Patient-derived organoids as a potential model to predict response to PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors

Br J Cancer. 2019 Nov;121(11):979-982. doi: 10.1038/s41416-019-0616-1. Epub 2019 Oct 31.

Abstract

Selection of cancer patients for treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors remains a challenge due to tumour heterogeneity and variable biomarker detection. PD-L1 expression in 24 surgical chordoma specimen was determined immunohistochemically with antibodies 28-8 and E1L3N. The ability of patient-derived organoids to detect treatment effects of nivolumab was explored by quantitative and qualitative immunofluorescence and FACS analysis. The more sensitive antibody, E1L3N (ROC = 0.896, p = 0.001), was associated with greater tumour diameters (p = 0.014) and detected both tumour cells and infiltrating lymphocytes in 54% of patients, but only 1-15% of their cells. Organoids generated from PD-L1-positive patients contained both tumour cells and PD-1/CD8-positive lymphocytes and responded to nivolumab treatment with marked dose-dependent diameter reductions of up to 50% and increased cell death in both PD-L1-positive and negative organoids. Patient-derived organoids may be valuable to predict individual responses to immunotherapy even in patients with low or no immunohistochemical PD-L1 expression.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • B7-H1 Antigen / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • B7-H1 Antigen / immunology
  • B7-H1 Antigen / metabolism
  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / drug effects
  • Chordoma / metabolism*
  • Chordoma / pathology
  • Chordoma / surgery
  • Drug Discovery / methods*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry / methods
  • Immunotherapy / methods*
  • Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating / immunology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Models, Biological
  • Nivolumab / pharmacology*
  • Organoids / drug effects*
  • Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor / metabolism

Substances

  • B7-H1 Antigen
  • CD274 protein, human
  • PDCD1 protein, human
  • Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor
  • Nivolumab