| 1. |
- Löfdahl, Britta, et al.
(author)
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Inflammatory cells in node-negative breast cancer
- 2012
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In: Acta Oncologica. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 51:5, s. 680-686
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background.To study the impact of inflammatory cells in a clinically well-defined cohort of women with node-negative breast cancer in a nested case-control study design.Material and methods.The cohort was comprised of 190 women who died from breast cancer and 190 women still alive at the date of death for the corresponding breast cancer patients were used as controls. The inclusion criteria included; a tumour size ≤ 50 mm, no lymph node metastases and no initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy. Immunohistochemical stainings for CD3, CD4, CD8, FoxP3, CD20, tryptase and CD68 were performed on TMA blocks, evaluated and correlated to each other and to age, tumour size, histological grade, ER, PgR, Ki67 and cyclin A.Results.There was no difference regarding the amount or content of inflammatory cells in the cases compared to controls. T- and B-cells were highly correlated to each other but these cell types correlated to a lesser extent to macrophages and not at all to mast cells. A weak tendency of correlations between all the subsets of inflammatory cells and histological grade, Ki67 and cyclin A was observed, although a negative correlation was seen for mast cells.Conclusion.The amount or content of inflammatory cells in invasive breast cancer did not appear to influence death in node-negative breast cancer.
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| 2. |
- Grönberg, Malin, et al.
(author)
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Expression of ghrelin is correlated to a favorable outcome in invasive breast cancer
- 2012
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In: Acta Oncologica. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 51:3, s. 386-393
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background. Expression of the peptide hormones ghrelin and obestatin has previously been demonstrated in human mammary glands. However, the clinical implications of the expression of these peptides in breast cancer are unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential clinical value of ghrelin and obestatin as breast cancer biomarkers. Methods. A tissue microarray containing breast cancer specimens from 144 patients was immunostained with antibodies directed towards ghrelin and obestatin. Using varying cut-offs, the expression of the two peptides was evaluated and correlated to previously known prognostic factors in breast cancer and to the outcome. Cox regression analysis was used to assess whether these markers may predict survival of breast cancer patients. Results. Moderate to strong immunoreactivity for ghrelin and obestatin was observed in 71.5% and 77.1% of the cases, respectively. Ghrelin and obestatin expression was significantly but weakly correlated to low histological grade, estrogen receptor positivity, small tumor size and low proliferation. Only ghrelin expression was significantly correlated to better recurrence-free and breast cancer-specific survival (HR = 0.3-0.4, p = 0.02-0.05) in both uni- and multivariate analyses. The optimal cut-off was any ghrelin expression versus none. Reproducibility between the two readers was very good for both stainings with kappa values of 0.94-1.00. Conclusions. Patients with tumors expressing ghrelin had 2.5-3 times lower risk for recurrence or breast cancer death than those lacking ghrelin expression. Ghrelin expression is easily assessable with high reproducibility using immunohistochemistry. Further investigations are needed to establish the clinical significance of ghrelin as a biomarker in breast cancer.
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| 3. |
- Johansson, Ida, et al.
