Cancer discoveryPub Date : 2026-09-29DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-25-1779
Andrea Garcia-Garijo, Immaculada Creus-González, Pierre L. Levy, Ana Belén Moreno-Cárdenas, Endika Prieto-Fernández, Maria Lozano-Rabella, Carlos Alberto Fajardo, Ricardo Pujol-Borrell, Albert Marín-Bayo, Johanna Kusnick, Jonatan Gonzalez, Carla Brujas, Jared J. Gartner, Anna Yuste-Estevanez, Alma M. Calahorro, Aya Louhamane, Jose Fernandez, Rebeca Sanz-Pamplona, Thomas B.K. Watkins, Vladimir Galvao, Eva Munoz-Couselo, Javier Ros, Elena Élez, Mafalda Oliveira, Cristina Saura Manich, Irene Brana, Ana Oaknin, Ramon Alemany, Josep Tabernero, Raquel Perez-Lopez, Simon Turcotte, Alexander M. Frankell, Elena Garralda, Rodrigo A. Toledo, Alena Gros
{"title":"Peripheral Blood as the Sole Source for Cancer Neoantigen and Reactive T-Cell Discovery","authors":"Andrea Garcia-Garijo, Immaculada Creus-González, Pierre L. Levy, Ana Belén Moreno-Cárdenas, Endika Prieto-Fernández, Maria Lozano-Rabella, Carlos Alberto Fajardo, Ricardo Pujol-Borrell, Albert Marín-Bayo, Johanna Kusnick, Jonatan Gonzalez, Carla Brujas, Jared J. Gartner, Anna Yuste-Estevanez, Alma M. Calahorro, Aya Louhamane, Jose Fernandez, Rebeca Sanz-Pamplona, Thomas B.K. Watkins, Vladimir Galvao, Eva Munoz-Couselo, Javier Ros, Elena Élez, Mafalda Oliveira, Cristina Saura Manich, Irene Brana, Ana Oaknin, Ramon Alemany, Josep Tabernero, Raquel Perez-Lopez, Simon Turcotte, Alexander M. Frankell, Elena Garralda, Rodrigo A. Toledo, Alena Gros","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.cd-25-1779","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.cd-25-1779","url":null,"abstract":"Neoantigen-targeted T-cell therapies require invasive tumor biopsies to identify neoantigens and reactive T cells, limiting their applicability and potentially underestimating tumor heterogeneity. We propose a novel strategy relying solely on peripheral blood to identify non-synonymous mutations via cell-free DNA whole-exome sequencing and isolate neoantigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells based on PD-1 and CD39 co-expression. Our method identified most neoantigens and increased the number of T-cell reactivities detected by standard biopsy-based techniques in an initial cohort of eight metastatic cancer patients. Critically, our approach uncovered additional neoantigens missed by tumor biopsy analysis, highlighting the potential for broader neoantigen targeting using liquid biopsies. Analysis of a cohort of 69 metastatic cancer patients revealed that approximately half could be eligible for our blood-only approach. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates the potential of using blood as a surrogate or complement for tumor biopsies to develop neoantigen-reactive T-cell therapies against a broader spectrum of neoantigens.","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":28.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149070942","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cancer discoveryPub Date : 2026-09-29DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-26-0509
Mubin Tarannum, Khanhlinh Dinh, Mila Stanojevic, Maily Nguyen, Marco Campisi, Andreia Maia, Fuguo Liu, Shaobo Yang, Grace C Birch, Eden Bobilev, Ian Gillanders, Michal Sheffer, Shikha Gupta, Junning Wang, Suthakar Ganapathy, Daniel E Michaud, Guillermo Nicolas Dalton, Seema Chugh, Quang-De Nguyen, Cloud P Paweletz, Prafulla C Gokhale, Yang Gao, Jose Cancelas, Jennifer L Guerriero, Toni K Choueiri, David A Barbie, Andrew J Aguirre, Rebecca L Porter, Ursula A Matulonis, John Koreth, Catherine J Wu, Robert J Soiffer, Jerome Ritz, Jianzhu Chen, Rizwan Romee
{"title":"Spatially confined IL-12 programs CAR-NK through mTORC1 to coordinate antitumor immune networks.","authors":"Mubin Tarannum, Khanhlinh Dinh, Mila Stanojevic, Maily Nguyen, Marco Campisi, Andreia Maia, Fuguo Liu, Shaobo Yang, Grace C Birch, Eden Bobilev, Ian Gillanders, Michal Sheffer, Shikha Gupta, Junning Wang, Suthakar Ganapathy, Daniel E Michaud, Guillermo Nicolas Dalton, Seema Chugh, Quang-De Nguyen, Cloud P Paweletz, Prafulla C Gokhale, Yang Gao, Jose Cancelas, Jennifer L Guerriero, Toni K Choueiri, David A Barbie, Andrew J Aguirre, Rebecca L Porter, Ursula A Matulonis, John Koreth, Catherine J Wu, Robert J Soiffer, Jerome Ritz, Jianzhu Chen, Rizwan Romee","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.CD-26-0509","DOIUrl":"10.1158/2159-8290.CD-26-0509","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Solid tumors evade immunotherapy because of immunosuppressive