A research organization focused on advancing cancer immunotherapy research and treatment.

Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy

For decades, entrenched infrastructure barriers have slowed progress in the fight against cancer and the development of potent immunotherapies. The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy breaks down these barriers. The result is groundbreaking new research and an intellectual property model that builds collaboration between researchers, nonprofits and industry all working together to get treatments to patients faster.

Tmunity Therapeutics

Senti Biosciences

New research published in Nature Communications by a team including PICI Investigators at the University of Pennsylvania, Robert Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, and Erica Carpenter, M.B.A., Ph.D., and PICI’s Sr. Director of Clinical Research Chris Cabanski, PhD, has revealed variant-specific differences in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) as a potential prognostic biomarker for metastatic #pancreaticcancer (mPDAC).  

Researchers analyzed ctDNA levels of KRAS mutations (ctKRAS) in plasma from pancreatic cancer patients receiving chemoimmunotherapy or standard chemotherapy. Findings showed that higher baseline ctKRAS G12D levels were associated with worse overall survival and progression-free survival but, ctKRAS G12V levels showed no such association, suggesting that ctKRAS G12D, not G12V, could be a promising prognostic biomarker for mPDAC and that G12D clearance could also serve as an early biomarker of response.

While more research is needed to understand the biological basis for these differences and their implications for patient care, this initial work expands our understanding of the role of ctDNA in pancreatic cancer and could pave the way for new approaches for personalized medicine in pancreatic cancer treatment and monitoring.

Read more in Nature Communications: https://lnkd.in/eBiMkfYt

PICI proudly marched in the San Francisco Pride Parade today, celebrating diversity and inclusion with the LGBTQIA+ community. Our contingent was made up of PICI staff, family, allies and friends from across our network, including University of California, San Francisco, Gladstone Institutes and California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).

We stand with the LGBTQIA+ community in advocating for equality, recognizing that a welcoming environment empowers our network’s brilliant minds to pursue bold ideas and challenge conventional thinking. Embracing diverse perspectives equips us to tackle complex challenges in immuno-oncology research and accelerate breakthrough cancer treatments.

Thank you to everyone who marched alongside us today, embodying the spirit of collaboration and determination that define the PICI Network. We were inspired by the energy, courage and pure joy that filled the streets of San Francisco. #SFPride #PICIPride

Research led by 2023 Parker Scholar Chris McGinnis, PhD, Stanford University School of Medicine, and PICI Investigator Ansuman Satpathy, MD, PhD, Stanford University School of Medicine, has unveiled critical insights into the dynamic immune landscape changes that enable #breastcancer metastasis. Published in Cancer Cell (Cell Press), this PICI-funded study utilized cutting-edge single-cell RNA sequencing to construct longitudinal atlases tracking immune cell phenotypes and populations in metastatic breast cancer models. The team’s analysis revealed that pre-metastatic niche formation correlated with a TLR-NFκB inflammatory program enacted by myeloid cells, mirroring “activated” cells in the primary tumor. Unlike in primary tumors, the proportion of cytotoxic natural killer cells increased during metastasis in both mice and human patients.
   
This study enhances our understanding of the complex immune remodeling that takes place during breast cancer metastasis, and the identification of dynamic regulation of CCL6 and IGF1 signaling pathways in specific cell types presents promising new targets for anti-metastatic treatments. Congratulations to the research team on these important findings, which represent a significant step toward the development of more effective treatments that could specifically target and disrupt the metastatic process.

Read more in Cancer Cell: https://lnkd.in/erC7eucC

Just in time in advance of the long holiday weekend, the July edition of The Immuno-Oncology Digest is here, featuring PICI Network updates, industry insights, scientific breakthroughs, partner collaborations and more. In this issue:

