| 1. |
- Anande, Govardhan, et al.
(författare)
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RNA Splicing Alterations Induce a Cellular Stress Response Associated with Poor Prognosis in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
- 2020
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Ingår i: Clinical Cancer Research. - 1078-0432 .- 1557-3265. ; 26:14, s. 3597-3607
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: RNA splicing is a fundamental biological process that generates protein diversity from a finite set of genes. Recurrent somatic mutations of splicing factor genes are common in some hematologic cancers but are relatively uncommon in acute myeloid leukemia (AML, < 20% of patients). We examined whether RNA splicing differences exist in AML, even in the absence of splicing factor mutations.Experimental Design: We developed a bioinformatics pipeline to study alternative RNA splicing in RNA-sequencing data from large cohorts of patients with AML.Results: We have identified recurrent differential alternative splicing between patients with poor and good prognosis. These splicing events occurred even in patients without any discernible splicing factor mutations. Alternative splicing recurrently occurred in genes with specific molecular functions, primarily related to protein translation. Developing tools to predict the functional impact of alternative splicing on the translated protein, we discovered that approximately 45% of the splicing events directly affected highly conserved protein domains. Several splicing factors were themselves misspliced and the splicing of their target transcripts were altered. Studying differential gene expression in the same patients, we identified that alternative splicing of protein translation genes in ELNAdv patients resulted in the induction of an integrated stress response and upregulation of inflammation-related genes. Finally, using machine learning techniques, we identified a splicing signature of four genes which refine the accuracy of existing risk prognosis schemes and validated it in a completely independent cohort.Conclusions: Our discoveries therefore identify aberrant alternative splicing as a molecular feature of adverse AML with clinical relevance.
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| 2. |
- Asleh, Karama, et al.
(författare)
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Predictive Biomarkers for Adjuvant Capecitabine Benefit in Early-Stage Triple-Negative Breast Cancer in the FinXX Clinical Trial
- 2020
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Ingår i: Clinical Cancer Research. - 1078-0432 .- 1557-3265. ; 26:11, s. 2603-2614
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Recent studies have demonstrated a benefit of adjuvant capecitabine in early breast cancer, particularly in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, TNBC is heterogeneous and more precise predictive biomarkers are needed. Experimental Design: Tumor tissues collected from TNBC patients in the FinXX trial, randomized to adjuvant anthracycline-taxane-based chemotherapy with or without capecitabine, were analyzed using a 770-gene panel targeting multiple biological mechanisms and additional 30-custom genes related to capecitabine metabolism. Hypothesis-generating exploratory analyses were performed to assess biomarker expression in relation to treatment effect using the Cox regression model and interaction tests adjusted for multiplicity. Results: One hundred eleven TNBC samples were evaluable (57 without capecitabine and 54 with capecitabine). The median follow-up was 10.2 years. Multivariate analysis showed significant improvement in recurrence-free survival (RFS) favoring capecitabine in four biologically important genes and metagenes, including cytotoxic cells [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.38; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 0.16-0.86, P-interaction = 0.01], endothelial (HR = 0.67; 95% CI, 0.20-2.22, P-interaction = 0.02), mast cells (HR = 0.78; 95% CI, 0.49-1.27, P-interaction = 0.04), and PDL2 (HR = 0.31; 95% CI, 0.12- 0.81, P- interaction = 0.03). Furthermore, we identified 38 single genes that were significantly associated with capecitabine benefit, and these were dominated by immune response pathway and enzymes involved in activating capecitabine to fluorouracil, including TYMP. However, these results were not significant when adjusted for multiple testing. Conclusions: Genes and metagenes related to antitumor immunity, immune response, and capecitabine activation could identify TNBC patients who are more likely to benefit from adjuvant capecitabine. Given the reduced power to observe significant findings when correcting for multiplicity, our findings provide the basis for future hypothesis- testing validation studies on larger clinical trials.
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| 3. |
- Brieghel, Christian, et al.
