| 1. |
- Aaltonen, Kirsimari, et al.
(author)
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Reliability of cyclin A assessment on tissue microarrays in breast cancer compared to conventional histological slides
- 2006
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In: British Journal of Cancer. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0007-0920 .- 1532-1827. ; 94:11, s. 1697-1702
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cyclin A has in some studies been associated with poor breast cancer survival, although all studies have not confirmed this. Its prognostic significance in breast cancer needs evaluation in larger studies. Tissue microarray (TMA) technique allows a simultaneous analysis of large amount of tumours on a single microscopic slide. This makes a rapid screening of molecular markers in large amount of tumours possible. Because only a small tissue sample of each tumour is punched on an array, the question has arisen about the representativeness of TMA when studying markers that are expressed in only a small proportion of cells. For this reason, we wanted to compare cyclin A expression on TMA and on traditional large sections. Two breast cancer TMAs were constructed of 200 breast tumours diagnosed between 1997-1998. TMA slides and traditional large section slides of these 200 tumours were stained with cyclin A antibody and analysed by two independent readers. The reproducibility of the two readers' results was good or even very good, with kappa values 0.71-0.87. The agreement of TMA and large section results was good with kappa value 0.62-0.75. Cyclin A overexpression was significantly (P<0.001) associated with oestrogen receptor and progesterone receptor negativity and high grade both on TMA and large sections. Cyclin A overexpression was significantly associated with poor metastasis-free survival both on TMA and large sections. The relative risks for metastasis were similar on TMA and large sections. This study suggests that TMA technique could be useful to study histological correlations and prognostic significance of cyclin A on breast cancer on a large scale.
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| 2. |
- Ahlin, Cecilia, et al.
(author)
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Cyclin A is a proliferative marker with good prognostic value in node-negative breast cancer
- 2009
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In: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. - 1055-9965 .- 1538-7755. ; 18:9, s. 2501-2506
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Proliferative markers are not recommended as prognostic factors for clinical use in breast cancer due to lack of standardization in methodology. However, proliferation is driving several gene expression signatures emphasizing the need for a reliable proliferative marker IF or clinical use. Studies suggest that cyclin A is a prognostic marker with satisfying reproducibility. We investigated cyclin A as a prognostic marker in node-negative breast cancer using previously defined cutoff values. Patients and Methods: In a case-control study, we defined 190 women who died from breast cancer as cases and 190 women alive at the time for the corresponding case's death as controls. Inclusion criteria were tumor size <= 50 mm, no lymph node metastases and no adjuvant chemotherapy. Tumor tissues were immunostained for cyclin A using commercially available antibodies. Results: We found a statistically significant association between expression of cyclin A and breast cancer death in a univariate model: odds ratio for cyclin A(ave) 2.7 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.7-4.3] and cyclin A(max) 3.4 (CI, 2.1-5.5). Corresponding odds ratio for Ki67 were Ki67(ave) 1.9 (CI, 1.2-3.1) and Ki67(max) 1.7 (CI, 1.1-2.7) and for grade 3.1 (CI, 1.8-5.1). Cyclin A was strongly correlated to Ki67 and grade why a model including all was not appropriate. Conclusions: Cyclin A is a prognostic factor for breast cancer death in node-negative patients using standardized methodology regarding scoring and cutoff values. Adding cyclin A as a proliferative marker to established clinicopathologic factors will improve the separation of low and high risk breast cancer.
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| 3. |
- Ahlin, Cecilia, et al.
(author)
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Ki67 and cyclin A as prognostic factors in early breast cancer : What are the optimal cut-off values?
- 2007
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In: Histopathology. - : Wiley. - 0309-0167 .- 1365-2559. ; 51:4, s. 491-498
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AIMS: To find the optimal cut-off values for cyclin A and Ki67 in early breast cancer tumours and to evaluate their prognostic values. METHODS AND RESULTS: Tissue microarray (TMA) slides were constructed from 570 T1-4 N0-1 M0 breast cancer tumours. The TMA slides were stained for cyclin A and Ki67 using immunohistochemistry with commercial antibodies. To investigate the optimal cut-off values for cyclin A, Ki67 average and maximum values the material was split into two parts at cut-offs defined by dividing it into deciles. For each cut-off value the relative risk (RR) for metastasis-free survival (MFS) and overall survival (OS) was calculated comparing patients with high versus low cyclin A or Ki67 expression. When using a cut-off value around the seventh decile, cyclin A and Ki67 score correlated with the highest RR ratio for MFS in the chemotherapy-naïve subgroup. Among patients having received adjuvant chemotherapy, no statistically significant differences in MFS or OS were found. CONCLUSIONS: The optimal cut-off value for cyclin A average is 8% and for cyclin A maximum value 11%; for Ki67 the corresponding values are 15% and 22%. Additional studies are needed to verify these results.
