Oral immunotherapy

BACKGROUND: We previously reported that Probiotic and Peanut Oral Immunotherapy (PPOIT) was effective at inducing sustained unresponsiveness compared with placebo in a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial. This study evaluated the impact of PPOIT on health related quality of life (HRQL). METHOD: Fifty-one participants (PPOIT 24; Placebo 27) from the PPOIT trial completed Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire (FAQLQ-PF) and Food Allergy Independent Measure (FAIM) at pre-treatment, end-of-treatment and 3-months after end-of-treatment...

Despite the revolutionary progress of immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) for cancer immunotherapy, CPIs are effective only in a subset of patients. Combining CPIs and cancer vaccines to achieve better clinical outcomes is a reasonable approach since CPI enhances cancer vaccine-induced tumor-associated antigen (TAA) specific CTL. Among the various TAAs so far identified, WT1 protein is one of the most promising TAAs as a cancer vaccine target. Until now clinical trials of WT1 vaccine have demonstrated only modest clinical efficacy...

FP treatment, which combines 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and cisplatin (CDDP) chemotherapy, is widely used for treatment of advanced head and neck cancer (HNC). It has been suggested that these drugs cause immunomodulation in the cancer microenvironment, for example, downregulation of immunosuppressive cells such as regulatory T-cells (Tregs) and myeloid-derived suppressive cells (MDSCs), activating dendritic cells (DCs), and upregulation of tumor antigens and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules in cancer cells leads to enhancement of cancer immunity, which is important in cancer treatment, as well as providing a direct killing effect...

Background: Chemotherapy remains a viable option for the management of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) despite recent advances in molecular targeted therapy and immunotherapy. We evaluated the efficacy of oral 5-fluorouracil-based S-1 as second- or third-line therapy compared with standard docetaxel therapy in patients with advanced NSCLC. Patients and methods: Patients with advanced NSCLC previously treated with ≥1 platinum-based therapy were randomized 1:1 to docetaxel (60 mg/m2 in Japan, 75mg/m2 at all other study sites; day 1 in a 3-week cycle) or S-1 (80-120 mg/day, depending on body surface area; days 1-28 in a 6-week cycle)...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to summarize developments in novel therapeutics for ovarian cancer presented at the Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium held at the University of Washington. METHODS: A symposium of the leaders in ovarian cancer research was convened to present and discuss current advances and future directions in ovarian cancer research. RESULTS: The fourth session was held on September 13, 2016, and focused on Novel Therapeutics for Ovarian Cancer...

Asthma is a common chronic airways disease. The goal of asthma management is to control symptoms while minimizing the side effects of treatment. Following a period of stable asthma, clinicians should consider stepping down treatment. This approach is recommended by current guidelines. Step-down has been studied for several types of asthma drug regimens, and certain approaches may have lower risk than others. Systematic reviews of multiple trials support the following specific step-down approaches: optimizing inhaled corticosteroid dosing when stepping down oral corticosteroid, reducing inhaled corticosteroid from a higher dose, lowering inhaled corticosteroid-long acting bronchodilator (ICS-LABA) dose while adding ICS-LABA on-demand, adding leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA) while lowering inhaled corticosteroid dose, and using allergen immunotherapy when reducing inhaled corticosteroid from a higher dose...

BACKGROUND: Oral immunotherapy (OIT) is a promising therapeutic approach to treat food allergic patients. However, there are some concerns regarding its safety and long-term efficacy. The use of non-digestible oligosaccharides might improve OIT efficacy since they are known to directly modulate intestinal epithelial and immune cells in addition to acting as prebiotics. AIM: To investigate whether a diet supplemented with plant-derived fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) supports the efficacy of OIT in a murine cow's milk allergy model and to elucidate the potential mechanisms involved...

AIM/HYPOTHESIS: Combination therapy targeting the major actors involved in the immune-mediated destruction of pancreatic beta cells appears to be an indispensable approach to treat type 1 diabetes effectively. We hypothesised that the combination of an orally active pan-histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi: givinostat) with subtherapeutic doses of CD3 antibodies may provide ideal synergy to treat ongoing autoimmunity. METHODS: NOD mice transgenic for the human CD3ε (also known as CD3E) chain (NOD-huCD3ε) were treated for recent-onset diabetes with oral givinostat, subtherapeutic doses of humanised CD3 antibodies (otelixizumab, 50 μg/day, 5 days, i...

AIM: This study evaluated whether 15 allergy, immunology or inflammatory markers predicted the long-term use of cows' milk or milk products seven years after the start of oral immunotherapy (OIT) for cows' milk allergy in children. METHODS: The following laboratory parameters were measured before the OIT at Tampere University Hospital, Finland, and after the six-month escalation phase: serum total immunoglobulin (Ig) E, milk-specific IgG and IgG4, eosinophil cationic protein, eosinophil-derived neurotoxin, interleukins 4, 5, 6,10 and 12p70 and serum adipokines adiponectin, adipsin, leptin and resistin...

OBJECTIVE: Oncological treatments are associated with toxicities that may decrease compliance to treatment in most genitourinary cancer patients. Supplementation with pharmaceutical-standardized supplement may be a supplementary method to control the side effects after chemo- and radiotherapy and the increased oxidative stress associated to treatments. This registry study evaluated a natural combination of supplements containing curcumin, cordyceps, and astaxanthin (Oncotris™) used as supplementary management in genitourinary cancer patients who had undergone oncological therapy...

