells as demonstrated by single-cell analysis.

BiTE secretion by adoptively transferred stem-like T cells improves FRα+ ovarian cancer control

AJ Robert McGray, Jessie L Chiello, Takemasa Tsuji, Mark Long, Kathryn Maraszek, Nicole Gaulin, Spencer R Rosario, Suzanne M Hess, Scott I Abrams, Danuta Kozbor, Kunle Odunsi and Emese Zsiros
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2023;11:e006863 (23 June 2023)

Research

Summary:

Using retroviral transduction, the authors created “FR-B” T cells that secrete a bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE) directed against the folate receptor alpha (FRα) antigen commonly overexpressed in ovarian cancer. BiTEs secreted from FR-B T cells engaged and activated patient T cells in the tumor microenvironment while preferential accumulation of TCF-1⁺CD39−CD69− stem-like CD8⁺FR-B T cells in the peritumoral peritoneal cavity was observed. FR-B T cells may therefore be able to overcome solid tumor resistance to traditional adoptively transferred T-cell therapy by improving intratumoral accumulation of transferred T cells while persisting in extratumoral spaces.

**Other Recent JITC Articles**

view other articles from this issue

Editor-in-Chief Call for Applications

The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) is seeking an active, well-known and well-regarded scientist, academic, or clinician to serve as JITC’s next Editor-in-Chief. The Editor-in-Chief would serve a 5-year, renewable term with JITC beginning with onboarding in early 2024.

Learn more about candidate qualifications, roles and responsibilities, and application instructions. Applications are due by 11:59pm PT on Friday, September 8th.

JITC Featured in Excited by the Science Podcast

JITC Associate Editor Ravi Patel, MD, PhD of University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine recently joined a panel to discuss a 2022 JITC article from Abe et al that investigated a potential solution to breast cancer relapse or metastasis after surgical removal. The episode, Battling Breast Cancer with High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound, is part of the Edanz podcast series called Excited by the Science, which includes Japanese-translated key messages for each podcast to extend the reach and recognition of featured research.

Featured article:

Combination of ultrasound-based mechanical disruption of tumor with immune checkpoint blockade modifies tumor microenvironment and augments systemic antitumor immunity

Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2022;10:e003717 (17 January 2022)

Popular Archive Articles

The selections below represent some of the most popular content published in JITC over the past few years. Explore additional thematic content in JITC's Collections or access the rest of JITC's archives for a look at all the journal has to offer.

Adoptive cellular therapy in solid tumor malignancies: review of the literature and challenges ahead

Kedar Kirtane, Hany Elmariah, Christine H Chung, Daniel Abate-Daga
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2021;9:e002723 (23 July 2021)
REVIEW

Oncogene-specific differences in tumor mutational burden, PD-L1 expression, and outcomes from immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer

Marcelo V Negrao, Ferdinandos Skoulidis, Meagan Montesion, Katja Schulze, Ilze Bara, Vincent Shen, Hao Xu, Sylvia Hu, Dawen Sui, Yasir Y Elamin, Xiuning Le, Michael E Goldberg, Karthikeyan Murugesan, Chang-Jiun Wu, Jianhua Zhang, David S Barreto, Jacqulyne P Robichaux, Alexandre Reuben, Tina Cascone, Carl M Gay, Kyle G Mitchell, Lingzhi Hong, Waree Rinsurongkawong, Jack A Roth, Stephen G Swisher, Jack Lee, Anne Tsao, Vassiliki Papadimitrakopoulou, Don L Gibbons, Bonnie S Glisson, Gaurav Singal, Vincent A Miller, Brian Alexander, Garrett Frampton, Lee A Albacker, David Shames, Jianjun Zhang, John V Heymach
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2021;9:e002891 (10 August 2021)
RESEARCH

Influence of tumor mutational burden, inflammatory gene expression profile, and PD-L1 expression on response to pembrolizumab in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Robert I Haddad, Tanguy Y Seiwert, Laura Q M Chow, Shilpa Gupta, Jared Weiss, Iris Gluck, Joseph P Eder, Barbara Burtness, Makoto Tahara, Bhumsuk Keam, Hyunseok Kang, Kei Muro, Andrew Albright, Robin Mogg, Mark Ayers, Lingkang Huang, Jared Lunceford, Razvan Cristescu, Jonathan Cheng, Ranee Mehra
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2022;10:e003026 (25 February 2022)
RESEARCH

Optimizing therapeutic outcomes of immune checkpoint blockade by a microbial tryptophan metabolite

Giorgia Renga, Emilia Nunzi, Marilena Pariano, Matteo Puccetti, Marina Maria Bellet, Giuseppe Pieraccini, Fiorella D’Onofrio, Ilaria Santarelli, Claudia Stincardini, Franco Aversa, Francesca Riuzzi, Cinzia Antognelli, Marco Gargaro, Oxana Bereshchenko, Maurizio Ricci, Stefano Giovagnoli, Luigina Romani, Claudio Costantini
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2022;10:e003725 (2 March 2022)
RESEARCH

SITC Members Receive Substantial Discounts on Article Processing Charges

As a way to thank the SITC members who work tirelessly to advance the science and improve the lives of cancer patients, SITC will provide members with a substantial discount on processing fees for all accepted JITC articles.

Become a SITC Member Today!

JITC also offers waivers for the APC (100% discount of the APC) where all authors are based in low-income countries (see policy). Requests for waivers must be made prior to submission. For additional information regarding these discounts, as well as institutional arrangements, view the journal's APC policy. Additional questions may be directed to JITCEditor@sitcancer.org.

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