Patent Application
20220343998
There is an appreciable spectrum of in vitro sensitivity to ionizing radiation across various cancer cell types that is regulated by the underlying molecular repertoire and the capacity to utilize available nutrients. However, in a tumor comprised of diverse cellular architecture and evolving ecosystems, the response to radiation is much more complex. Despite acknowledged variations in radiosensitivity, the field of radiation oncology currently does not individualize radiation dose prescription based on the intrinsic biology of a patient's tumor. What is needed are new methods for assessing radiosensitivity on a more individualize basis.
Disclosed are methods related to a systemic multi-tier analysis for determining the radiosentitivity of a tumor and methods of treating a tumor based on this analysis.
In one aspect, disclosed herein are methods of detecting the radiosensitivity of a tumor in a subject comprising obtaining a tumor tissue sample, measuring the individual radiation immune sensitivity (iRIS) phenotype of the tumor tissue sample by measuring the pre-radiation distance of tumor-immune ecosystem (TIES) to the immune mediated tumor elimination (IMTE) region, and the number of effector, suppressor and cancer cells; wherein a iRIS value lower than a median iRIS score (such as, for example, an iRIS score of 3.61) is designated as iRISlo and indicates that a tumor is radiosensitive and an iRIS value above the median iRIS score (i.e., iRIShi) indicates that a tumor is radioresistant.
Also disclosed herein are methods of detecting the radiosensitivity of a tumor of any preceding aspect, further comprising measuring radio sensitivity index (RSI) of the tumor tissue sample and identifying the cell populations as RSIlo or RSIhi based on the RSI value compared to a median RSI score; wherein a RSI value lower than a median RSI score (such as, for example 0.42) is designated as RSIlo and indicates that a tumor is radiosensitive and an RSI value above the median RSI score (i.e., RSIhi) indicates that a tumor is radioresistant; and wherein a combined iRIS/RSI phenotype of iRISlo/RSIlo indicates that the tumor is radiosensitive and wherein a combined phenotype of iRISlo/RSIhi, iRIShi/RSIlo, or iRIShi/RSIhi indicates that eh tumor is radioresistant.
In one aspect, disclosed herein are methods of detecting the radiosensitivity of a tumor of any preceding aspect, further comprising administering fewer fractions of a total radiation dose (such as, for example, less than 20 administered fractions between 1.5 and 2.5 GY for a total administered dose less than 50 GY) to a subject with a tumor that has an iRISlo/RSIlo phenotype or administering more fractions of a total radiation dose (such as, for example, greater than 20 administered fractions for a total administered dose greater than 30 GY) to a subject with a tumor that has an iRISlo/RSIhi, iRIShi/RSIlo, or iRIShi/RSIhiphenotype.
Also disclosed herein are methods of treating, inhibiting, reducing, decreasing, ameliorating, and/or preventing a cancer and/or metastasis in a subject comprising detecting the radiosensitivity as set forth in any preceding aspect and administering to the subject a total dosage of radiation; wherein the total dosage of radiation is administered over several fractions; and wherein the total number of fractions administered is less than 20 when the iRIS/RSI phenotype is iRISlo/RSIlo; and wherein the total number of fractions administered is greater than 20 when the iRIS/RSI phenotype is iRISlo/RSIhi, iRIShi/RSIlo, or iRIShi/RSIhi. For example, disclosed herein are methods of treating, inhibiting, reducing, decreasing, ameliorating, and/or preventing a cancer and/or metastasis in a subject comprising obtaining a tumor tissue sample from the subject; measuring the individual radiation immune sensitivity (iRIS), wherein a tumor tissue sample from a cancer that has an iRIS score lower than a median iRIS score is designated as iRISlo; measuring the radio sensitivity index (RSI) of the tumor tissue sample, wherein a RSI value lower than a median RSI score is designated as RSIlo; and administering to the subject a total dosage of radiation; wherein the total dosage of radiation is administered over several fractions; and wherein the total number of fractions administered is less than 20 when the iRIS/RSI phenotype is iRISlo/RSIlo; and wherein the total number of fractions administered is greater than 20 when the iRIS/RSI phenotype is iRISlo/RSIhi, iRIShi/RSIlo, or iRIShi/RSIhi. In one aspect, the administered dose of radiation can be between 1.5 and 2.5 GY per fraction.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several embodiments and together with the description illustrate the disclosed compositions and methods.
Before the present compounds, compositions, articles, devices, and/or methods are disclosed and described, it is to be understood that they are not limited to specific synthetic methods or specific recombinant biotechnology methods unless otherwise specified, or to particular reagents unless otherwise specified, as such may, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting.
As used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a pharmaceutical carrier” includes mixtures of two or more such carriers, and the like.
Ranges can be expressed herein as from “about” one particular value, and/or to “about” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment. It will be further understood that the endpoints of each of the ranges are significant both in relation to the other endpoint, and independently of the other endpoint. It is also understood that there are a number of values disclosed herein, and that each value is also herein disclosed as “about” that particular value in addition to the value itself. For example, if the value “10” is disclosed, then “about 10” is also disclosed. It is also understood that when a value is disclosed that “less than or equal to” the value, “greater than or equal to the value” and possible ranges between values are also disclosed, as appropriately understood by the skilled artisan. For example, if the value “10” is disclosed the “less than or equal to 10” as well as “greater than or equal to 10” is also disclosed. It is also understood that the throughout the application, data is provided in a number of different formats, and that this data, represents endpoints and starting points, and ranges for any combination of the data points. For example, if a particular data point “10” and a particular data point 15 are disclosed, it is understood that greater than, greater than or equal to, less than, less than or equal to, and equal to 10 and 15 are considered disclosed as well as between 10 and 15. It is also understood that each unit between two particular units are also disclosed. For example, if 10 and 15 are disclosed, then 11, 12, 13, and 14 are also disclosed.
In this specification and in the claims which follow, reference will be made to a number of terms which shall be defined to have the following meanings:
“Optional” or “optionally” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur, and that the description includes instances where said event or circumstance occurs and instances where it does not.
An “increase” can refer to any change that results in a greater amount of a symptom, disease, composition, condition or activity. An increase can be any individual, median, or average increase in a condition, symptom, activity, composition in a statistically significant amount. Thus, the increase can be a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, or 100% increase so long as the increase is statistically significant.
A “decrease” can refer to any change that results in a smaller amount of a symptom, disease, composition, condition, or activity. A substance is also understood to decrease the genetic output of a gene when the genetic output of the gene product with the substance is less relative to the output of the gene product without the substance. Also, for example, a decrease can be a change in the symptoms of a disorder such that the symptoms are less than previously observed. A decrease can be any individual, median, or average decrease in a condition, symptom, activity, composition in a statistically significant amount. Thus, the decrease can be a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, or 100% decrease so long as the decrease is statistically significant.
