Irina Kareva

TL;DR: Evidence supporting a mechanistic explanation for the improved activity of cancer chemotherapy when administered on a metronomic, rather than an MTD schedule is presented and the implications of these findings for further translation into the clinic are discussed.

TL;DR: This study is unique in being a direct demonstration that the presence of a tumor may induce a chronic inflammatory response in vivo, leading to increased systemic levels of DNA damage, suggesting that tumors may have more profound effects on their hosts than heretofore expected.

TL;DR: It is proposed that through upregulation of glycolysis and the consequent lowering of pH in the tumor microenvironment, tumors can take advantage of a pH control system, already exploited by specific immune cell subpopulations, to gain control of the immune system and suppress both cytotoxic and antigen-presenting cells.

TL;DR: An expansion on the idea of ecological therapy of cancer, incorporating literature on species invasion, that is, the idea that once a tumor is formed, cancer cells modify their microenvironment (niche construction) by changing pH through glycolysis, secreting growth factors and recruiting tumor-associated macrophages to promote cell growth, activating fibroblasts, evading predation from immune system, making the cancer that much more difficult to eradicate.

TL;DR: Combining immune checkpoint inhibition with metronomic administration of chemotherapeutic drugs may create a synergistic effect that augments anti-tumor immune responses and clears metabolic competition, an effect that may be unattainable by using either therapeutic modality alone.