(author)
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Gene expression profiling of primary male breast cancers reveals two unique subgroups and identifies N-acetyltransferase-1 (NAT1) as a novel prognostic biomarker
- 2012
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In: Breast Cancer Research. - : BioMed Central. - 1465-5411 .- 1465-542X. ; 14:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: Male breast cancer (MBC) is a rare and inadequately characterized disease. The aim of the present study was to characterize MBC tumors transcriptionally, to classify them into comprehensive subgroups, and to compare them with female breast cancer (FBC). less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanMethods: A total of 66 clinicopathologically well-annotated fresh frozen MBC tumors were analyzed using Illumina Human HT-12 bead arrays, and a tissue microarray with 220 MBC tumors was constructed for validation using immunohistochemistry. Two external gene expression datasets were used for comparison purposes: 37 MBCs and 359 FBCs. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanResults: Using an unsupervised approach, we classified the MBC tumors into two subgroups, luminal M1 and luminal M2, respectively, with differences in tumor biological features and outcome, and which differed from the intrinsic subgroups described in FBC. The two subgroups were recapitulated in the external MBC dataset. Luminal M2 tumors were characterized by high expression of immune response genes and genes associated with estrogen receptor (ER) signaling. Luminal M1 tumors, on the other hand, despite being ER positive by immunohistochemistry showed a lower correlation to genes associated with ER signaling and displayed a more aggressive phenotype and worse prognosis. Validation of two of the most differentially expressed genes, class 1 human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and the metabolizing gene N-acetyltransferase-1 (NAT1), respectively, revealed significantly better survival associated with high expression of both markers (HLA, hazard ratio (HR) 3.6, P = 0.002; NAT1, HR 2.5, P = 0.033). Importantly, NAT1 remained significant in a multivariate analysis (HR 2.8, P = 0.040) and may thus be a novel prognostic marker in MBC. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanConclusions: We have detected two unique and stable subgroups of MBC with differences in tumor biological features and outcome. They differ from the widely acknowledged intrinsic subgroups of FBC. As such, they may constitute two novel subgroups of breast cancer, occurring exclusively in men, and which may consequently require novel treatment approaches. Finally, we identified NAT1 as a possible prognostic biomarker for MBC, as suggested by NAT1 positivity corresponding to better outcome.
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| 4. |
- Nilsson, Cecilia, 1971-
(author)
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Characterization of Male Breast Cancer : From Molecule to Clinical Outcome
- 2012
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The aim of this thesis was to investigate different aspects of male breast cancer (MBC), and to compare these with findings in female breast cancer (FBC). In paper I, a population–based study was performed to investigate possible differences in treatment and outcome between MBC and FBC patients. MBC and FBC presented with a similar distribution of stage. Although no differences in primary treatment strategy were demonstrated, MBC patients had significantly poorer overall and relative survival, indicating a more aggressive disease. Paper II aimed to assess the value of clinicopathological factors and molecular subtypes in MBC. One hundred and ninety-seven MBC tumors were characterized using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and the findings were correlated to outcome. Lymph node positivity, larger tumor size and ER-negativity were independent risk factors for breast cancer death. Tumor grade, HER2, Ki 67 or IHC classification into molecular subtypes did not demonstrate any prognostic information. In paper III, the same patient material as in paper II was used for evaluation of proliferation markers. High levels of cyclin A and cyclin B expression and an elevated mitotic count were predictive of breast cancer death. Ki-67 was re-evaluated using different cut-offs, but no prognostic value could be demonstrated. Contrarily, overexpression of cyclin D1 was associated with a lower risk of breast cancer death. In papers IV-V, the molecular background of MBC tumors was investigated. Global GEX analyses were performed and two novel subgroups of MBC tumors were identified; luminal M1 and luminal M2. When comparing the degree of similarity with the “intrinsic” subtypes in FBC tumors, more than half of the MBC tumors remained unclassified. Comparative genomic hybridization was used to investigate DNA aberrations. Two MBC subgroups were identified, of which one did not resemble any of the female subgroups. In both studies on the molecular level, a majority of patients were classified into the subgroup with a more aggressive tumor behavior. In conclusion, MBC seems to be a unique tumor entity. The established molecular subtypes in FBC are not applicable in MBC. Other prognostic profiles, specific for MBC, need to be identified.
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| 5. |
- Nordin, Karin, et al.