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| 4. |
- Ahnström Waltersson, Marie, 1976-
(author)
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Cell cycle alterations and 11q13 amplification in breast cancer : prediction of adjuvant treatment response
- 2009
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The growth and development of the breast is to a large extent regulated by oestrogens through the oestrogen receptor (ER). Activation of the ERα triggers transcription of genes that are important for cell proliferation and stimulates entry into the G1 phase of the cell cycle. In breast cancer the ERα is often upregulated and is therefore a suitable target for adjuvant therapies such as tamoxifen. Although tamoxifen is an effective treatment in most cases, tumours sometimes acquire resistance to the drug. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the impact of G1 phase proteins and 11q13 amplification on prognosis and treatment response in breast cancer. The material used was from a clinical trial in which postmenopausal breast cancer patients were randomised to chemotherapy or radiotherapy and tamoxifen or no adjuvant treatment. We studied the expression of cyclin D1, cyclin E and Rb with immunohisochemistry and amplification of CCND1 and PAK1 with real time PCR. We found that among patients with high tumour expression of cyclin D1, overexpression of ErbB2 was associated with reduced recurrence-free survival. Both cyclin D1 and cyclin E overexpression were associated with reduced tamoxifen response. High expression of cyclin D1 has been found to induce ligand independent activation of ERα in breast cancer cells and might also switch tamoxifen from acting as an antagonist to an agonist. Overexpression of cyclin E has been shown to be associated with expression of low molecular weight isoforms of the protein that possess an increased kinase activity and are insensitive to p21 and p27 inhibition. Furthermore, amplification of 11q13, and in particular the gene PAK1, was a strong predictor of tamoxifen resistance. The pak1 protein is involved in phosphorylation and ligand independent activation of the ERα. We also found that lost expression of either p53 or Rb reduced the patients benefit from radiotherapy compared with patients with normal expression of both proteins. Normally, ionizing radiation upregulates p53 resulting in G1 arrest or apoptosis. If either functional p53 or Rb is missing the cells can proceed from G1 to the S phase despite damaged DNA. The expression of the microRNA, miR-206, was analysed with real time PCR, and the results showed that high expression of miR-206 correlated to low expression of ERα and 11q13 amplification. In vitro studies have shown that miR-206 negatively regulates the expression of ERα. Taken together the G1 regulators and amplification of 11q13 seem to have an important role in predicting the patient’s response to adjuvant therapy.
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| 5. |
- Ahlin, Cecilia, et al.
(author)
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Aberrant expression of cyclin E in low-risk node negative breast cancer
- 2008
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In: Acta Oncologica. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 47:8, s. 1539-1545
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background. Cyclin E is a cell cycle regulatory protein which occurs in G1, peaks in late G1 and is degraded in early S-phase. Cyclin E overexpression appears to be an independent prognostic factor for overall survival in breast cancer. Material and Methods. Nuclear cyclin A is a reliable marker for S-and G2-phases. Consequently, aberrant expression of cyclin E can be detected by simultaneous immunostainings for cyclin A and cyclin E. Studies have shown that aberrant cyclin E might provide additional prognostic information compared to that of cyclin E alone. This study aimed to investigate cyclin E and aberrant cyclin E expression in low-risk node negative breast cancer. We compared women that died from their breast cancer (n=17) with women free from relapse>8 years after initial diagnosis (n=24). All women had stage I, low risk breast cancer. The groups were matched regarding tumour size, receptor status, adjuvant chemotherapy and tumour differentiation. Tumour samples were analysed regarding expression of cyclin A, cyclin E and double-stained tumour cells using immunoflourescence staining and digital microscopy. Results. No differences were seen regarding expression of cyclin E or aberrant cyclin E in cases compared to controls. Discussion. We conclude that neither cyclin E nor aberrant cyclin E is a prognostic factor in low-risk node negative breast cancer patients.
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| 6. |
- Ahlin, Cecilia, 1966-
(author)
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Cyclin A and cyclin E as prognostic factors in early breast cancer
- 2008
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies in women. Due to early detection and the use of screening programs approximately 60% of all new cases lack lymph node involvement. Today, a substantial proportion of these women will be offered adjuvant systemic chemotherapy. However, better proliferation markers are needed to predict patient outcome and to avoid overtreatment. Cyclin A, cyclin E and Ki-67 are all markers for proliferation and involved in the regulation of the cell cycle. Overexpression has been associated with disease recurrence in several studies, but the results have not been consistent. However, none of these studies has investigated aberrant expression of cyclin E (the expression of cyclin E during phases of the cell cycle other than late G1 and early S-phase). Studies have shown that aberrant cyclin E might provide additional prognostic information compared to cyclin E alone.The aims of this thesis were 1.to investigate the prognostic value of cyclin A, cyclin E and aberrant cyclin E in early breast cancer. 2.to validate the tissue microarray (TMA) technique for cyclin A and 3.to define the most optimal cut-off values for cyclin A and Ki-67.We found that the agreement of TMA and large section results was good with kappa values 0.62-0.75 and that the reproducibility of the two readers’ results was good or even very good, with kappa values 0.71 – 0.87. The optimal cut-off value for cyclin A average was 8% and for cyclin A maximum value 11%. The corresponding values for Ki-67 were 15 and 22%. Neither cyclin E nor aberrant cyclin E was a prognostic factor in low-risk node negative breast cancer patients. Finally, we conclude that cyclin A is a prognostic factor in node negative breast cancer (univariate analysis average value OR=2.9 95% CI 1.8-4.6; maximum value OR=3.7 95% CI 2.3-5.9).
