STING agonist therapy in combination with PD-1 immune checkpoint blockade enhances response to carboplatin chemotherapy in high-grade serous ovarian cancer

BACKGROUND: High-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) of the ovary is predominantly diagnosed at late stages and primarily treated with debulking surgery followed by platinum/taxane-based chemotherapy. Although certain patients benefit significantly from currently used chemotherapy, there are patients who either do not respond or have an inadequate duration of response. We previously showed that tumours from chemoresistant patients have an immunosuppressed pre-existing tumour immune microenvironment with decreased expression of Type I Interferon (IFN1) genes. METHODS: Efficacy of a ‘STimulator of INterferon Genes’ agonist was evaluated in combination with carboplatin chemotherapy and PD-1 immune checkpoint blockade therapy in the ID8-Trp53(−/−) immunocompetent murine model of HGSC. RESULTS: Treatment with STING agonist led to decreased ascites accumulation and decreased tumour burden. Survival of mice treated with a combination of carboplatin, STING agonist and anti-PD-1 antibody was the longest. Tumour immune transcriptomic profiling revealed higher IFN response, antigen presentation and MHC II genes in tumours from STING agonist-treated mice compared to vehicle controls. Flow cytometry analysis revealed significantly higher intra-tumoural PD-1(+) and CD69(+)CD62L(−), CD8(+) T cells in STING agonist-treated mice. CONCLUSIONS: These findings will enable rational design of clinical trials aimed at combinatorial approaches to improve chemotherapy response and survival in HGSC patients.