• AXL inhibition improves BRAF-targeted treatment in melanoma 

      Nyakas, Marta Sølvi; Fleten, Karianne Giller; Haugen, Mads Haugland; Engedal, Nikolai; Sveen, Christina; Farstad, Inger Nina; Flørenes, Vivi Ann; Prasmickaite, Lina; Mælandsmo, Gunhild Mari; Vasiliauskaite, Kotryna (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2022)
      More than half of metastatic melanoma patients receiving standard therapy fail to achieve a long-term survival due to primary and/or acquired resistance. Tumor cell ability to switch from epithelial to a more aggressive mesenchymal phenotype, attributed with AXL<sup>high</sup> molecular profle in melanoma, has been recently linked to such event, limiting treatment efcacy. In the current study, ...
    • Cabazitaxel-loaded Poly(2-ethylbutyl cyanoacrylate) nanoparticles improve treatment efficacy in a patient derived breast cancer xenograft 

      Fusser, Markus; Øverbye, Anders; Pandya, Abhilash D.; Mørch, Ýrr Asbjørg; Borgos, Sven Even F.; Kildal, Wanja; Snipstad, Sofie; Sulheim, Einar; Fleten, Karianne Giller; Askautrud, Hanne Arenberg; Engebraaten, Olav; Flatmark, Kjersti; Iversen, Tore Geir; Sandvig, Kirsten; Skotland, Tore; Mælandsmo, Gunhild Mari (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2018-12-04)
      The effect of poly(2-ethyl-butyl cyanoacrylate) nanoparticles containing the cytotoxic drug cabazitaxel was studied in three breast cancer cell lines and one basal-like patient-derived xenograft model grown in the mammary fat pad of immunodeficient mice. Nanoparticle-encapsulated cabazitaxel had a much better efficacy than similar concentrations of free drug in the basal-like patient-derived xenograft ...
    • Fibroblast-induced switching to the mesenchymal-like phenotype and PI3K/mTOR signaling protects melanoma cells from BRAF inhibitors 

      Vasiliauskaite, Kotryna; Fleten, Karianne Giller; Barkovskaya, Anna; Nygaard, Vigdis; Haugen, Mads Haugland; Engesæter, Birgit Øvstebø; Mælandsmo, Gunhild; Prasmickaite, Lina (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2016)
      The knowledge on how tumor-associated stroma influences efficacy of anti-cancer therapy just started to emerge. Here we show that lung fibroblasts reduce melanoma sensitivity to the BRAF inhibitor (BRAFi) vemurafenib only if the two cell types are in close proximity. In the presence of fibroblasts, the adjacent melanoma cells acquire de-differentiated mesenchymal-like phenotype. Upon treatment with ...
    • Oncolytic peptides DTT-205 and DTT-304 induce complete regression and protective immune response in experimental murine colorectal cancer 

      Fleten, Karianne Giller; Eksteen, Johannes J.; Mauseth, Brynjar; Camilio, Ketil André; Vasskog, Terje; Sveinbjørnsson, Baldur; Rekdal, Øystein; Mælandsmo, Gunhild Mari; Flatmark, Kjersti (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2021-03-24)
      Oncolytic peptides represent a novel, promising cancer treatment strategy with activity in a broad spectrum of cancer entities, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Cancer cells are killed by immunogenic cell death, causing long-lasting anticancer immune responses, a feature of particular interest in non-immunogenic CRC. Oncolytic peptides DTT-205 and DTT-304 were administered by intratumoral injection ...
    • A Three-dimensional Ex Vivo Viability Assay Reveals a Strong Correlation Between Response to Targeted Inhibitors and Mutation Status in Melanoma Lymph Node Metastases 

      Flørenes, Vivi Ann; Flem-Karlsen, Karine; McFadden, Erin; Bergheim, Inger Riise; Nygaard, Vigdis; Nygård, Vegard Mokleiv; Farstad, Inger Nina; Øy, Geir Frode; Emilsen, Elisabeth; Fleten, Karianne Giller; Ree, Anne Hansen; Flatmark, Kjersti; Gullestad, Hans Petter; Hermann, Robert; Ryder, Truls; Wernhoff, Patrik; Mælandsmo, Gunhild Mari (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2019-05-13)
      Although clinical management of melanoma has changed considerably in recent years, intrinsic treatment resistance remains a severe problem and strategies to design personal treatment regimens are highly warranted. We have applied a three-dimensional (3D) <i>ex vivo</i> drug efficacy assay, exposing disaggregated cells from 38 freshly harvested melanoma lymph node metastases and 21 patient derived ...