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| 7. |
- Fjällskog, Marie-Louise H., et al.
(author)
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Treatment with Combined Streptozotocin and Liposomal Doxorubicin in Metastatic Endocrine Pancreatic Tumors
- 2008
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In: Neuroendocrinology. - : S. Karger AG. - 0028-3835 .- 1423-0194. ; 88:1, s. 53-8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Treatment with combined streptozotocin and liposomal doxorubicin is safe and efficient in patients with endocrine pancreatic tumors (EPTs). No cardiac toxicity was reported. BACKGROUND: The combination of streptozotocin and doxorubicin has been shown to be superior to streptozotocin and fluorouracil in the treatment of metastatic EPTs. However, the risk of cardiac toxicity from anthracyclins hampers the usefulness of the drug combination. Liposomal doxorubicin has a lower frequency of cardiac adverse events compared to doxorubicin. We wanted to assess the efficacy and safety of combined streptozotocin and liposomal doxorubicin in patients with metastatic EPTs. METHODS: Thirty patients with metastatic EPTs were recruited from three medical centers in Norway and Sweden during a time period of 3 years. All patients had histopathologically confirmed diagnoses and bidimensionally measurable lesions. 30 mg/m(2) of liposomal doxorubicin was administered on day 1 of each cycle. During the first course, 1 g of streptozotocin was given on 5 consecutive days. Thereafter, 2 g of streptozotocin was given on day 1 only. Treatment was repeated every 3 weeks. RESULTS: Twelve of 30 patients (40%) achieved an objective radiological response with a median duration of 9 months. Stabilization of disease was achieved in 17 of 30 patients (57%) for a median duration of 11 months. Only one patient had progressive disease as best response. The 2-year progression-free survival was 18% and the 2-year overall survival was 72%. The treatment was well tolerated. None of the patients experienced cardiac toxicity. CONCLUSION: We conclude that combined streptozotocin and liposomal doxorubicin is a safe and efficient treatment for EPTs. The efficacy seems to be comparable to that of combined streptozotocin and doxorubicin, whereas the cardiac toxicity clearly favors using the liposomal drug combination. 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.
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| 8. |
- Fjällskog, Marie-Louise, et al.
(author)
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Treatment of endocrine pancreatic tumors
- 2005
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In: Acta Oncologica. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 44:4, s. 329-338
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Endocrine pancreatic tumors are rare with an incidence of 4 per million inhabitants. Most tumors are malignant except for insulinomas that usually are benign. They are slowly growing in the majority of cases but there are exceptions with rapidly progressing malignant carcinomas. Because of the rarity of these tumors large randomized trials are difficult to accomplish. However, most physicians treating these patients agree that surgery should be considered in all cases and that medical treatment with chemotherapy and biotherapy is well established for this group of patients.
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| 9. |
- Fjällskog, Marie-Louise, et al.
(author)
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Upregulated expression of PDGF receptor beta in endocrine pancreatic tumors and metastases compared to normal endocrine pancreas
- 2007
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In: Acta Oncologica. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 46:6, s. 741-746
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) beta signaling is involved in autocrine growth stimulation of tumor cells, tumor angiogenesis and regulation of tumor interstitial fluid pressure. Development of PDGFR antagonists has further increased the interest for PDGFR as targets for anticancer treatments. Malignant endocrine pancreatic tumors (EPTs) express PDGFR beta both in stroma and on tumor cells. To investigate the role of PDGFR beta signaling in EPTs we compared PDGFR beta expression in normal endocrine pancreas to malignant EPTs and metastases. PDGFR beta expression was examined by immunohistochemistry using specific polyclonal antibodies in ten tissue samples from normal endocrine pancreas, 21 from primary EPTs and 19 from metastases. In eight patients we compared the expression in normal endocrine pancreas to the corresponding primary tumor and metastases, in two patients normal tissue to the primary tumor and in 11 patients primary tumors to the corresponding metastases. Six of ten tissues containing normal pancreas stained negative for PDGFR beta on endocrine cells, while seven of ten stained positive in the stroma. Eighteen of 21 (86%) primary tumors stained positive for PDGFR beta on tumor cells and all had positive stroma stainings. All 19 metastases stained positive for PDGFR beta on tumor cells and in evaluable stroma (n=16). We have found that PDGFR beta is more frequently expressed in primary EPTs and metastases as compared to normal endocrine pancreatic tissue. This is also true for PDGFR beta expression in the corresponding stroma. We suggest that new therapeutic options to inhibit the growth and spread of EPTs could include targeting of PDGFR beta.
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| 10. |
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