Measuring Tumor Antigen-Specific Immunity Through ELISpot and FluoroSpot

Enhancement of the tumor antigen-specific response is an intended outcome of immunotherapy. Be it through an acute increase in anti-tumor immunity or formation of long-lived immunological memory, drugs that successfully boost the host adaptive immune response have a better chance of clinical success1.

Pan02 – pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma model characterized for immuno-oncology applications

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most prevalent form of pancreatic cancer representing about 95% of all cases. In 2017, approximately 50,987 people will be diagnosed with PDAC in the United States, and approximately 40,936 patient deaths will occur, making PDAC one of the most lethal forms of cancer. Combination anti-metabolite and anti-mitotic taxane based chemotherapy is the standard of care in the US, but these treatment options historically only improve overall survival by weeks. There is a critical unmet medical need for novel therapeutic approaches to treat pancreatic cancer.

Subcutaneous and systemic preclinical modeling of A20 murine B cell lymphoma

Lymphomas represent a set of lymphoid cell malignancies that can range from indolent to aggressive. B cell-derived lymphomas, specifically non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), are the most prevalent, but this disease can also originate from T cells. In 2018, an estimated 74,680 new cases of NHL in the United States will be diagnosed, and 19,910 patient deaths will occur. While the five-year survival rate for NHL is relatively high at 71%,[1] recurrence is common, so continued discovery of improved treatments for lymphoma is important for long term survival of these patients.

Focal radiation in the murine 4T1-luc2 mammary cancer model

The use of immuno-oncology therapies have seen remarkable progress in the last five years and are currently undergoing clinical trial use in combination with a variety of agents including radiation therapy (RT).1 RT is a main-stay in clinical oncology treatments with approximately 60 percent of cancer patients receiving RT at some point during their care. The clinical prevalence of RT underpins the need for effective testing of radiation combinations in the preclinical setting. In order to do this, baseline sensitivity of mouse tumor models to radiation is required.

Update on the preclinical use of hPBMC for immuno-oncology modeling

Contact the preclinical oncology scientific team to learn more.

PyMT – a transplantable murine model of breast cancer

Breast cancer remains one of the most prolific and life-threatening diseases among women worldwide. According to the American Cancer Society, among US women in 2017, there were approximately 253,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer resulting in 41,000 deaths.[1] Approximately 6-10% of new breast cancer cases (15,000-25,000) are diagnosed as metastatic (Stage IV). However, it is thought that 20-30% of all breast cancers will become metastatic over time.[1]

Targeting B Cell malignancies? Raji-Luc is a model to test CD19-directed CAR-T cells and other novel approaches

While the direct contribution of CD19 to human B cell cancers is still under investigation, its expression is found on a majority of B cell malignancies. For example, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), B cell lymphomas, and B cell leukemias demonstrate 80%, 88%, and 100% CD19 expression, respectively.1 ALL presents with an overproduction of lymphoblasts in the bone marrow that continuously multiply resulting in the inhibition of normal hematopoietic cell production.

ID8 syngeneic ovarian cancer model response to checkpoint inhibitors

In our November 2017 model spotlight, we described the development of a novel syngeneic mouse model of orthotopic ovarian cancer, ID8-Luc. Ovarian cancer remains a significant unmet medical need with a relative 5-year survival rate of 17% in patients diagnosed with highly advanced stage IV ovarian cancer. While often initially responsive to platinum- and taxane-based chemotherapy, relapse is common in ovarian cancer.

MM.1S: A model for multiple myeloma

It is estimated that in 2017 there will be about 30,000 new cases diagnosed and about 13,000 patient deaths from multiple myeloma. However, it is a relatively uncommon type of cancer with a lifetime risk of 1 in 143 (0.7%). The risk of being diagnosed with multiple myeloma increases as people age, with the majority of people being diagnosed at age 65 or older. Men are slightly more likely to develop multiple myeloma than women and African Americans are twice as likely to develop this type of cancer. However, the greatest risk factor for begin diagnosed with multiple myeloma is already having a plasma cell disease. Patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) or solitary plasmacytoma will eventually develop multiple myeloma.

Modeling liver cancer with syngeneic hepa 1-6: an update

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) affects over one million people globally and is currently the third leading cause of cancer related deaths in the world.[1] Worldwide, there are 800,000 new diagnoses and 700,000 patient deaths each year. The incidence of HCC is highest in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa due to high prevalence of hepatitis B and C viruses which strongly predisposes one to develop chronic liver disease and subsequent HCC.[1,2]  In the United States, there are expected to be 42,030 new diagnoses and 31,780 patient deaths in 2019.[2]