Patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may benefit from immune checkpoint inhibition, but many end up with immune-related side effects, highlighting a need to identify potential risk factors. Patients with higher T cell receptor (TCR) richness in their peripheral blood have improved outcomes, but the characteristics of TCR and their role in side effects is poorly understood.   In the LONESTAR clinical trial, researchers led by Mehmet Altan, M.D., Alexandre Reuben, Ph.D., John Heymach, M.D., Ph.D., and Jianjun Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.,...

Patients with advanced gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NET) – rare tumors that develop in the pancreas or gastrointestinal tract – are routinely monitored for disease progression using imaging tests. Circulating chromogranin A (CgA) is an established biomarker for these tumors, but there are mixed results in using serum or plasma CgA to monitor disease progression.   In the prospective, multicenter CASPAR study, Qing Meng, Ph.D., and colleagues examined imaging tests from 153 patients with well-differentiated GEP-NET and validated an...

Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting CTLA-4 and PD-1, which stimulate the body’s own T cells to eliminate cancer, are an efficient treatment strategy for many cancers. Notably, CTLA-4 blockade seemingly leads to more durable responses compared to PD-1 blockade.   Some studies suggest this could be attributed to differing memory CD8 T cell responses from each strategy, but the mechanisms remain unclear. In a new study, researchers led by Stephen Mok, Ph.D., and James Allison, Ph.D., used tumor...

DNA is wrapped into nucleosomes that form chromatin and are rearranged by protein complexes. The INO80 chromatin remodeler enzyme moves nucleosomes along DNA and modifies its protein composition, which is important for many processes including gene regulation and cell differentiation. To better understand how INO80 modifies the protein composition of nucleosomes, researchers led by Blaine Bartholomew, Ph.D., discovered that Arp5 – a protein subunit of INO80 – dynamically rotates, thereby switching the region of Arp5 contacting the nucleosome.   If...