Mapping the immunological landscape of cancer via ImmunoPET

写的:

萨德帖)

Executive Director, Computational Pathology, 肿瘤学 R&D、澳门葡京网赌游戏

甘特施密特

Vice President, Image 数据科学s, Computational Pathology, 肿瘤学 R&D、澳门葡京网赌游戏

Guillaume Potdevin

Associate Director, AI 研究, AstraZeneca

Immuno-oncology has opened a new frontier to treat cancer. 然而, not all cancer patients are benefitting from immunotherapies.


肿瘤活组织检查通过提供一种深入的诊断方法,揭示了各种类型的癌症之谜, detailed spotlight on the immune system’s reaction to cancer cells. But this only gives us a partial picture, as biopsies can only profile a small part of a tumour at a time. 

To better map the immunological landscape of cancer within the body, we are harnessing an emerging technique 叫immunoPET. Powered by our growing computational pathology expertise, 免疫pet可以指导医生决定对患者的最佳治疗方法,并支持未来的免疫治疗研究.


Boosting response rates to transformative immuno-oncology

免疫疗法 比如检查点抑制剂已经彻底改变了治疗实体肿瘤的方法. 这些治疗, which include drug classes such as immune checkpoint inhibitors and cytokines, 使免疫系统更容易地摧毁癌细胞,并为许多患者提供持久的益处.

While immunotherapies have been transformative for some patients, there is still work to be done to realise their full potential. 例如, 通常,接受检查点抑制剂治疗的患者只有不到一半对治疗有反应1. 一个常见的原因是肿瘤对特定免疫疗法的反应与健康细胞不同, 即使是在同一个病人身上.

因此,更多地了解癌症和人体免疫系统的全貌可以帮助指导治疗选择,并通过更明智的癌症治疗组合改善结果.

 

Biopsies offer limited insights into tumours

How can we predict which tumours will respond well to immunotherapy? One clue to the puzzle is a group of immune cells called cytotoxic T lymphocytes, also known as CD8-positive (CD8+) cells.

CD8+ cells are central to the immune system’s anti-cancer surveillance and response. If they infiltrate a tumour and attack it, then the tumour is more likely to respond to immunotherapy. 另一方面,被CD8+细胞忽视的肿瘤通常对免疫治疗有抵抗力.

在肿瘤学中,判断肿瘤是否对免疫疗法有反应的最常用方法之一是通过常规病理学——活检, staining a thin tissue section to reveal the immune cells, and analysing the tissue section under the microscope. 这种技术,加上 快速的进步 in data science and computational diagnostics, provides rich and detailed information about what immune cells are present, and whether they are attacking the cancer cells.

然而, 一次肿瘤活检只能让澳门葡京赌博游戏看到肿瘤的一小部分,这可能不足以提供整个身体癌症的完整免疫学图像. In patients with metastatic disease, 例如, some tumour sites may be vulnerable to immunotherapy, 而其他人可能不会. Even within a single tumour growth, 异常细胞的某些区域可能比其他区域更能抵抗CD8+细胞的侵袭.

Relying only on tumour biopsies, with their deep but narrow focus on a small region of disease, could partly explain the variability we see in responses to immunotherapy.

 

Revealing the immune landscape of cancer within the body

一种基于正电子发射断层扫描(PET)的新兴癌症肿瘤技术, 叫immunoPET, 是否有可能揭示更多关于癌症患者的整体免疫景观.

接受PET治疗的病人会被注射一种放射出正电子的放射性示踪剂, which are then detected by a scanner. In the most common form of immunoPET, the tracer is linked to a compound that seeks out and binds to CD8+ T cells, revealing their location throughout the body.

结合免疫pet与其他成像技术,如计算机断层扫描(CT)扫描或磁共振成像(MRI), can show which tumours have CD8+ cells present and which do not, in addition to the relative levels of infiltration.

与组织活检不同, which provide snapshots of tumours within the body, immunoPET maps the immunological landscape of cancer within the whole body. 这可以提供关于CD8+细胞在肿瘤部位以及包括脾脏和骨髓在内的其他重要部位如何表现的重要背景. In the case of metastatic cancer, 这项技术还可以根据继发性肿瘤是否有CD8+细胞的存在来指示哪些继发性肿瘤可能对免疫治疗有反应.

ImmunoPET is also non-invasive, 这使得患者更容易接受不止一次的治疗来追踪CD8+细胞的变化.

 

A technology with potential to grow

澳门葡京赌博游戏目前正在与专业公司合作,测试免疫pet的潜力 ImaginAb, which has developed an antibody-based CD8 PET tracer. 这项技术已经在早期临床开发中进行了测试,用于观察接受澳门葡京赌博游戏的候选癌症抗体治疗的患者体内CD8+细胞的活性. 

随着免疫pet的发展, 它可以支持开发能够增加浸润肿瘤的CD8+细胞数量的治疗方法.

这项技术还可以使医生在多个方面提供有效的癌症治疗. In patients with metastatic cancer, 例如, 医疗保健专业人员可以使用免疫pet来决定用免疫疗法治疗一种肿瘤,用手术治疗另一种肿瘤.

While our early results from immunoPET are promising, a lot of 发展 is still required to get it ready for wider use. 一个挑战是充分利用免疫pet产生的大型、复杂的数据集. 为了解决这个问题, 澳门葡京赌博游戏正在设计由人工智能(AI)驱动的算法,以简化免疫pet分析,并提供有关体内免疫系统行为的详细见解.

Another limitation to be overcome is the low resolution of current PET scanners. 然而, new generations of PET scanners and radioactive tracers are in 发展, which could unlock the wider use of immunoPET in precision medicine in cancer.

 

Bioimaging is experiencing remarkable growth

扫描和计算技术的快速发展推动了生物成像和计算病理学创新的蓬勃发展, and we are demonstrating leadership in this exciting space. 一个例子是人工智能驱动的计算机视觉软件,它可以帮助放射科医生更快地分析医学图像.

然而,没有任何成像技术能够回答关于癌症在体内的位置和潜在生物学的所有问题, 免疫pet具有很大的前景,澳门葡京赌博游戏很高兴与澳门葡京赌博游戏的合作伙伴一起探索其潜力和应用. A major goal is to identify the situations where immunoPET will be most informative, 看看它是否可以在免疫治疗的临床试验中用于对患者进行分层.

Although it’s still early days, 这项技术可以为更有效、更有针对性的癌症治疗和免疫治疗铺平道路, further expanding the potential of these life-changing treatments.

 


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Veeva ID: Z4-67828
Date of preparation: August 2024