“Inhibit,” “inhibiting,” and “inhibition” mean to decrease an activity, response, condition, disease, or other biological parameter. This can include but is not limited to the complete ablation of the activity, response, condition, or disease. This may also include, for example, a 10% reduction in the activity, response, condition, or disease as compared to the native or control level. Thus, the reduction can be a 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100%, or any amount of reduction in between as compared to native or control levels.
By “reduce” or other forms of the word, such as “reducing” or “reduction,” is meant lowering of an event or characteristic (e.g., tumor growth). It is understood that this is typically in relation to some standard or expected value, in other words it is relative, but that it is not always necessary for the standard or relative value to be referred to. For example, “reduces tumor growth” means reducing the rate of growth of a tumor relative to a standard or a control.
By “prevent” or other forms of the word, such as “preventing” or “prevention,” is meant to stop a particular event or characteristic, to stabilize or delay the development or progression of a particular event or characteristic, or to minimize the chances that a particular event or characteristic will occur. Prevent does not require comparison to a control as it is typically more absolute than, for example, reduce. As used herein, something could be reduced but not prevented, but something that is reduced could also be prevented. Likewise, something could be prevented but not reduced, but something that is prevented could also be reduced. It is understood that where reduce or prevent are used, unless specifically indicated otherwise, the use of the other word is also expressly disclosed.
The term “subject” refers to any individual who is the target of administration or treatment. The subject can be a vertebrate, for example, a mammal. In one aspect, the subject can be human, non-human primate, bovine, equine, porcine, canine, or feline. The subject can also be a guinea pig, rat, hamster, rabbit, mouse, or mole. Thus, the subject can be a human or veterinary patient. The term “patient” refers to a subject under the treatment of a clinician, e.g., physician.
The term “therapeutically effective” refers to the amount of the composition used is of sufficient quantity to ameliorate one or more causes or symptoms of a disease or disorder. Such amelioration only requires a reduction or alteration, not necessarily elimination.
The term “treatment” refers to the medical management of a patient with the intent to cure, ameliorate, stabilize, or prevent a disease, pathological condition, or disorder. This term includes active treatment, that is, treatment directed specifically toward the improvement of a disease, pathological condition, or disorder, and also includes causal treatment, that is, treatment directed toward removal of the cause of the associated disease, pathological condition, or disorder. In addition, this term includes palliative treatment, that is, treatment designed for the relief of symptoms rather than the curing of the disease, pathological condition, or disorder; preventative treatment, that is, treatment directed to minimizing or partially or completely inhibiting the development of the associated disease, pathological condition, or disorder; and supportive treatment, that is, treatment employed to supplement another specific therapy directed toward the improvement of the associated disease, pathological condition, or disorder.
“Biocompatible” generally refers to a material and any metabolites or degradation products thereof that are generally non-toxic to the recipient and do not cause significant adverse effects to the subject.
“Comprising” is intended to mean that the compositions, methods, etc. include the recited elements, but do not exclude others. “Consisting essentially of” when used to define compositions and methods, shall mean including the recited elements, but excluding other elements of any essential significance to the combination. Thus, a composition consisting essentially of the elements as defined herein would not exclude trace contaminants from the isolation and purification method and pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, such as phosphate buffered saline, preservatives, and the like. “Consisting of” shall mean excluding more than trace elements of other ingredients and substantial method steps for administering the compositions provided and/or claimed in this disclosure. Embodiments defined by each of these transition terms are within the scope of this disclosure.
A “control” is an alternative subject or sample used in an experiment for comparison purposes. A control can be “positive” or “negative.”
“Effective amount” of an agent refers to a sufficient amount of an agent to provide a desired effect. The amount of agent that is “effective” will vary from subject to subject, depending on many factors such as the age and general condition of the subject, the particular agent or agents, and the like. Thus, it is not always possible to specify a quantified “effective amount.” However, an appropriate “effective amount” in any subject case may be determined by one of ordinary skill in the art using routine experimentation. Also, as used herein, and unless specifically stated otherwise, an “effective amount” of an agent can also refer to an amount covering both therapeutically effective amounts and prophylactically effective amounts. An “effective amount” of an agent necessary to achieve a therapeutic effect may vary according to factors such as the age, sex, and weight of the subject. Dosage regimens can be adjusted to provide the optimum therapeutic response. For example, several divided doses may be administered daily or the dose may be proportionally reduced as indicated by the exigencies of the therapeutic situation.
A “pharmaceutically acceptable” component can refer to a component that is not biologically or otherwise undesirable, i.e., the component may be incorporated into a pharmaceutical formulation provided by the disclosure and administered to a subject as described herein without causing significant undesirable biological effects or interacting in a deleterious manner with any of the other components of the formulation in which it is contained. When used in reference to administration to a human, the term generally implies the component has met the required standards of toxicological and manufacturing testing or that it is included on the Inactive Ingredient Guide prepared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“Pharmaceutically acceptable carrier” (sometimes referred to as a “carrier”) means a carrier or excipient that is useful in preparing a pharmaceutical or therapeutic composition that is generally safe and non-toxic and includes a carrier that is acceptable for veterinary and/or human pharmaceutical or therapeutic use. The terms “carrier” or “pharmaceutically acceptable carrier” can include, but are not limited to, phosphate buffered saline solution, water, emulsions (such as an oil/water or water/oil emulsion) and/or various types of wetting agents. As used herein, the term “carrier” encompasses, but is not limited to, any excipient, diluent, filler, salt, buffer, stabilizer, solubilizer, lipid, stabilizer, or other material well known in the art for use in pharmaceutical formulations and as described further herein.
“Pharmacologically active” (or simply “active”), as in a “pharmacologically active” derivative or analog, can refer to a derivative or analog (e.g., a salt, ester, amide, conjugate, metabolite, isomer, fragment, etc.) having the same type of pharmacological activity as the parent compound and approximately equivalent in degree.
“Therapeutic agent” refers to any composition that has a beneficial biological effect. Beneficial biological effects include both therapeutic effects, e.g., treatment of a disorder or other undesirable physiological condition, and prophylactic effects, e.g., prevention of a disorder or other undesirable physiological condition (e.g., a non-immunogenic cancer). The terms also encompass pharmaceutically acceptable, pharmacologically active derivatives of beneficial agents specifically mentioned herein, including, but not limited to, salts, esters, amides, proagents, active metabolites, isomers, fragments, analogs, and the like. When the terms “therapeutic agent” is used, then, or when a particular agent is specifically identified, it is to be understood that the term includes the agent per se as well as pharmaceutically acceptable, pharmacologically active salts, esters, amides, proagents, conjugates, active metabolites, isomers, fragments, analogs, etc.
“Therapeutically effective amount” or “therapeutically effective dose” of a composition (e.g. a composition comprising an agent) refers to an amount that is effective to achieve a desired therapeutic result. In some embodiments, a desired therapeutic result is the control of type I diabetes. In some embodiments, a desired therapeutic result is the control of obesity. Therapeutically effective amounts of a given therapeutic agent will typically vary with respect to factors such as the type and severity of the disorder or disease being treated and the age, gender, and weight of the subject. The term can also refer to an amount of a therapeutic agent, or a rate of delivery of a therapeutic agent (e.g., amount over time), effective to facilitate a desired therapeutic effect, such as pain relief. The precise desired therapeutic effect will vary according to the condition to be treated, the tolerance of the subject, the agent and/or agent formulation to be administered (e.g., the potency of the therapeutic agent, the concentration of agent in the formulation, and the like), and a variety of other factors that are appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art. In some instances, a desired biological or medical response is achieved following administration of multiple dosages of the composition to the subject over a period of days, weeks, or years.
