Novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of solid tumors

Abstract

The present PhD thesis can be divided into two main sections as it aims to cover two of the latest therapeutic frontiers for the treatment of solid tumors: cell cycle inhibition for the treatment of Triple-Negative Breast Carcinoma (TNBC), and Adoptive T Cell Therapy (ACT) based on the utilization of autologous ex vivo- expanded Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TIL) for the treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). The preclinical work described in the first part of the present thesis involved the evaluation of the anti-tumor activity of CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib on a panel of TNBC cell lines. Among the described results, one particular evidence highlights the combination of palbociclib with PI3K/mTOR inhibitors as a novel effective therapeutic approach for the treatment of TNBC, a type of cancer which nowadays still dramatically awaits for new therapeutic options. The second section of the present thesis presents the results of a section of the ICON (ImmunogenomiC prOfiling of early stage NSCLC) study ongoing at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, USA. The study aimed to evaluate whether TIL therapy may be a feasible approach for the treatment of NSCLC. The results highlight a potential applicability of TIL therapy also for this type of solid tumor, and focus the attention on possible novel neoantigens which can be recognized by rapidly-expanded TIL in an autologous fashion.