Differential expression of ACKR1 in cancer of the vulva.

In these brief notes we document work using published microarray data (1, 2) to pioneer integrative transcriptome analysis comparing vulvar carcinoma to its tissue of origin, the vulva. We report the differential expression of atypical chemokine receptor 1 (Duffy blood group), encoded by ACKR1, in cancer of the vulva. ACKR1 may be of pertinence to understanding transformation and disease progression in vulvar cancer (3).

Differential expression of Duffy blood group chemokine receptor in cancers of the breast.

Breast cancer affects women at relatively high frequency (1). We mined published microarray datasets (2, 3) to determine in an unbiased fashion and at the systems level genes most differentially expressed in the primary tumors of patients with breast cancer. We report here significant differential expression of the gene encoding the Duffy blood group chemokine receptor, DARC, also known as the atypical chemokine receptor 1, ACKR1, when comparing primary tumors of the breast to the tissue of origin, the normal breast. DARC mRNA was present at significantly lower quantities in tumors of the breast as compared to normal breast tissue. Analysis of human survival data revealed that expression of DARC in primary tumors of the breast was correlated with overall survival in patients with luminal A subtype cancer, demonstrating a relationship between primary tumor expression of a differentially expressed gene and patient survival outcomes influenced by molecular subtype. DARC may be of relevance to initiation, maintenance or progression of cancers of the female breast.