Throughout this application, various publications are referenced. The disclosures of these publications in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this application in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which this pertains. The references disclosed are also individually and specifically incorporated by reference herein for the material contained in them that is discussed in the sentence in which the reference is relied upon.
Disclosed herein is a clinical decision support tool that uses individual radiation immune sensitivity (iRIS) as a metric to predict radiation response based on its effect on the tumor-immune ecosystem (TIES). Radiation therapy sensitivity was estimated using a 10 gene radio sensitivity index (RSI) signature, whereby RSIlo refers to tumors that are radiosensitive and RSIhi refers to tumors that are radioresistant.
In one aspect, disclosed herein are methods of detecting the radiosensitivity of a tumor in a subject comprising obtaining a tumor tissue sample, measuring the individual radiation immune sensitivity (iRIS) phenotype of the tumor tissue sample by measuring the pre-radiation distance of tumor-immune ecosystem (TIES) to the immune mediated tumor elimination (IMTE) region, and the number of effector, suppressor and cancer cells; wherein a iRIS value lower than a median iRIS score (such as, for example, an iRIS score of 3.61) is designated as iRISlo and indicates that a tumor is radiosensitive and an iRIS value above the median iRIS score (i.e., iRIShi) indicates that a tumor is radioresistant.
It is understood and herein contemplated that the iRIS median score can depend on the TIES. In one aspect, the iRIS median score can be between 3.5 and 3.75, more preferably between 3.55 and 3.7; most preferably between 3.6 and 3.65. For example, the median iRIS score can be 3.5, 3.51, 3.52, 3.53, 3.54, 3.55, 3.56, 3.57, 3.58, 3.59, 3.6, 3.61, 3.62, 3.63, 3.64, 3.65, 3.66, 3.67, 3.68, 3.69, 3.7, 3.71, 3.72, 3.73, 3.74, or 3.75.
Also disclosed herein are methods of detecting the radiosensitivity of a tumor of any preceding aspect, further comprising measuring radio sensitivity index (RSI) of the tumor tissue sample and identifying the cell populations as RSIlo or RSIhi based on the RSI value compared to a median RSI score; wherein a RSI value lower than a median RSI score (such as, for example 0.42) is designated as RSIlo and indicates that a tumor is radiosensitive and an RSI value above the median RSI score (i.e., RSIhi) indicates that a tumor is radioresistant; and wherein a combined iRIS/RSI phenotype of iRISlo/RSIlo indicates that the tumor is radiosensitive and wherein a combined phenotype of iRISlo/RSIhi, iRIShi/RSIlo, or iRIShi/RSIhi indicates that eh tumor is radioresistant. It is understood and herein contemplated that the RSI median score can depend on the tumor being measured. In one aspect, the RSI median score can be between 0.3 and 0.5, more preferably between 0.35 and 0.45; most preferably between 0.4 and 0.45. For example, the median RSI score can be 0.30, 0.31, 0.32, 0.33, 0.34, 0.35, 0.36, 0.37, 0.38, 00.39, 0.40, 0.41, 0.42, 0.43, 0.44, 0.45, 0.46, 0.47, 0.48, 0.49, or 0.50.
In one aspect, disclosed herein are methods of detecting the radiosensitivity of a tumor of any preceding aspect, further comprising administering fewer fractions of a total radiation dose (such as, for example, less than 20 administered fractions between 1.5 and 2.5 GY for a total administered dose less than 50 GY) to a subject with a tumor that has an iRISlo/RSIlo phenotype or administering more fractions of a total radiation dose (such as, for example, greater than 20 administered fractions for a total administered dose greater than 30 GY) to a subject with a tumor that has an iRISlo/RSIhi, iRIShi/RSIlo, or iRIShi/RSIhi phenotype.
It is contemplated herein that that the total measured dosage of radiation can be based on the number of fractions administered wherein the total dosage equals the number of fractions multiplied by the dosage per fraction. In one aspect, the dosage per fraction can be between 1.5 and 2.5 GY, more preferably between about 1.8 and 2.0 GY. Thus, a tumor that has an iRISlo/RSIlo phenotype would receive 20 or less administered fractions (for example, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20) and preferably less than 1 fractions of a measured fraction of between 1.5 and 2.5 GY, more preferably between about 1.8 and 2.0 GY (for example, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, or 2.5 GY) for a total dosage between 1.8 GY and 50 GY, preferably less than 50GY, more preferably less than 40 GY (for example, between 10.8 GY and 40GY). By contrast, a tumor with a an iRISlo/RSIhi, iRIShi/RSIlo, or iRIShi/RSIhi phenotype would receive greater than 20 administered fractions (for example, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60 or more fractions) of a measured fraction of between 1.5 and 2.5 GY, more preferably between about 1.8 and 2.0 GY (for example, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, or 2.5 GY) for a total dosage between 30 GY and 150 GY, preferably more than 40 GY. Alternatively, dosage can be reduced for each fraction with a tumor with the iRISlo RSIlo phenotype receiving the same number of fractions as a tumor with the iRISlo/RSIhi, iRIShi/RSIlo, or iRIShi/RSIhi phenotype, but a reduced dosage per fraction relative to the iRISlo/RSIhi, iRIShi/RSIlo, or iRIShi/RSIhi phenotype.
Also disclosed herein are methods of treating, inhibiting, reducing, decreasing, ameliorating, and/or preventing a cancer and/or metastasis in a subject comprising detecting the radiosensitivity as set forth in any preceding aspect and administering to the subject a total dosage of radiation; wherein the total dosage of radiation is administered over several fractions; and wherein the total number of fractions administered is less than 20 when the iRIS/RSI phenotype is iRISlo/RSIlo; and wherein the total number of fractions administered is greater than 20 when the iRIS/RSI phenotype is iRISlo/RSIhi, iRIShi/RSIlo, or iRIShi/RSIhi. For example, disclosed herein are methods of treating, inhibiting, reducing, decreasing, ameliorating, and/or preventing a cancer and/or metastasis in a subject comprising obtaining a tumor tissue sample from the subject; measuring the individual radiation immune sensitivity (iRIS), wherein a tumor tissue sample from a cancer that has an iRIS score lower than a median iRIS score is designated as iRISlo; measuring the radio sensitivity index (RSI) of the tumor tissue sample, wherein a RSI value lower than a median RSI score is designated as RSIlo; and administering to the subject a total dosage of radiation; wherein the total dosage of radiation is administered over several fractions; and wherein the total number of fractions administered is less than 20 when the iRIS/RSI phenotype is iRISlo/RSIlo; and wherein the total number of fractions administered is greater than 20 when the iRIS/RSI phenotype is iRISlo/RSIhi, iRIShi/RSIlo, or iRIShi/RSIhi. In one aspect, the administered dose of radiation can be between 1.5 and 2.5 GY per fraction.