- PICI announced its 2024 class of Early Career Researchers. Now in its eighth year, this year's awardees will receive over $1 million in total to support their pioneering immunotherapy research.
- New research from the University of Pennsylvania published in Science, led by PICI Investigator Andy Minn, MD, PhD, and team, including 2023 Parker Scholar Divij Mathew, PhD, PICI Investigator Alexander Huang, MD, and E. John Wherry, PhD, Co-Director of the PICI Center at Penn, which shows promising results for advanced #lungcancer treatment. 
- A new article in Nature Medicine, in which Crystal Mackall, MD, PICI Center Director, Stanford University School of Medicine, and team, including PICI Site Administrator Casey Carr, propose an alternate path for the development and commercialization of pediatric cell and gene therapies in order to increase access.
- New research led by 2023 Parker Scholar Chris McGinnis, PhD, Stanford University School of Medicine, and PICI Investigator Ansuman Satpathy, MD, PhD, Stanford University School of Medicine, published in Cancer Cell (Cell Press) and funded by PICI, that unveils important insights into the dynamic immune landscape changes that enable breast cancer metastasis. 

Read the full issue: https://lnkd.in/eCUMuSdp

Subscribe for updates: https://lnkd.in/dEm2qHz

New research from University of Pennsylvania published in Science, led by PICI Investigator Andy Minn, MD, PhD, and team including 2023 Parker Scholar Divij Mathew, PhD, PICI Investigator Alexander Huang, MD, and E. John Wherry, PhD, Co-Director of the PICI Center at Penn, shows promising results for advanced #lung cancer treatment. The Phase 2 trial demonstrated that targeting persistent inflammation with a JAK inhibitor after initial anti-PD-1 #immunotherapy improved immune function and antitumor responses. This approach resulted in a 67% overall response rate in metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 23.8 months median progression-free survival.

By inhibiting JAK1, which plays a crucial role in inflammatory signaling, the treatment delayed CD8 T cell exhaustion, enhancing the immunotherapy response. This could offer a major advance for patients who don’t benefit from or relapse after initial anti–PD-1 immunotherapy. These results, alongside recent findings in r/r Hodgkin's lymphoma, suggest that combining JAK inhibition and PD-1 immunotherapy could have significant implications for future treatment strategies.

→ Read the Science article for more information: https://lnkd.in/eUzbqEmi

→ Check out the news release from Penn: https://lnkd.in/eRSBVwPk

Read about recent PICI Network developments in our latest Immuno-Oncology Digest. This edition includes a preview of the PICI Network presence at #ASCO24, notable new publications and more. 

Check out:
- PICI Network Investigators and collaborators at ASCO, with more than 35 presentations featuring PICI Investigator contributions, including 2 Keynotes and Special Sessions, 5 Oral and Rapid Oral Presentations as contributing authors and over 25 Poster Presentations.
- Recent research published in Nature, conducted in the lab of Neil Sheppard D.Phil at the University of Pennsylvania, with PICI Investigators as co-authors, including Carl June, MD, Director for the PICI Center at Penn, and Lewis Lanier, PhD, former Director for the PICI Center at UCSF, in which researchers collaborated to develop a method to preserve the anti-tumor potency of cryopreserved natural killer (NK) cells. According to the study, pretreating NK cells with IL-15 and IL-18 enabled around 90-100% viable recovery post-cryopreservation with anti-tumor potency matching fresh cells.
- Insights from PICI Investigator Hideho Okada, MD, PhD, UCSF, who discussed the utility of vaccine-based approaches for patients with low-grade glioma at The 2024 New York Academy of Sciences Frontiers in Cancer Immunotherapy Symposium.
- A publication in Molecular Cell, in which PICI Investigator Howard Chang, MD, PhD,  Stanford University School of Medicine, was part of a team that studied the mechanism of cellular uptake and intracellular fate of exogenous circRNAs.
- A Nature paper featuring work from PICI Investigators at Stanford Medicine (Sean Yamada-Hunter, PhD, Zinaida Good, Ph.D., Louai Labanieh, PhD and Crystal Mackall, MD, Center Director for the PICI Center at Stanford University School of Medicine) along with PICI Investigator Robbie Majzner, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, that sought to enhance antitumor efficacy by co-administering adoptively transferred T cells with anti-CD47 antibodies. 

Read the full digest at https://lnkd.in/dqMq4KEi and subscribe to stay updated on everything PICI: https://lnkd.in/g2hVZQub

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Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy