Identification of Aneuploid Circulating Tumor Cells in Soft-Tissue Sarcoma Patients: A Pilot Study

Oncology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (12) ◽  
pp. 893-896
Author(s):  
Andrea Napolitano ◽  
Alessandro Minelli ◽  
Daniele Santini ◽  
Giuseppe Tonini ◽  
Bruno Vincenzi

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been identified and shown to have prognostic and predictive roles in several types of carcinoma. More recently, aneuploid CTCs have become subject of a growing interest, as aneuploidy is considered a hallmark of cancer often associated with poor prognosis. Here, we aimed to identify for the first time aneuploid CTCs in soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) patients and show supportive in silico evidence on the prognostic role of aneuploidy in mesenchymal cancers. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> In our pilot study, we collected blood from 4 metastatic STS patients and 4 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. After sample processing, cells were cyto-centrifuged onto glass slides and FISH was performed using 5 probes. The in silico analysis was performed using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas cohort of STS patients, using the validated Aneuploidy Score. We divided the patients in two populations (aneuploidy-high, Ane-Hi, and aneuploidy-low, Ane-Lo) using the median value of the Aneuploidy Score as a cutoff. Kaplan-Meier curves associated with log-rank test were used to compare progression-free and overall survival between groups. GraphPad Prism 8.0 (La Jolla, CA, USA) was used for statistical analyses. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Aneuploid CTCs were identified in all 4 STS patients and in none of the controls, with a median value of 4 (range 3–6) per 7 mL of blood. Ane-Hi patients showed a significantly worse progression-free and overall survival compared to Ane-Lo patients. The same trend was maintained when analyzing the data based on the different histologies. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> We identified for the first time aneuploid CTCs in STS patients using fluorescence in situ hybridization in a surface marker-independent way. We also showed that the Aneuploidy Score has a prognostic value both in terms of progression-free survival and overall survival in STS patients using The Cancer Genome Atlas data, regardless of the histology.

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min-hang Zhou ◽  
Hong-wei Zhou ◽  
Mo Liu ◽  
Jun-zhong Sun

Purpose: The role of microRNA (miRNA) in cholangiocarcinoma was not clear. The aim of this study was to find the potential diagnostic and prognostic miRNA in cholangiocarcinoma patients. Methods: The miRNA expression profiles in cholangiocarcinoma patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus (GSE53870) were analyzed. The comparison of overall survival was performed using the Kaplan–Meier method. The targeted genes of prognostic miRNA were identified in miRanda, PicTar, or TargetScan, and their cell signaling pathways were analyzed by the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery. Results: In The Cancer Genome Atlas and the Gene Expression Omnibus miRNA dataset, miR-92b and miR-99a were found with concordant directionality, up-regulated and down-regulated, respectively. In The Cancer Genome Atlas survival data, patients with the high level of miR-99b had obviously shorter overall survival time ( P=0.038). However, the level of miR-99a was not found to be significant. The 17 shared target genes of miR-92b were identified, such as DAB21IP, BCL21L11, SPHK2, PER2, and TSC1. The related pathways included positive regulation of transcription, positive regulation of cellular biosynthetic process, regulation of programmed cell death, etc. Conclusion: miR-92b was up-regulated in cholangiocarcinoma compared with normal controls. The high level of miR-92b was associated with adverse outcomes in cholangiocarcinoma patients, which might be partly explained by the targeted genes of miR-92b and their signaling pathways.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Jean Paul Nshizirungu ◽  
Sanae Bennis ◽  
Ihsane Mellouki ◽  
Mohammed Sekal ◽  
Dafr-Allah Benajah ◽  
...  

Introduction. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project and Asian Cancer Research Group (ACRG) recently categorized gastric cancer into molecular subtypes. Nevertheless, these classification systems require high cost and sophisticated molecular technologies, preventing their widespread use in the clinic. This study is aimed to generating molecular subtypes of gastric cancer using techniques available in routine diagnostic practice in a series of Moroccan gastric cancer patients. In addition, we assessed the associations between molecular subtypes, clinicopathological features, and prognosis. Methods. Ninety-seven gastric cancer cases were classified according to TCGA, ACRG, and integrated classifications using a panel of four molecular markers (EBV, MSI, E-cadherin, and p53). HER2 status and PD-L1 expression were also evaluated. These markers were analyzed using immunohistochemistry (E-cadherin, p53, HER2, and PD-L1), in situ hybridization (EBV and HER2 equivocal cases), and multiplex PCR (MSI). Results. Our results showed that the subtypes presented distinct clinicopathological features and prognosis. EBV-positive gastric cancers were found exclusively in male patients. The GS (TCGA classification), MSS/EMT (ACRG classification), and E-cadherin aberrant subtype (integrated classification) presented the Lauren diffuse histology enrichment and tended to be diagnosed at a younger age. The MSI subtype was associated with a better overall survival across all classifications (TCGA, ACRG, and integrated classification). The worst prognosis was observed in the EBV subtype (TCGA and integrated classification) and MSS/EMT subtype (ACRG classification). Discussion/Conclusion. We reported a reproducible and affordable gastric cancer subtyping algorithms that can reproduce the recently recognized TCGA, ACRG, and integrated gastric cancer classifications, using techniques available in routine diagnosis. These simplified classifications can be employed not only for molecular classification but also in predicting the prognosis of gastric cancer patients.


2018 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Funda Meric-Bernstam ◽  
Xiaofeng Zheng ◽  
Maryam Shariati ◽  
Senthil Damodaran ◽  
Chetna Wathoo ◽  
...  