The disclosed compositions can be used to treat any disease where uncontrolled cellular proliferation occurs such as cancers. A non-limiting list of different types of cancers that the disclosed compositions can be used to treat is the following: lymphoma, B cell lymphoma, T cell lymphoma, mycosis fungoides, Hodgkin's Disease, myeloid leukemia, bladder cancer, brain cancer, nervous system cancer, head and neck cancer, squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck, lung cancers such as small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer, neuroblastoma/glioblastoma, ovarian cancer, skin cancer, liver cancer, melanoma, squamous cell carcinomas of the mouth, throat, larynx, and lung, cervical cancer, cervical carcinoma, breast cancer, and epithelial cancer, renal cancer, genitourinary cancer, pulmonary cancer, esophageal carcinoma, head and neck carcinoma, large bowel cancer, hematopoietic cancers; testicular cancer; colon cancer, rectal cancer, prostatic cancer, pancreatic cancer, or any other type of cancer disclosed in the examples and figures herein.
The following examples are put forth so as to provide those of ordinary skill in the art with a complete disclosure and description of how the compounds, compositions, articles, devices and/or methods claimed herein are made and evaluated, and are intended to be purely exemplary and are not intended to limit the disclosure. Efforts have been made to ensure accuracy with respect to numbers (e.g., amounts, temperature, etc.), but some errors and deviations should be accounted for. Unless indicated otherwise, parts are parts by weight, temperature is in ° C. or is at ambient temperature, and pressure is at or near atmospheric.
To better understand the diversity of radiosensitivity in cancer and to identify conserved radiation response modifiers, we previously modeled the radiation response of 48 genetically annotated human cancer cell lines. By integrating the basal transcriptome, TP53 and RAS isoform mutational status, tissue of origin, and clonogenic survival following a radiation dose of 2 Gy (SF2), we identified an interaction network of 474 genes that includes regulators of DNA damage repair (DDR) (e.g. ATM, XRCC6), oxidative stress (e.g. PRDX1, TX1V), as well as ten dominant signaling hubs: AR, JUN, STAT1, PKCB, REM, ABL1, SUMO1, PAK2, HDAC1 and IRF1. From this network we derived the radiosensitivity index (RSI) by training a multi-gene algorithm to predict SF2 in the 48 cells lines. Notably, the radiation response signature is agnostic to cancer type and has been independently validated as a marker of radioresponsiveness across multiple human tumor types, and has recently been proposed as a measurable tumor feature to guide prescription of radiotherapy dose in patients.
The clinical utility of harnessing a patient's own immune system has emerged as a new pillar of tumor therapy, and as such a diverse range of tactics are being investigated to modulate the immune response, including the use of radiotherapy. Indeed, emerging pre-clinical work has shown that irradiated tumors act as adjuvants for the immune system, by facilitating local tumor control and by provoking regression of tumor deposits at distant sites via the abscopal effect. Although synergism has been identified between radiotherapy and the immune system, it is not clear how to optimally integrate radiotherapy in the era of immune-modulating agents. With over three hundred ongoing clinical trials to date combining radiotherapy and immunotherapy, this is a central question in clinical oncology.
Classic radiobiology defines the radiation response as a cellular cytotoxic model based on the 5 Rs (DNA Repair, Repopulation, Reassortment, Reoxygenation and Radiosensitivity). However, the clinical response to radiotherapy occurs in the evolutionary context of complex tumor ecosystems that are comprised of multiple interacting cellular compartments. Using this dynamic system as a framework, we interrogated the relationship between the tumor-immune ecosystem (TIES) and cellular radiosensitivity in solid tumors to inform how one could harness the TIES to optimize delivery of radiotherapy.
To address this need, we initially performed a systematic multi-tier analysis of a cohort of 10,469 transcriptionally profiled, prospectively collected tumor samples representing 31 tumor types. These analyses revealed highly complex relationships between radiophenotype and the TIES that are diverse within and across tumor types. To assess how the interaction of the TIES influences the response of tumors to radiation, we developed an in silico three-dimensional agent-based model that explored the dynamic interplay between tumor cells and the influx/efflux of immune cell populations during tumor development and following radiation. In this model, the TIES is a juxtaposition of two balancing phenotypes, anti-tumor versus pro-tumor, which is based on the proportion of suppressor and effector immune cell infiltrate (ICI) composition of the TIES. Finally, we develop a metric of individual radiation immune sensitivity (iRIS), which explains radiation response based on its effect on the TIES and quantifies the likelihood that radiation can shift the TIES to promote anti-tumor immunity.
The ‘omics’ era offers many insights into tumor biology and provides a means to classify tumor types based on certain attributes. In this regard, multidimensional reduction analysis of transcription data from 10,469 non-metastatic, primary macrodissected tumors by the t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) method demonstrates distinct clustering of tumor types (
In addition to broadly categorizing tumor types, profiling efforts have provided a basis for targeted therapy (e.g., kinase inhibitors) selection for several malignancies. In contrast, the specific radiation dose and fractionation scheme delivered to a patient's tumor is not currently informed by tumor biology, but is rather guided by clinicopathologic features and decades of empirically derived tolerances of surrounding normal tissues. Further, although substantial experimental and clinical evidence indicate tumors in the same anatomic location and of similar histological subtype can vary widely in their response to radiation, a uniform dosing scheme is generally employed in clinical practice.
To evaluate the radiosensitivity of human tumors, we estimated intrinsic radiation sensitivity using the radiosensitivity index (RSI). Notably, a spectrum of RSI values within and across the 31 specified tumor types is evident (
Diverse cell types, including innate and adaptive immune cells and stromal cells, influence the dynamics and radiophenotype of tumors. The ESTIMATE algorithm was employed to infer the fraction of each respective cell type and to approximate tumor purity (i.e., malignant cell burden) within each tumor. The distributions of ESTIMATE-derived stromal, immune and tumor purity scores were visualized for all tumors samples analyzed (
Similar to the variance observed with the RSI, ESTIMATE-derived approximations of non-tumor cell infiltrates identified a wide range of ICI (
Due to burgeoning data supporting an interplay between radiotherapy and the immune system, as well as data indicating the RSI is partially associated with a 12-chemokine gene signature across several tumor types, we tested if there was a relationship between intrinsic tumor radiosensitivity and the presence of ICI. Among all tumors, there is a weak negative correlation between the RSI and immune score (r=−0.28; P<0.001), yet principal component analysis (PCA) revealed subset aggregation of radiosensitive (i.e., low RSI values) and ICI-rich tumors in the same space (
Next, we classified each tumor sample within a given tumor type as radiosensitive) (RSIlo) radioresistant (RSIhi) based on the median RSI value within a given tumor type. Notably, integration of the RSI and immune score revealed that most radiosensitive tumors are characterized by increased ICI abundance across most tumor types (
To identify the biological discriminators of RSIlo and RSIhi tumors, each tumor type was evaluated for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (Table 2). Across all tumor types there were 7,184 DEGs between the RSI groups. Interestingly, prostate, neuroendocrine or non-subtyped breast tumors have two or less RSI-influenced DEGs, whereas breast tumor subtypes, except luminal variants, have greater than 150 DEGs between the RSIlo and RSIhi groupings. Furthermore, neuroendocrine tumors stratified as being of pancreas or lung origin unmasked additional DEGs, underscoring the contribution of the microenvironment.