(författare)
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The Number of Signaling Pathways Altered by Driver Mutations in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Impacts Disease Outcome
- 2020
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Ingår i: Clinical Cancer Research. - : AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH. - 1078-0432 .- 1557-3265. ; 26:6, s. 1507-1515
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Investigation of signaling pathways altered by recurrent gene mutations and their clinical impact in a consecutive cohort of patients with newly diagnosed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The heterogeneous clinical course and genetic complexity of CLL warrant improved molecular prognostication. However, the prognostic value of recurrent mutations at the time of diagnosis remains unclear. Experimental Design: We sequenced samples from 314 consecutive, newly diagnosed patients with CLL to investigate the clinical impact of 56 recurrently mutated genes assessed by next-generation sequencing. Results: Mutations were identified in 70% of patients with enrichment among IGHV unmutated cases. With 6.5 years of follow-up, 15 mutated genes investigated at the time of diagnosis demonstrated significant impact on time to first treatment (TTFT). Carrying driver mutations was associated with shorter TTFT and poor overall survival. For outcome from CLL diagnosis, the number of signaling pathways altered by driver mutations stratified patients better than the number of driver mutations. Moreover, we demonstrated gradual impact on TTFT with increasing number of altered pathways independent of CLL-IPI risk. Thus, a 25-gene, pathway-based biomarker assessing recurrent mutations refines prognostication in CLL, in particular for CLL-IPI low- and intermediate-risk patients. External validation emphasized that a broad gene panel including low burden mutations was key for the biomarker based on altered pathways. Conclusions: We propose to include the number of pathways altered by driver mutations as a biomarker together with CLL-IPI in prospective studies of CLL from time of diagnosis for incorporation into clinical care and personalized follow-up and treatment.
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| 4. |
- Centanni, Maddalena, et al.
(författare)
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Model-based Dose Individualization of Sunitinib in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors
- 2020
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Ingår i: Clinical Cancer Research. - : AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH. - 1078-0432 .- 1557-3265. ; 26:17, s. 4590-4598
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Various biomarkers have been proposed for sunitinib therapy in gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). However, the lack of "real-life" comparative studies hampers the selection of the most appropriate one. We, therefore, set up a pharmacometric simulation framework to compare each proposed biomarker. Experimental Design: Models describing relations between sunitinib exposure, adverse events (hand-foot syndrome, fatigue, hypertension, and neutropenia), soluble VEGFR (sVEGFR)-3, and overall survival (OS) were connected to evaluate the differences in survival and adverse events under different dosing algorithms. Various fixed dosing regimens [4/2 (weeks on/weeks off) or 2/1 (50 mg), and continuous daily dosing (37.5 mg)] and individualization approaches [concentration-adjusted dosing (CAD), toxicity-adjusted dosing (TAD), and sVEGFR-3-adjusted dosing (VAD)] were explored following earlier suggested blood sampling schedules and dose-reduction criteria. Model-based forecasts of biomarker changes were evaluated for predictive accuracy and the advantage of a model-based dosing algorithm was evaluated for clinical implementation. Results: The continuous daily dosing regimen was predicted to result in the longest survival. TAD (24.5 months) and VAD (25.5 months) increased median OS as compared with a fixed dose schedule (19.9 and 21.5 months, respectively) and CAD (19.7 and 21.3 months, respectively), without markedly raising the risk of intolerable toxicities. Changes in neutrophil count and sVEGFR-3 were accurately forecasted in the majority of subjects (> 65%), based on biweekly blood sampling. Conclusions: Dose adjustments based on the pharmacodynamic biomarkers neutrophil count and sVEGFR-3 can increase OS while retaining drug safety. Future efforts could explore the possibility of incorporating a model-based dose approach in clinical practice to increase dosing accuracy for these biomarkers.
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| 5. |
- Netterberg, Ida, et al.