Purpose To determine the significant genomic alterations in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and survival outcomes in common genotypes. Patients and Methods High-depth next-generation sequencing was performed for 202 genes in tumor and normal DNA from 257 patients with MBC, including 165 with estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor–positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2 [hormone receptor positive (HR+)])–positive, 32 with HER2-positive, and 60 with triple-negative (estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor–negative and HER2-negative) disease. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed in the discovery set, in patients with breast cancer analyzed in The Cancer Genome Atlas, and in a separate cohort of 98 patients with MBC who underwent clinical genomic testing. Results Significantly mutated genes (SMGs) varied by histology and tumor subtype, but TP53 was an SMG in all three subtypes. The most SMGs in patients with HR+ cancer were PIK3CA (32%), TP53 (29%), GATA3 (15%), CDH1 (8%), MAP3K1 (8%), PTEN (5%), TGFBR2 (4%), AKT1 (4%), and MAP2K4 (4%). TP53 mutations were associated with shorter recurrence-free survival ( P = .004), progression-free survival ( P < .001), and overall survival ( P = .003). Furthermore, TP53 status was prognostic among patients with HR+ cancer with PIK3CA mutations. TP53 mutations were associated with poorer overall survival in the 442 patients with HR+ breast cancer analyzed in The Cancer Genome Atlas ( P = .042) and in an independent set of 96 patients with HR+ MBC who underwent clinical sequencing ( P < .001). Conclusion SMGs differ by tumor subtype, but TP53 is significantly mutated in all three breast cancer subtypes. TP53 mutations are associated with poor prognosis in HR+ breast cancer and should be considered in the design and interpretation of precision oncology trials.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Supplement_6) ◽  
pp. vi216-vi216
Author(s):  
Collin Dube ◽  
Ying Zhang ◽  
Myron Gibert Jr ◽  
Elizabeth Mulcahy ◽  
Matteo Ottolini ◽  
...  

Abstract Glioblastoma is the most common primary malignant brain tumor with a dismal median survival of 15 months. Calcium signaling regulates a plethora of cellular processes making it an ideal target for therapeutic intervention. Our group identified T-type calcium channels (TTCCs) as upregulated in GBM cells, stem cells and human tumors. Analysis of the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) demonstrates for the first time that &gt;20% of GBM patients exhibit mutation, amplification or mRNA upregulation of TTCCs. TCGA and Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) data analyses demonstrate that patients with alterations in TTCC trend toward worse survival compared to normal TTCC expression. Our group utilized an FDA repurposed TTCC blocker Mibefradil to demonstrate inhibition of TTCCs decreases cancer associated signaling, transcription, malignancy parameters and in vivo tumor growth. Mibefradil treatment sensitized Gliomas stem like cells (GSC) xenografts to temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy and radiotherapy. To elucidate the roles of the individual TTCCs in vivo we created RCAS/Tva-shTTCC mice for silencing of Cav3.1 and Cav3.2. The silencing of the TTCCs individually decreased tumor growth as measured by MRI and H&E staining. Silencing of TTCCs extended survival of mice in vivo. Silencing of TTCC decreases proliferation (Ki67) and increases apoptosis (Caspase 3). Our findings suggest T-type calcium channels contribute to tumor initiation and progression.


2020 ◽  
pp. jmedgenet-2019-106814
Author(s):  
Fulan Hu ◽  
Yao Yu ◽  
Jiun-Sheng Chen ◽  
Hao Hu ◽  
Paul Scheet ◽  
...  

PurposeThe contribution of rare genetic variation in the development of soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) remains underexplored. To address this gap, we conducted a whole-exome case-control and somatic-germline interaction study to identify and characterise STS susceptible genes.MethodsThe study involved 219 STS cases from The Cancer Genome Atlas and 3507 controls. All cases and controls were matched genetically onEuropean ancestry based on the 1000 Genomes project. Cross-platform technological stratification was performed with XPAT and gene-based association tests with VAAST 2.ResultsNF1 exhibited the strongest genome-wide signal across the six subtypes, with p=1×10−5. We also observed nominally significant association signals for three additional genes of interest, TP53 (p=0.0025), RB1 (p=0.0281), and MSH2 (p=0.0085). BAG1, which has not previously been implicated in STS, exhibited the strongest genome-wide signal after NF1, with p=6×10−5. The association signals for NF1 and MSH2 were driven primarily by truncating variants, with ORs of 39 (95% CI: 7.1 to 220) for NF1 and 33 (95% CI: 2.4 to 460) for MSH2. In contrast, the association signals for RB1 and BAG1 were driven primarily by predicted damaging missense variants, with estimated ORs of 12 (95% CI: 2.4 to 59) for RB1 and 20 (95% CI: 1.4 to 300) for BAG1.ConclusionsOur results confirm that pathogenic variants in NF1, RB1 and TP53 confer large increases in the risk of developing multiple STS subtypes, provide support for the role of MSH2 in STS susceptibility and identify BAG1 as a novel candidate STS risk gene.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 1399-1415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Ma ◽  
Haoyu Li ◽  
Xian Li ◽  
Shuwen Lu ◽  
Jianfeng He

Aim: This present study aims to investigate the prognostic value of FGD genes for predicting the overall survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC) patients. Materials & methods: Clinical information and FGD gene expressions of 513 HNSC patients were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas dataset. Kaplan–Meier survival, Pearson correlation coefficient analyses and enrichment analyses were performed based on The Cancer Genome Atlas dataset, as well as FGD gene expressions analysis in normal tissues. Results: The survival analyses showed that high levels of FGD2 and FGD3 mRNA expressions, and the combination of high levels of FGD2 and FGD3 mRNAs were associated with the favorable overall survival in HNSC patients (p < 0.01). Oppositely, no significant correlations (p > 0.05) were observed between gender and race and OS. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the expression levels of FGD2 and FGD3 mRNAs in HNSC are associated with favorable prognosis and may be regarded as potential prognostic biomarkers.


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