We further investigated whether a conserved RSI-influenced transcriptional program is present in tumors. Notably, these analyses identified 209 unique probesets (155 genes) that are differentially expressed between RSIlo and RSIhi tumors across at least six tumor types, and of these, 146 genes are concordant in their direction of expression (
Given the relationships between radiosensitivity, immune signaling and the presence of ICI, single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) was performed with the immune-related MSigDB hallmark gene sets. Across several tumor types, ssGSEA revealed that RSIlo versus RSIhi tumors are enriched in pathways regulating type I (α) and II (γ) interferon (IFN) signaling (
The ESTIMATE-derived immune score provides a generic metric of ICI presence, and does not elucidate the composition or functional state of ICIs. To address the immune repertoire and activation state of tumors, the CIBERSORT deconvolution algorithm was used to infer the presence of 22 distinct immune cell subtypes within each tumor ICI. We found that ICIs involved in the adaptive or innate immune responses were differentially enriched between RSIlo (radiosensitive) and RSIhi (radioresistant) tumors within each tumor type. A common pattern of ICI enrichment was seen in RSIlo versus RSIhi tumors for CD4+ memory T cells (Mem CD4+), CD8+ T cells (CD8+ T), follicular helper T cells (Tfh), activated natural killer (NK) cells (NK+) and M1-polarized macrophages (M1) (
Although relationships between radiosensitivity and ICI presence and composition are apparent, other variables influence both. Indeed, the mutational landscape has been shown to influence tumor immune responses30-34 and previous investigations have identified certain mutations that correlate with radiosensitivity,1,35. To address this relationship we performed targeted sequencing of a subset of tumors (n=2,368) across all types. Notably, mutation frequency (both non-synonymous and synonymous) only weakly correlated with the RSI (r=−0.07; P=0.001), immune score (r=−0.01; P=0.54) and ICI composition (Table 4).
The tumor ecosystem is a dynamic and diverse network of cellular and non-cellular constituents that can either perpetuate or attenuate tumor growth. To model the dynamic interplay between tumor cells and the influx and efflux of ICI components, we generated an in silico 3-dimensional agent-based model guided by biologically defined rules, which incorporates varying proportions of effector and suppressor immune cell populations. The absolute numbers of the effector and suppressor ICI cells along with the cancer cell burden were used to define the tumor-immune ecosystem (TIES, see Methods). Simulation of tumor growth with various TIESs reveals two achievable outcomes, those where tumors evade immune predation (
To validate these simulations, the TIES composition for each of the previously analyzed 10,469 tumors was constructed using the ICI counts and malignant cell burden from CIBERSORT-derived assessments and ESTIMATE data, respectively; ICIs were further grouped into effector and suppressor types based on PCA (
To further evaluate these findings, the effects of radiation on the tumor and the TIES composition were simulated by extending the agent-based model to incorporate radiation induced cytotoxicity of cancer cells and ICIs using experimentally defined radiation sensitivities and ICI responses to radiation (see Methods). This model allows simulation of radiation-induced shifts in TIESs during fractionated radiotherapy for tumors with different pre-treatment TIES compositions. Notably, these simulations revealed that the TIES with more favorable E0/S0 ratios have a higher probability of being shifted to post-radiation TIES compositions that promote immune eradication of residual tumor cells (
is a function of the distance of pre-radiation TIES composition to the IMTE region in the TIES map (
Stratification into RSIlo and RSIhi (median RSI value for all 10,469 tumors), as well as iRISlo and iRIShi (median iRIS value) into quadrants, distinguishes TIES composition (
To validate these RSI and iRIS findings, an independent clinical cohort of 59 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients was examined where patients treated with varying doses of post-operative radiation had overall survival (OS), locoregional control (LRC) and failure (LRF) data.
Notably, patients with RSPlo tumors have a trend for improved OS (HR=0.58; P=0.09), and those with iRISlo versus iRIShi tumors have improved OS (HR=0.54; P=0.04;
Plotting each patient-specific tumor and their associated outcomes onto the TIES map revealed that most tumors that achieved LRC were in closer proximity to the immune-mediated tumor elimination region (
To test if in silico agent-based models can inform personalized treatment, the pre-treatment TIES composition, RSI and iRIS of each NSCLC patient was derived as above. We then integrated these tumor metrics into a simulation to determine the effects of clinically applied individual radiation dosing regimens (total dose applied in 1.8-2 Gy per fractions for a total of 42-70 Gy) to predict radiation-induced shifts in TIES composition. For patients with ‘cold’ TIES (i.e., low E0/S0 ratios) radiation fails to sufficiently perturb the TIES to promote immune-mediated tumor elimination, resulting in LRF. In contrast, in patient tumors with ‘hot’ TIES (i.e. high E0/S0 ratios) predicted to be controlled by radiation, there are radiation-mediated trajectory shifts towards more favorable TIES compositions that support tumor elimination, either by radiation alone or by induced TIES compositions that facilitate immune-mediated eradication (
The in silico agent-based models were then used to predict the minimum required number of 1.8 Gy or 2 Gy fractions to eliminate patient-specific tumors. For selected RSIlo/iRISlotumors, simulations revealed that as few as 6-10 fractions (10.8-20 Gy total dose) are predicted to be sufficient to provide LRC via robust stimulation of anti-tumor immunity. In contrast, in tumors with an unfavorable RSIhi/iRIShi TIES compositions, simulations predict up to 60+ fractions (>120 Gy total dose) may be necessary to eradicate every single cancer cell with radiation (
Notably, of the 59 analyzed NSCLC patient-specific tumors, 6 (10%) received a radiation regimen within +/−5 fractions of the calculated required dose by the RSI/iRIS-informed in silico model, whereas 30 (51%) are predicted to be candidates for radiation deescalation, and 23 (39%) would require dose escalation by more than 5 fractions (
We believe this study represents the largest pan-cancer analysis of primary human tumors characterized as radioresistant or radiosensitive. By employing multi-tier computational analyses, several important tumor features were identified that impact efforts to personalize radiotherapy delivery and to strategically integrate radiotherapy and immunotherapies.