microenvironments that limit immune cell persistence and function. Although interleukin-12 (IL-12) potently activates antitumor immunity, its clinical use has been constrained by systemic toxicity. Here we engineered a CAR natural killer (NK) cell platform that integrated IL-12 signaling to enhance antitumor immunity. IL-12 signaling synergized with CAR activation to sustain mTORC1 activity through convergent Ras-ERK and PI3K pathways, promoting metabolic fitness, autonomous expansion, and sustained effector function. IL-12 also activated bystander NK cells, T cells, and macrophages to remodel the tumor microenvironment. To improve safety, IL-12 was tethered to a collagen-binding A3-domain, restricting its activity to the extracellular matrix and limiting systemic exposure. In ovarian and pancreatic cancer models, matrix-anchored IL-12 CAR NK cells expanded without exogenous cytokines and achieved durable tumor control. These findings suggest that mTORC1-mediated integration of CAR and cytokine signaling can enhance immune fitness and overcome immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments.</p>","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":29.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149079904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cancer discoveryPub Date : 2026-09-28DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-nw2026-0092
{"title":"Q&A: Eileen O’Reilly on Pancreatic Cancer","authors":"","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.cd-nw2026-0092","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.cd-nw2026-0092","url":null,"abstract":": Eileen M. O’Reilly, MD, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY, whose research focuses on therapies for pancreas cancer, spoke with Cancer Discovery’s Suzanne Rose about daraxonrasib combinations, treatment strategies under development, the need for genomic testing, and what big headlines might come in pancreas cancer.","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":28.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149067323","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cancer discoveryPub Date : 2026-09-25DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-26-0248
Andrew P Jallouk, Zhongqi Ge, Vivek Kaimal, Kristen Zhang, Elvin J Lauron, Paul B Robbins, Zachary J Roberts, Emerie Danson, Matthew D Richard, Pragya Devashish, Sattva S Neelapu, Pavan Bachireddy
{"title":"Cellular and molecular mechanisms determining allogeneic CAR T cell rejection and expansion.","authors":"Andrew P Jallouk, Zhongqi Ge, Vivek Kaimal, Kristen Zhang, Elvin J Lauron, Paul B Robbins, Zachary J Roberts, Emerie Danson, Matthew D Richard, Pragya Devashish, Sattva S Neelapu, Pavan Bachireddy","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.CD-26-0248","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-26-0248","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Allogeneic CAR T cells could overcome limitations of autologous therapies but are limited by immune rejection. We evaluated 11 patients with large B‑cell lymphoma treated with a single lot of cemacabtagene ansegedleucel (cema-cel), an allogeneic anti‑CD19 CAR T product. Despite receiving identical infusion products, patients exhibited heterogeneous cema-cel expansion and clinical outcomes. Our integrated analyses using longitudinal TCRβ sequencing, single‑cell molecular profiling, and mixed lymphocyte reaction assays revealed that high frequencies of pre‑existing, recipient-derived alloreactive CD8+ T cells mediated rapid CAR T rejection in non-expanders. Furthermore, effector-like features, rather than stem/central memory programs, drove robust clonal CAR T expansion consistently across expanders. We confirmed similar expansion patterns in two independent cohorts treated with a separate lot of cema-cel or an allogeneic anti-BCMA CAR T product. These findings highlight distinct cell‑extrinsic and cell‑intrinsic mechanisms that influence allogeneic CAR T performance and provide insights to optimize donor selection, manufacturing, and product design.</p>","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":29.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149036469","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cancer discoveryPub Date : 2026-09-24DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-nw2026-0091