(författare)
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Comparing Circulating Tumor Cell Counts with Dynamic Tumor Size Changes as Predictor of Overall Survival : A Quantitative Modeling Framework
- 2020
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Ingår i: Clinical Cancer Research. - : AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH. - 1078-0432 .- 1557-3265. ; 26:18, s. 4892-4900
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Quantitative relationships between treatment-induced changes in tumor size and circulating tumor cell (CTC) counts, and their links to overall survival (OS), are lacking. We present a population modeling framework identifying and quantifying such relationships, based on longitudinal data collected in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) to evaluate the value of tumor size and CTC counts as predictors of OS. Experimental Design: A pharmacometric approach (i.e., population pharmacodynamic modeling) was used to characterize the changes in tumor size and CTC count and evaluate them as predictors of OS in 451 patients with mCRC treated with chemotherapy and targeted therapy in a prospectively randomized phase III study (CAIRO2). Results: A tumor size model of tumor quiescence and drug resistance was used to characterize the tumor size time-course, and was, in addition to the total normalized dose (i.e., of all administered drugs) in a given cycle, related to the CTC counts through a negative binomial model (CTC model). Tumor size changes did not contribute additional predictive value when themean CTC count was a predictor of OS. Treatment reduced the typical mean count from 1.43 to 0.477 (HR = 3.94). The modeling framework was applied to explore whether dose modifications (increased and reduced) would result in a CTC count below 1/7.5 mL after 1 to 2 weeks of treatment. Conclusions: Time-varying CTC counts can be useful for early predicting OS in patients with mCRC, and may therefore have potential for model-based treatment individualization. Although tumor size was connected to CTC, its link to OS was weaker.
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| 6. |
- Poschke, Isabel C., et al.
(författare)
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The Outcome of Ex Vivo TIL Expansion Is Highly Influenced by Spatial Heterogeneity of the Tumor T-Cell Repertoire and Differences in Intrinsic In Vitro Growth Capacity between T-Cell Clones
- 2020
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Ingår i: Clinical Cancer Research. - : AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH. - 1078-0432 .- 1557-3265. ; 26:16, s. 4289-4301
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: During our efforts to develop tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy to counter the devastating recurrence rate in patients with primary resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA), we found that PDA TILs can readily be expanded in vitro and that the majority of resulting TIL cultures show reactivity against the autologous tumor. However, the fraction of tumor-reactive T cells is low. We investigated to which extent this was related to the in vitro expansion. Experimental Design: We compared the clonal composition of TIL preparations before and after in vitro expansion using T-cell receptor (TCR) deep sequencing. Our findings for PDA were benchmarked to experiments with melanoma TILs. Results: We found that the TIL TCR repertoire changes dramatically during in vitro expansion, leading to loss of tumor-dominant T-cell clones and overgrowth by newly emerging T-cell clones that are barely detectable in the tumor. These changes are primarily driven by differences in the intrinsic in vitro expansion capacity of T-cell clones. Single-cell experiments showed an association between poor proliferative capacity and expression of markers related to antigen experience and dysfunction. Furthermore, we found that spatial heterogeneity of the TIL repertoire resulted in TCR repertoires that are greatly divergent between TIL cultures derived from distant tumor samples of the same patient. Conclusions: Culture-induced changes in clonal composition are likely to affect tumor reactivity of TIL preparations. TCR deep sequencing provides important insights into the factors that govern the outcome of in vitro TIL expansion and thereby a path toward optimization of the production of TIL preparations with high therapeutic efficacy.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Sjöström, Martin, et al.
(författare)
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Comprehensive transcriptomic profiling identifies breast cancer patients who may be spared adjuvant systemic therapy.
- 2020
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Ingår i: Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. - 1078-0432. ; 26:1, s. 171-182
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is currently no molecular signature in clinical use for adjuvant endocrine therapy omission in breast cancer. Given the unique trial design of SweBCG91-RT, where adjuvant endocrine and chemotherapy were largely unadministered, we sought to evaluate the potential of transcriptomic profiling for identifying patients who may be spared adjuvant endocrine therapy.We performed a whole transcriptome analysis of SweBCG91-RT, a randomized phase III trial of +/- radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery for node-negative stage I-IIA breast cancer. 92% of patients were untreated by both adjuvant endocrine therapy and chemotherapy. We calculated 15 transcriptomic signatures from the literature and combined them into an Average Genomic Risk, which was further used to derive a novel 141-gene signature (MET141). All signatures were then independently examined in SweBCG91-RT, and in the publicly-available METABRIC cohort.In SweBCG91-RT, 454 patients were node-negative, post-menopausal and systemically untreated with ER-positive, HER2-negative cancers, which constitutes a low-risk subgroup and potential candidates for therapy omission. Most transcriptomic signatures were highly prognostic for distant metastasis, but considerable discordance was observed on the individual patient level. Within the MET141 low-risk subgroup (lowest 25th percentile of scores), 95% of patients were free of metastasis at 15 years even in the absence of adjuvant endocrine therapy. In a clinically low-risk subgroup of the METABRIC cohort not treated with systemic therapy, no breast cancer death occurred among the MET141 low-risk patients.Transcriptomic profiling identifies patients with an excellent outcome without any systemic adjuvant therapy in clinically low-risk patients of the SweBCG91-RT and METABRIC cohorts.