First, RSI, a cancer type agnostic gene signature, allowed characterization of intrinsic tumor radiosensitivity across 31 tumor types, and revealed that RSI predicts clinical experience, where ‘resistant’ (glioma, sarcoma, melanoma) and ‘sensitive’ (cervical, liver) tumors have some of the highest and lowest median RSI values, respectively. Importantly, though differences in radiosensitivity are evident between and within tumor types, the dispersion of RSI values revealed the most sensitive tumors in a given tumor type can overlap with the most resistant tumors of another type and vice versa. Further, characterization of RSI distributions by IQR ratios or dip statistics, establishes that many clinically-defined radioresistant tumors have less dispersion and unimodality, indicating these tumor types lack variation in radioresponsiveness and that tumor control with radiotherapy alone will prove difficult. In contrast, for tumor types with greater dispersion and non-unimodal RSI distributions the data indicates there is an opportunity to personalize radiotherapy to improve the clinical response.
Radiosensitivity is influenced by complex interactions between intrinsic polygenic traits, microenvironment dynamics, utilization of nutrients and diverse cellular composites. Recent studies in 533 tumor cell lines found that intrinsic radiosensitivity is interconnected with DDR and genomic stabilityl, supporting the long held tenet that radiation sensitivity is determined by the fidelity of DDR. However, tumor radiosensitivity is also governed by the other ‘hallmarks of cancer’, and with the success of immunotherapies in the clinic, there is a need to deeply understand relationships between radiation and the host immune response. For this reason, we characterized the presence of ICIs across 31 tumor types and identified a wide spectrum of ICI abundance and composition across and within tumor types. Notably, integration of ICI presence and RSI groupings revealed that across most tumor types, increased ICI presence is associated with a radiosensitive phenotype and that certain ICI compositions are more enriched in radiosensitive versus radioresistant tumors. Similar relationships between radioresponsiveness and select features of the ICI have been identified in breast, prostate, and bladder cancers. Together, the studies indicate the heterogeneity in the repertoire of ICI compositions among tumor types informs strategies that integrate radiation and immunotherapies to improve outcomes.
Recent data have indicated an interesting connection between DDR and antitumor immunity via conserved mechanisms that detect cytosolic nucleic acids to combat foreign pathogens. For example, cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)/stimulator of IFN genes (STING) signaling, major regulators of type I IFN production, influence the radiation response. Further, type I IFNs are known to stimulate both the innate and adaptive arms of the immune response and are also essential for radiation efficacy. In accord with these studies, the analyses revealed that RSIlo versus RSIhi tumors are indeed highly enriched in inflammatory signaling, including type I IFNs. Further, although the signaling effectors MB21D1/cGAS and TMEM173/STING failed to meet the statistical criteria for concordant DEGs in a specified number of tumor types between RSI groups, ssGSEA and pathway analysis indicates that radiosensitivity is indeed driven by a STAT1-IRF1-CCL4/MIP-1β network that we submit could be exploited to improve the response to radiation.
The RSI was derived from the NCI-60 cell line panel under uniform culture conditions by modeling the relationship between the basal molecular repertoire and clonogenic survival following a clinically relevant radiation dose. So, how does one explain the dominant ICI signal identified in patient tumors by the RSI, which was derived in cell culture devoid of ICIs? We hypothesized that promiscuous genomic instability and replication stress manifest in these cell lines produces danger associated molecular patterns (DAMPS; e.g., cytosolic DNA) and provokes a chronic IFN-based stress response that was identified in in vitro assays of radiosensitivity. The data are consistent with a model where an evolutionary conserved process of ‘viral mimicry’ that is induced by radiation52 in tumor cells leads to constitutive IFN signaling via shared STAT1-IRF1 transcriptional stress programs despite the heterogeneous origins of tumors.
The findings strongly support the notion that the pretreatment TIES (‘hot’-‘altered’-‘cold’) should be considered when delivering radiation, as the appropriate inflamed state of a tumor following radiotherapy facilitates tumor kill. Though many clinical trials are testing combinations of immunotherapies with radiation, the optimal dose, fractionation, sequencing and timing of these combinations are unknown. To address this need, we developed and then validated an in silico agent-based model that accurately predicts the effects of clinically relevant radiation dosing regimens in tumors harboring varying proportions of interacting effector and suppressor ICIs. Indeed, these simulations predict which TIES s are prone to radiation-induced immune destruction, those that will require priming radiation to shift to a more favorable TIES composition, and those having a resistant TIES where radiation alone will be ineffective. Importantly, these simulations also informed the development of an individual radiation immune sensitivity (iRIS) metric that allows one to more accurately model differences in TIES and personalize radiation dose without compromising efficacy. Specifically, agent-based models informed by each patient-specific pre-treatment ICI composition, RSI and iRIS predicted actual clinical outcomes in NSCLC patients with high accuracy. Critically, this informed model revealed that about half of these lung cancer patients could have de-escalated their radiation dose and still achieved tumor control, and that another 40% required further dose intensification.
The advent of ‘-omics’ analyses has rapidly advanced the understanding of tumor biology and has revealed remarkable heterogeneity of tumor ecosystems and the phenotypes of cells therein. Despite these unequivocal findings, the delivery of radiotherapy, one of the most common therapeutic modalities in oncology, has remained affixed to an imprecise and empiric approach of radiation dose prescription. The era of precision medicine now provides a platform to individualize radiation delivery based on patient-specific tumor attributes coupled with biologically-informed mathematical models. We provide data that two assumed distinct tumor attributes, radiosensitivity and ICI contexture, are linked. Thus, integrating features of the tumor ICI and radiosensitivity provides opportunity to individualize radiation dose delivery and assist with deciding whether treatment should be continued, escalated, de-escalated or changed altogether.
Patients were consented to the Total Cancer Care™ (TCC) protocol (IRB-approved, Liberty IRB #12.11.0023). Pathology quality control evaluation of tumors was performed as part of the TCC tissue collection protocol, which includes percent malignant cellularity, necrosis and stromal cell presence . Tumor samples were assayed using the custom Rosetta/Merck HuRSTA_2a520709 Affymetrix gene expression microarray platform (GEO: GPL15048). CEL files were normalized against the median CEL file using IRON, which yields Log2 intensity values per probeset. Principle component analysis (PCA) of all samples revealed that the first principle component was highly correlated to RIN value, indicating a RNA quality difference among samples. A partial least squares (PLS) model was trained upon the fresh frozen samples for which RIN was available and used to re-estimate the RNA quality of all samples. Then the first principle component was removed to correct the signals for RNA quality. 10,469 fresh frozen macrodissected primary tumors were identified for the related analyses.
This cohort was obtained from archived tumors that were resected between 2000 and 2010 from patients in the TCC and Moffitt Cancer Center database. All patients provided written informed consent tissue acquisition, molecular profiling and follow-up. We identified 59 tissue samples, which were surgically resected and pathologically confirmed, American Joint Committee on Cancer version 6, stage IIIA-IIIB tumors. Each patient underwent post-operative radiotherapy. Time to recurrence and overall survival was assessed by determination of the treating physician based on clinical source documentation. Gene expression data was obtained from the TCC.