{"title":"Microplastics and Cancer: Still Searching for Causation","authors":"","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.cd-nw2026-0091","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.cd-nw2026-0091","url":null,"abstract":": Micro- and nanoplastics have been found in tumors throughout the human body, from the gut and lung to the brain and prostate, and laboratory work ties them to inflammation, DNA damage, and other cancer-related changes. But nearly all that evidence is either associative or drawn from animals and cells. Researchers say a causal verdict will require studies that measure exposure before disease appears, a bar the field has not yet cleared.","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":"27 4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":28.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149027540","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cancer discoveryPub Date : 2026-09-22DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-25-1652
Magdalena K Sznurkowska, Francesc Castro-Giner, Irene D'Anna, Ilona Krol, Yongzhan Zhang, Lauren L Ozimski, Massimo Saini, Jianwen Zhou, Simran Asawa, David Gremmelspacher, Alexander Ring, Karin Strittmatter, Fabienne Dominique Schwab, Yu Wei Zhang, Selina Budinjas, Marko Vujanovic, Zacharias Kontarakis, Giada Pontecorvi, Francesca Albrecht, Kirsten D Mertz, Gaël Auray, Claudio Giachino, Verdon Taylor, Ana Gvozdenovic, Werner J Kovacs, Ilaria Malanchi, Heike Frauchiger-Heuer, Andreas Wicki, Marcus Vetter, Matteo Ligorio, Nicola Aceto
{"title":"The liver niche accelerates, while the lung niche restrains secondary spread of breast cancer.","authors":"Magdalena K Sznurkowska, Francesc Castro-Giner, Irene D'Anna, Ilona Krol, Yongzhan Zhang, Lauren L Ozimski, Massimo Saini, Jianwen Zhou, Simran Asawa, David Gremmelspacher, Alexander Ring, Karin Strittmatter, Fabienne Dominique Schwab, Yu Wei Zhang, Selina Budinjas, Marko Vujanovic, Zacharias Kontarakis, Giada Pontecorvi, Francesca Albrecht, Kirsten D Mertz, Gaël Auray, Claudio Giachino, Verdon Taylor, Ana Gvozdenovic, Werner J Kovacs, Ilaria Malanchi, Heike Frauchiger-Heuer, Andreas Wicki, Marcus Vetter, Matteo Ligorio, Nicola Aceto","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.CD-25-1652","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-25-1652","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Breast cancer progression to visceral organs such as the lung and liver is associated with poor prognosis. Yet, these organs have diverse cellular microenvironments that may differentially influence cancer cell behavior. Here, we show that breast cancer metastases differ in their capacity for secondary seeding: the liver fosters metastasis-promoting properties and boosts secondary spread, whereas the lung restricts these processes, favoring local growth. Using patient data and rapid autopsy tissues, mouse models with barcode-mediated tracing, niche-labeling technology, and single-cell analysis of tumor cells and their direct microenvironment, we dissect the cellular and molecular microenvironmental factors underlying this differential behavior. Mechanistically, we identify BMP2-producing endothelial cells as critical players within the liver metastatic niche, enhancing metastasis-to-metastasis dissemination. Targeting the BMP2 signaling axis suppresses secondary spread of liver-derived breast cancer lesions. Altogether, we reveal site-specific behavior of lung and liver metastases in breast cancer, highlighting microenvironmental mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities for intervention.</p>","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":29.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149015542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cancer discoveryPub Date : 2026-09-22DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-26-1179
Sandra Misale, Neeha Zaidi, Elizabeth M Jaffee, Alison P Klein, Laura D Wood
{"title":"Targeting RAS for Pancreatic Cancer Interception.","authors":"Sandra Misale, Neeha Zaidi, Elizabeth M Jaffee, Alison P Klein, Laura D Wood","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.CD-26-1179","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-26-1179","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Multiple strategies to target RAS are now available to treat pancreatic cancer. As pancreatic precancers also have KRAS mutations, these tools hold great promise for cancer interception.</p>","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":" ","pages":"OF1-OF6"},"PeriodicalIF":29.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149015556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cancer discoveryPub Date : 2026-09-18DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-nw2026-0090
