Challenges and Opportunities for Pancreatic Cancer Immunotherapy
Adham S Bear, Robert H Vonderheide, Mark H O'Hara, Adham S Bear, Robert H Vonderheide, Mark H O'Hara
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is among the most immune-resistant tumor types. Its unique genomic landscape shaped by oncogenic drivers promotes immune suppression from the earliest stages of tumor inception to subvert adaptive T cell immunity. Single-agent immune modulators have thus far proven clinically ineffective, and multi-modal therapies targeting mechanisms of immunotherapy resistance are likely needed. Here, we review novel immunotherapy strategies currently under investigation to (1) confer antigen specificity, (2) enhance T cell effector function, and (3) neutralize immunosuppressive elements within the tumor microenvironment that may be rationally combined to untangle the web of immune resistance in PDA and other tumors.
Keywords: immunotherapy; pancreatic cancer.
Conflict of interest statement
Declaration of Interests R.H.V. reports having received consulting fees or honoraria from Celldex, Lilly, Medimmune, and Verastem; and research funding from Apexigen, FibroGen, INOVIO, Janssen, and Lilly. He is an inventor on a licensed patent relating to cancer cellular immunotherapy and receives royalties from Children's Hospital Boston for a licensed research-only monoclonal antibody. M.H.O. reports being a consultant advisor for Geneos, Karyopharm, Exelixis, and Natera, and he has received grant/research support from BMS, Celldex, and AstraZeneca.
Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Source: PubMed