Using the 10,469 samples, we first filtered the 60,607 probesets to those having a standard deviation (across the cohort) >2, yielding 1,399 probesets. The NIPALS algorithm (R/nipals package v0.5) was used to compute the first 50 principal components of the expression data. Rtsne (v0.15) was used with perplexity=100 to generate a two dimensional mapping from these principal components.
The violin plots represent the smoothed density with nrd0 bandwidth kernel.
The ESTIMATE algorithm3 was used to evaluate stromal and immune cell fractions from gene expression of the primary tumor (Estimate R package v1.0.13). Normalized gene expression probeset identifiers were mapped to Entrez GeneIDs. As defined in the Estimate package, the data were filtered to only the common genes. A single probeset was then selected per gene by choosing the probeset having the highest median expression across all tumors. This resulting dataset was used in the estimate function to produce stromal and immune scores for each cohort.
The HuRSTA array was reduced to the LM22 signature genes as defined by CIBERSORT4 by choosing a representative probeset that detects the gene and has the highest median expression among matching probesets. The CIBERSORT web tool was accessed on 2017-05-19 to generate signature scores (using quantile normalization).
ICI composition proportions from CIBERSORT were extracted in relative mode, where the proportions are relative to the total immune cell fraction of the tumor. To normalize the content across tumors, we scaled the ESTIMATES immune scores such that the lowest immune score was 0 (rather than negative) and analyzed multiple ICI fractions by this adjusted immune score, to yield the Normalized Content Abundance (NCA).
Relative ICI composition proportions (CIBERSORT estimates) were used to compute principal components across the entire TCC cohort using prcomp (R3.6.0) with scaling. The loadings and scores were visualized using R packages ggplot2 (3.2.1), ggrepel (0.8.1), and ggpubr (v0.2.3).
RSI was dichotomized into RSI_HIGH and RSI_LOW by tumor subtype using the median RSI for that type. Each TIL (and ESTIMATE score) was likewise dichotomized using the same approach into ICI_HIGH and ICI_LOW. A Fisher exact test was performed for each comparison of dichotomized RSI and ICI to determine the independence of the variables. The q value package (2.16.0) was used to compute FDR q values to correct for multiple testing (* see additional references). The ICIs were classified as composing adaptive and innate cell types based on current literature and PCA. The enrichment heatmap was generated using ComplexHeatmap (2.0.0). Each cell represents the proportion of samples with ICI_HIGH in either RSI_LO (top row) or RSI_HI (bottom row). The percentage of disease sites with a significant q value (q<0.05) of differences between ICI_HIGH in RSI_LOW vs. RSI_HIGH is noted. * Storey JD. The Positive False Discovery Rate: A Bayesian interpretation and the Qvalue. Annals of Statistics 31, 2013-2035 (2003). * Storey, J D, Taylor J E, and Siegmund D. Strong control, conservative point estimation and simultaneous conservative consistency of False Discovery Rates: A unified approach. J Royal Statistical Society. Series B (Statistical Methodology) 66, 187-205 (2004).
RSI was calculated for each sample using the within-sample rank coefficients as described. The following 10 probesets, corresponding to the originally defined HG-U133plus2 probesets, were used: merck-NM_007313_s_at (ABL1), merck-NM_000044_a_at (AR), merck-NM_004964_at (HDAC1), merck-NM_002198_at (IRF1), merck-NM_002228_at (JUN), merck-BQ646444_a_at (PAK2, CDK1), merck2-X06318_at (PRKCB), merck2-BC069248_at (RELA), merck-NM_139266_at (STAT1), merck-NM_001005782_s_at (SUMO1).
Single-sample GSEA9-11 was used to evaluate the MSigDB Hallmarks Genesets. The GSVA15 package (R package GSVA, v1.32.0) was used to calculate ssGSEA scores. ssGSEA scores were combined by tumor type using the median score.
For probesets that were differentially expressed (DE) between RSPlo and RSIhi within each tumor type, samples were ranked by RSI score and divided into RSIlo and RSIhi groups at the median RSI value. A probeset was determined to be DE within a tumor type if the following criteria were met: (i) probeset must not be annotated as antisense; (ii) one of the two group averages must be >5; (iii) |log2 ratio|≥˜0.585 (1.5-fold); (iv) two tailed t-test≤0.01; and (v) Hellinger distance≥0.25.
Probesets that were identified as DE in ≥6 tumor types and that had no conflicting direction of change (197 probesets, 146 genes) were used as seeds for MetaCore (Clarivate Analytics) literature network generation. Networks were generated using the Build Network-Shortest Paths method with the following non-default settings: (i) do not show disconnected seed nodes; (ii) do not show shortest path edges only; and (iii) use only Phosphorylation, Dephosphorylation, and Transcription Regulation interaction types of known Activation/Inhibition status. The resulting interaction network was exported and further filtered to contain only nodes and edges consistent with the observed RSPlo vs. RSIhi directions of change, which were then visualized using Cytoscape v3.3.
Sequencing analysis are described. Briefly, coding regions of 1,321 genes were targeted with SureSelect (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, Calif.) custom capture and sequenced on GAIIx sequencing instruments (Illumina, Inc., San Diego, Calif.) in paired-end 90 bp configuration. Sequence reads were aligned to the reference human genome with the Burrows-Wheeler Aligner (BWA)18, and duplicate identification, insertion/deletion realignment, quality score recalibration, and variant identification were performed with PICARD and the Genome Analysis ToolKit (GATK)19. Genotypes were determined with GATK UnifiedGenotyper and refined using Variant Quality Score Recalibration. Variants were filtered based on quality (highest sensitivity tranche were excluded) and population frequency (variant observed in 1000 Genomes Project or NHLBI Exome Sequencing Project or at >1% in 238 normal samples from the TCC cohort were excluded). Sequence variants were annotated to determine genic context (ie, non-synonymous, splicing) using ANNOVAR.
Statistical analysis was done using R 3.6.0. The RSI distribution across all tumor types and for each specific tumor type was tested for being unimodal using Hartigan's dip test (R package diptest, v0.75-7) and visualized using ggplot2 (3.2.1) and ggpubr (v0.2.3). Distributions of ESTIMATE scores (immune, stromal, tumor purity, ESTIMATE) were tested for normality using the Anderson-Darling test for normality (R package nortest, v1.0-4) and visualized using ggplot2 (v3.2.1) and ggpubr (v0.2.3). RSI and Immune score were compared using Pearson correlation (r) and visualized using ggpubr (v0.2.3). RSI and all ESTIMATE scores (stromal, ESTIMATE, immune and tumor purity) were compared using GGally (v1.4.0).
We developed a three-dimensional (3D) multiscale agent-based model that simulates the interactions of cancer cells with anti-tumor immune effector T-cells and immune-inhibitory suppressor cells. Each cell is considered as an individual agent, and their behavior at any time is determined by a stochastic decision making process based on biological-driven mechanistic rules (see refs. 1-4 for similar modeling approaches) Immune cells are simulated on a 3D regular lattice divided into 200×200×200 nodes representing a volume of 65 mm3, with a lattice constant of 20 μm (average cell diameter, ref. 3). Cancer cells occupy an irregular 3D lattice that is initialized by randomly placing one lattice node inside each cube of the regular lattice for immune cells. These interconnected lattices are then used to simulate the infiltration of immune cells into the tumor bulk, thus avoiding contact inhibition between immune and tumor cells. A Moore neighborhood is considered for nodes in the same lattice; i.e., 26 orthogonally and diagonally adjacent lattice sites, where each node has eight neighbor nodes in the opposing lattice given by the nodes surrounding it. Model simulations are initiated with a single cancer cell at the center of the 3D simulation domain. At each time-step (t=1 h), trafficking, motility, cytotoxic function and suppressing activity of immune cells, as well as tumor cell processes are executed through an iterative procedure (
Cancer cells proliferate, migrate or undergo programmed cell death (apoptosis) at pre-defined intrinsic probabilities modulated by the local microenvironment (t=1 h)8), and apoptotic and migration probabilities as pa=4.17×10-3 (approximately every 10 days 9) and pm=4.17×10-1 (about cell widths per day 10).
Immune cells arrive in the tumor microenvironment after extravasation from the vasculature. Blood vessels are assumed to be homogeneously distributed throughout the simulation domain, and immune cells enter the simulation at randomly selected free lattice nodes in the domain. At each simulation time-step ti, the number of effector and suppressor cells that are recruited in response to tumor burden is given as:
where NT, NE and NS are the amount of tumor cells (T), effector cells (E) and suppressor cells (S) in the system at time ti. By considering rE=NE/NT and rS=NS/NT, pre-defined ratios of effector-to-tumor cells and effector-to-suppressor cells can be simulated. For patient-specific simulations, the surgical tissue-derived number of cancer, effector and suppressor cells initiate the RT model (C0, E0 S0).
Immune cells migrate and infiltrate tumors via chemotaxis along cytokines and chemokine gradients that are secreted by cancer cells or other immune cells. The mean velocity of immune cells in non-lymphoid tissues have been estimated at 4-10 μm min-1, with a peak velocity as high as 25 μm min-1 in the lymph nodes. Here, we set the mean immune cell velocity to 10 μm min-1, which results in a lattice move probability of hr=0.37 per min-1. The waiting time for immune cell movement follows an exponential probability distribution Immune cell motility is updated 60 times (every minute) per simulation time-step (t=1 h). Both effector and suppressor cells move towards the tumor center of mass subject to at least one vacant lattice node in their immediate neighborhood and direction (
Immune cells select free neighbor lattice nodes with a certain probability depending on their distance to the center mass of the tumor. The transition probability for the directed movement of an immune cell from a lattice site r to a free neighbor r′ is given by:
where V(r) is the set of free neighbor lattice nodes of r, H=H(r′)−H(r), and H(j) is the distance of a lattice site j to the tumor center of mass
Here the vector r! Denotes the spatial coordinates of the lattice node ri occupied by a tumor cell and N is the total amount of tumor cells. A random number is generated to select a free neighbor lattice site for movement, which is determined from the set of probabilities into which the generated number falls in. We fixed η=0.25, which results in a non-deterministic biased random walk.
Accumulating evidence demonstrates cancer cells secrete a wide array of different chemokines and chemotactic cytokines that recruit pro- and anti-tumor immune cell subsets to the tumor microenvironment. While cytotoxic effector T cells have the potential to kill cancer cells by inducing different forms of cell death, suppressor T cells suppress anti-tumor immunity by inhibiting the cytotoxic responses of effector T-cells. Accordingly, effector T cells can kill cancer cells by direct contact with probability pE=0.03 per time-step, and suppressor T cells can suppress effector-dependent responses by repressing effector T cells when they are in contact at a probability pR=0.01 per time-step (
The cytotoxic effect of radiotherapy on cancer cells was simulated by using the standard Linear-Quadratic (LQ) model. The radiation dose D (Gy) dependent surviving fraction (SF) is given by:
SF(D)=eξ(αD+βD
where α (Gy-1) and β (Gy-2) are cell type-specific radiosensitivity parameters. Growth arrested cells are approximately three-times more resistant to radiation than normoxic cycling cells19; we set ξ=1 and ξ=⅓ to respectively scale the radiosensitivity of proliferative and quiescent tumor cells.
As in silico tumors are about six orders of magnitude smaller than clinically apparent tumors, simulating seven weeks of radiation will overestimate tumor control. With generic cancer radiosensitivity of α=0.3 Gy-1 and β=0.03 Gy-1, we have set SF (2 Gy×30)≅4e-10. With SF (2 Gy×10)≅7e-4, each RT dose in silico is estimated to equate three actual radiotherapy doses. For RT simulations for an individual NSCLC patient k, we set SFk (2 Gy)=RSIk.
Immunosuppressive cells are intrinsically more resistant to radiation than cytotoxic effector T cells 20,21, in line with estimates of radiation-induced lymphocyte death after increasing radiation doses in vitro 22. From these dose-response curves we derive SFS(1.8Gy)=0.81 and SFS(2.0Gy)=0.79 for suppressor immune cells, and SFE(1.8Gy)=0.63 and SFE(2.0Gy)=0.61 for immune effector cells.
Radiation induces immunogenic cell death, and this releases immune-stimulating signals and enhances T cell infiltration into the TME. Radiation-induced tumor cell death occurs during the first hours after irradiation 26 and is marked by increased infiltration and recruitment of T lymphocytes 27. Radiation-induced effector and suppressor cells recruited at time ti is simulated by:
E
i=Σj=1N
S
i=Σj=1N
where NRT is the number of radiation fractions, and KTj is the amount of cancer cells eradicated by radiation at fraction j delivered at time tj. The parameters δE and δS describe radiation-induced recruitment rates of effector and suppressor cells, and γ is the decay of radiation-induced immune stimulation. Parameter values δE=0.05 h−1, δR=0.01 h−1 and γ=0.05 were used for all model simulations.
The TIES composition prior to therapy combines cancer-to-effector cell and effector-to-suppressor cell ratios with the absolute number of suppressor cells. Effector (anti-tumor) ICI was represented by CD8 T, activated CD4 memory T, activated NK, and M1-polarized macrophage cells. Suppressor (pro-tumor) ICI was represented by regulatory T, M2-polarized macrophage and neutrophil cells. These ICI type were chosen in line with previous literature and clean signal on PCA. Including all the ICI populations following PCA stratification yields comparable results, but lower significance due to ambitious stratification. To correlate TIES composition with radiation responses the individual radiation immune sensitivity (iRIS) score is defined as:
is the distance of pre-radiation TIES to the immune mediated tumor elimination (IMTE) region, and E0, S0 and C0 are the number of effector, suppressor and cancer cells, respectively. The X and Y vectors are the coordinates of all simulated points in the IMTE region in the immune contexture matrix.
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This Application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/900,003, filed on Sep. 13, 2019 which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2020/050664 | 9/14/2020 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62900003 | Sep 2019 | US |
