Antiangiogenic agents can increase lymphocyte infiltration into tumor and enhance the effectiveness of adoptive immunotherapy of cancer

RK Shrimali, Z Yu, MR Theoret, D Chinnasamy… - Cancer research, 2010 - AACR
RK Shrimali, Z Yu, MR Theoret, D Chinnasamy, NP Restifo, SA Rosenberg
Cancer research, 2010AACR
Adoptive cell transfer (ACT)–based immunotherapies can mediate objective cancer
regression in animal models and in up to 70% of patients with metastatic melanoma;
however, it remains unclear whether the tumor vasculature impedes the egress of tumor-
specific T cells, thus hindering this immunotherapy. Disruption of the proangiogenic
interaction of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) with its receptor (VEGFR-2) has
been reported to “normalize” tumor vasculature, enhancing the efficacy of chemotherapeutic …
Abstract
Adoptive cell transfer (ACT)–based immunotherapies can mediate objective cancer regression in animal models and in up to 70% of patients with metastatic melanoma; however, it remains unclear whether the tumor vasculature impedes the egress of tumor-specific T cells, thus hindering this immunotherapy. Disruption of the proangiogenic interaction of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) with its receptor (VEGFR-2) has been reported to “normalize” tumor vasculature, enhancing the efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents by increasing their delivery to the tumor intersitium. We thus sought to determine whether disrupting VEGF/VEGFR-2 signaling could enhance the effectiveness of ACT in a murine cancer model. The administration of an antibody against mouse VEGF synergized with ACT to enhance inhibition of established, vascularized, B16 melanoma (P = 0.009) and improve survival (P = 0.003). Additive effects of an antibody against VEGFR-2 in conjunction with ACT were seen in this model (P = 0.013). Anti-VEGF, but not anti–VEGFR-2, antibody significantly increased infiltration of transferred cells into the tumor. Thus, normalization of tumor vasculature through disruption of the VEGF/VEGFR-2 axis can increase extravasation of adoptively transferred T cells into the tumor and improve ACT-based immunotherapy. These studies provide a rationale for the exploration of combining antiangiogenic agents with ACT for the treatment of patients with cancer. Cancer Res; 70(15); 6171–80. ©2010 AACR.
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