{"title":"Phase III Trials Test First-Line Options in Advanced NSCLC","authors":"","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.cd-nw2026-0090","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.cd-nw2026-0090","url":null,"abstract":": Presented at the 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer, two phase III trials—PAPILLON and REZILIENT3—established amivantamab and zipalertinib combination therapies as effective first-line strategies for advanced NSCLC with EGFR exon 20 insertions, with significantly improved progression-free survival, although high crossover rates prevented them demonstrating an overall survival benefit. Separately, HARMONi-2 showed that the bispecific antibody ivonescimab improved overall survival versus pembrolizumab in PD-L1–positive NSCLC, supporting its use as standard of care in China while larger global trials continue.","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":"157 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":28.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148985138","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cancer discoveryPub Date : 2026-09-18DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-25-1613
Wei Shi, Ping Xu, Qianlin Gu, Zhen Fan, Xin Liang, Yin Wang, Yuehui Zhao, Chenling Meng, Javier Leo, Justin J. Kim, Hongqi Teng, Jie Zhang, Feiyu Chen, Yang Chen, Nicholas E. Navin, Di Zhao
{"title":"Dual Functions of B7-H3-MAPK Signaling Orchestrate Tumor Immunosuppression via Regulating the Plasticity of Myeloid-derived Suppressor Cells and Fibroblasts","authors":"Wei Shi, Ping Xu, Qianlin Gu, Zhen Fan, Xin Liang, Yin Wang, Yuehui Zhao, Chenling Meng, Javier Leo, Justin J. Kim, Hongqi Teng, Jie Zhang, Feiyu Chen, Yang Chen, Nicholas E. Navin, Di Zhao","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.cd-25-1613","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.cd-25-1613","url":null,"abstract":"B7-H3/CD276 is an emerging immunotherapy target in cancers. However, limited knowledge of B7-H3 signaling and its role in modulating the tumor microenvironment hinders the clinical application of B7-H3-targeting therapy. Here, we report that B7-H3 plays dual roles in regulating myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), thereby promoting tumor progression and therapy resistance, respectively. We comprehensively characterized a non-canonical function of B7-H3 that triggers MAPK signaling in monocytic MDSCs and induces cellular senescence. The senescent monocytic M-MDSCs secreted chemokines to recruit immunosuppressive granulocytic MDSCs. Genetic deletion or pharmacological inhibition of B7-H3/Cd276 reduced Gr-MDSCs and delayed tumor progression. Nevertheless, the secretory factor SPINK1 derived from MDSCs compensatorily activates EGFR/MEK/ERK signaling in CAFs and promotes their extracellular matrix remodeling features, dampening B7-H3-targeting immunotherapy. Combining the B7-H3 monoclonal antibody with the FDA-approved MEK inhibitor trametinib showed durable anti-tumor effects in preclinical models of castration-resistant prostate cancer by fully attenuating immunosuppressive mechanisms.","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":28.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148985101","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cancer discoveryPub Date : 2026-09-17DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-nw2026-0088
{"title":"Anti–B7-H3 ADCs Take Center Stage against SCLC at WCLC","authors":"","doi":"10.1158/2159-8290.cd-nw2026-0088","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.cd-nw2026-0088","url":null,"abstract":": Separate phase III trials of the anti–B7-H3 antibody–drug conjugates tambotatug pelitecan and risvutatug rezetecan significantly improved overall survival, progression-free survival, and objective response rates compared with topotecan in patients with relapsed small-cell lung cancer. In a third trial, the combination of the investigational PD-L1 x VEGF-A bispecific antibody pumitamig plus the anti–B7-H3 ADC elfetabart drozuntecan showed encouraging early efficacy in SCLC across lines of therapy and doses. The studies were presented at the 2026 World Congress on Lung Cancer in Seoul, Republic of Korea.","PeriodicalId":9430,"journal":{"name":"Cancer discovery","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":28.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148985104","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}