BACKGROUND: Antigen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) is a promising therapeutic approach for both cow's milk allergy (CMA) and peanut allergy (PNA), but needs optimization in terms of efficacy and safety. AIM: Compare oral immunotherapy (OIT) and subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) in murine models for CMA and PNA and determine the dose of allergen needed to effectively modify parameters of allergy. METHODS: Female C3H/HeOuJ mice were sensitized intragastrically (i...

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is the most common inflammatory skin condition in adults and children. AD is a chronic disease that has a considerable negative impact on the quality of life of patients and their families. Most cases of AD may be effectively treated with topical therapies that are directed at decreasing cutaneous inflammation and alleviating pruritus. These therapies include emollients, antihistamines, topical corticosteroids, topical calcineurin inhibitors and antimicrobial and antiseptic measures; more refractory cases may require additional oral immunosuppression (eg, cyclosporine, azathioprine, methotrexate and mycophenolate)...

Recent advances in the diagnosis and management of allergic disease also lead to new clinical decisions for providers. Advances in component (or molecular) diagnostic testing for allergy continue to build in the literature, but diagnosing inhalant allergy remains largely unchanged clinically. Prevention of allergy has been demonstrated by preventing peanut allergy in high-risk infants by intentional oral exposure to promote tolerance. Immunotherapy options have increased, with literature supporting sublingual drops, sublingual tablets, and subcutaneous immunotherapy...

The abnormal tumor vasculature is one of key reasons that lead to the limited tumor perfusion as well as hypoxic and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Herein, we uncover that by normalizing the tumor vasculature with erlotinib, a specific inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), the tumor perfusion and tumor oxygenation statuses in different types of tumors including murine breast tumors, colorectal tumors, and squamous cell carcinoma tumors, could be remarkably enhanced. As the results, the tumor uptake of drug-loaded nanoparticles as well as their interstitial penetration within the tumor would be greatly increased for mice pre-treated with erlotinib at the oral feeding dose of 50 mg/kg, leading to remarkably improved chemotherapeutic efficacy of nanomedicine...

The aim of this work was to evaluate the potential application of an original oral immunotherapy, based on the use of nanoparticles, against an experimentally induced peanut allergy. In this context, a roasted peanut extract, containing the main allergenic proteins, were encapsulated into poly(anhydride) nanoparticles. The resulting devices (PE-NP) displayed a mean size of about 150nm and a significantly lower surface hydrophobicity than empty nanoparticles (NP). This low hydrophobicity correlated well with a higher in vitro diffusion in pig intestinal mucus than NP and an important in vivo capability to reach the intestinal epithelium and Peyer's patches...

Atherosclerosis is a pathology leading to cardiovascular diseases with high epidemiologic impact; thus, new therapies are required to fight this global health issue. Immunotherapy is a feasible approach to treat atherosclerosis and given that genetically engineered plants are attractive hosts for vaccine development; we previously proved that the plant cell is able to synthesize a chimeric protein called CTB:p210:CETPe, which is composed of the cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) as immunogenic carrier and target epitopes from the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP461-476) and apolipoprotein B100 (p210)...

Food allergy has been increasing in prevalence for the last few decades, and numerous studies have evaluated ways of improving the allergy practitioner's ability to accurately diagnose patients who are truly food allergic, rather than sensitive but able to tolerate food. Once diagnosed, the current standard treatment is food elimination and avoidance, but other potential treatment options like oral immunotherapy, sublingual immunotherapy, and epicutaneous immunotherapy are becoming promising alternatives. Due the health care costs and potential for life-threatening adverse reactions, much attention has been given to the prevention of food allergies, resulting a shift in recent guideline recommendations...

BACKGROUND: Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disorders (EGIDs) are hypersensitivity disorders frequently triggered by food allergy and manifested by mucosal eosinophilic infiltration at any level of the gastro-intestinal tract. This study established a model of gastric eosinophilia in peanut-sensitized piglets to evaluate the efficacy of epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT) for its treatment. METHODS: Experiments were carried out in piglets first sensitized by 3 intra-peritoneal injections of peanut protein extract (PPE) with adjuvant, and then given PPE orally for 10 days, a sequence leading to gastric eosinophilia assessed by endoscopy...

To date, only few studies have assessed oral immunotherapy (OIT) for wheat allergy and often describe severe adverse reactions during therapy. We developed partially hydrolyzed wheat-based cereals (pHC), which were used in a multicenter, open-label, OIT pilot study, in immunoglobulin E-mediated wheat allergy children (NCT01332084). The primary objective of the study was to test whether wheat allergic patients tolerate pHC and primary end point was the presence or not of immediate adverse reactions to pHC during the 1-day initial escalation phase (stepwise increased doses of pHC), with evaluation of the maximum dose tolerated...

Immunodeficiency-associated vaccine-derived polioviruses (iVDPVs) have been isolated from primary immunodeficiency (PID) patients exposed to oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV). Patients may excrete poliovirus strains for months or years; the excreted viruses are frequently highly divergent from the parental OPV and have been shown to be as neurovirulent as wild virus. Thus, these patients represent a potential reservoir for transmission of neurovirulent polioviruses in the post-eradication era. In support of WHO recommendations to better estimate the prevalence of poliovirus excreters among PIDs and characterize genetic evolution of these strains, 635 patients including 570 with primary antibody deficiencies and 65 combined immunodeficiencies were studied from 13 OPV-using countries...