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| 9. |
- Linxweiler, Maximilian, et al.
(författare)
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The Immune Microenvironment and Neoantigen Landscape of Aggressive Salivary Gland Carcinomas Differ by Subtype.
- 2020
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Ingår i: Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. - 1078-0432. ; 26:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Salivary gland carcinomas (SGC) are rare, aggressive cancers with high rates of recurrence and distant metastasis. These factors, and a lack of active systemic therapies, contribute to poor clinical outcome. Response rates with immune checkpoint blockade have been low, although clinical data remain sparse. To improve the efficacy of therapies, a more comprehensive understanding of relevant molecular alterations and immunologic processes is needed.To characterize the immune microenvironment and neoantigen landscape of SGCs, we performed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) in 76 tumors representing the three most lethal histologies: adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC), myoepithelial carcinoma (MECA), and salivary duct carcinoma (SDC). We analyzed transcriptomic profiles, tumor-infiltrating immune cell populations, and measures of T-cell activation/dysfunction. In 37 cases also undergoing exome sequencing, we analyzed somatic mutations and neoantigens.SDCs exhibited high levels of immune infiltration, with corresponding higher levels of T-cell dysfunction, and higher mutational load. In contrast, ACCs were characterized by an immune-excluded microenvironment, the presence of M2-polarized macrophages and myeloid-derived suppressor cells, and very low mutational load. MECAs were more heterogeneous, with both immune-low and immune-high phenotypes represented. Across all SGCs, levels of immune infiltration were associated with mutation- and fusion-derived neoantigens, and with aggressive clinical behavior.These findings provide new insights into the immune microenvironment and neoantigen landscape of SGCs, showing that mechanisms of immune escape appear to differ by histology. These data nominate potential immunologic vulnerabilities and may help guide the next steps of investigation in precision immunotherapy for these difficult-to-treat cancers.
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| 10. |
- Weinmann, S., et al.
(författare)
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Validation of a Ductal Carcinoma In Situ Biomarker Profile for Risk of Recurrence after Breast-Conserving Surgery with and without Radiotherapy
- 2020
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Ingår i: Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. - 1078-0432. ; 26:15, s. 4054-4063
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: A major challenge in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) treatment is selection of the most appropriate therapeutic approach for individual patients. We conducted an external prospective-retrospective clinical validation of a DCIS biologic risk signature, DCISionRT, in a population-based observational cohort of women diagnosed with DCIS and treated with breast-conserving surgery (BCS). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Participants were 455 health plan members of Kaiser Permanente Northwest diagnosed with DCIS and treated with BCS with or without radiotherapy from 1990 to 2007. The biologic signature combined seven protein tumor markers assessed in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor tissue with four clinicopathologic factors to provide a DCISionRT test result, termed decision score (DS). Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analysis were used to measure the association of the DS, continuous (linear) or categorical (DS ≤ 3 vs. DS > 3), and subsequent total ipsilateral breast events and invasive ipsilateral breast events at least 6 months after initial surgery. RESULTS: In Cox regression, the continuous and categorical DS variables were positively associated with total and invasive breast event risk after adjustment for radiotherapy. In a subset analysis by treatment group, categorical Kaplan-Meier analyses showed at least 2-fold differences in 10-year risk of total breast events between the elevated-risk and low-risk DS categories. CONCLUSIONS: In this first external validation study of the DCISionRT test, the DS was prognostic for the risk of later breast events for women diagnosed with DCIS, following BCS. ©2020 American Association for Cancer Research.
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