(author)
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How can health care help female breast cancer patients reduce their stress symptoms? : A randomized intervention study with stepped-care
- 2012
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In: BMC Cancer. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2407 .- 1471-2407. ; 12, s. 167-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: A life threatening illness such as breast cancer can lead to a secondary diagnosis of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) with intrusive thoughts and avoidance as major symptoms. In a former study by the research group, 80% of the patients with breast cancer reported a high level of stress symptoms close to the diagnosis, such as intrusive thoughts and avoidance behavior. These symptoms remained high throughout the study. The present paper presents the design of a randomized study evaluating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a stress management intervention using a stepped-care design.Method: Female patients over the age of 18, with a recent diagnosis of breast cancer and scheduled for adjuvant treatment in the form of chemotherapy, radiation therapy and/or hormonal therapy are eligible and will consecutively be included in the study. The study is a prospective longitudinal intervention study with a stepped-care approach, where patients will be randomised to one of two interventions in the final stage of treatment. The first step is a low intensity stress-management intervention that is given to all patients. Patients who do not respond to this level are thereafter given more intensive treatment at later steps in the program and will be randomized to more intensive stress-management intervention in a group setting or individually. The primary out-come is subjective distress (intrusion and avoidance) assessed by the Impact of Event Scale (IES). According to the power-analyses, 300 patients are planned to be included in the study and will be followed for one year. Other outcomes are anxiety, depression, quality of life, fatigue, stress in daily living and utilization of hospital services. This will be assessed with well-known psychometric tested questionnaires. Also, the cost-effectiveness of the intervention given in group or individually will be evaluated.Discussion: This randomized clinical trial will provide additional empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of a stress-management program given in group or individually during adjuvant therapy in terms of decreased stress, minimizing fatigue, and maintaining or enhancing patients' quality of life and psychological well-being.
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| 6. |
- Strand, Carina, et al.
(author)
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Combination of the proliferation marker cyclin A, histological grade, and estrogen receptor status in a new variable with high prognostic impact in breast cancer
- 2012
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In: Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0167-6806 .- 1573-7217. ; 131:1, s. 33-40
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Global gene expression profiles, consisting mainly of genes associated with proliferation, have been shown to subdivide histological grade 2 breast cancers into groups with different prognosis. We raised the question whether this subdivision could be done using a single proliferation marker, cyclin A. Furthermore, we combined cyclin A (CA), histological grade (G), and estrogen receptor-ER (E) into a new variable, CAGE. Our aim was to investigate not only the prognostic importance of cyclin A alone but also the value of the combination variable CAGE. In 219 premenopausal node-negative patients, cyclin A was assessed using immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays. High cyclin A was defined as above the seventh decile of positive cells. Only 13% of the patients received adjuvant systemic therapy. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to model the impact of the factors on distant disease-free survival (DDFS). Cyclin A divided histological grade 2 tumors into two groups with significantly different DDFS (hazard ratio [HR]: 15, P < 0.001). When stratifying for ER status, cyclin A was a prognostic factor only in the ER positive subgroup. We found that CAGE was an independent prognostic factor for DDFS in multivariate analysis (HR: 4.1, P = 0.002), together with HER2. CAGE and HER2 identified 53% as low-risk patients with a 5-year DDFS of 95%. A new prognostic variable was created by combining cyclin A, histological grade, and ER (CAGE). CAGE together with HER2 identified a large low-risk group for whom adjuvant chemotherapy will have limited efficacy and may be avoided.
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| 7. |
- Zhou, Wenjing, 1979-
(author)
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Aspects of Progression in Breast Carcinoma : from ductal carcinoma in situ to invasive cancer
- 2012
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In the past decades our knowledge concerning breast cancer progression from ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) to invasive cancer has grown rapidly. However, molecular factors driving the progression are still largely unknown.In the first study, we investigated tumor evolution in breast cancer by analyzing TP53 mutation status in tumors from various stages of the disease. Presence of the same TP53 mutations in both DCIS and invasive components from the same tumor indicates same cellular origin. The role of mutant TP53 in the progression of breast cancer is less clear and may vary between subtypes.In the second study, we studied the prognosis of basal-like DCIS in a large population-based cohort. Basal-like DCIS was associated with about doubled but not statistically significant risk for local recurrence compared with the other molecular subtypes. Molecular subtype was a better prognostic parameter than histopathological grade.In the third study, we studied markers in primary DCIS in relation to type of recurrence. Interestingly, recurrences after an ER-/HER2+, ER negative or EGFR positive primary DCIS were more often of the in situ type. The molecular subtype ER+/HER2+, FOXA1 positivity and FOXC1 positivity were risk factors for any recurrence.In the fourth study, we proposed a histological classification system for a new entity: neoductgenesis. We also evaluated histologic criteria for neoductgenesis. According to our criteria, good agreements among pathologists were achieved. Neoductgenesis was related to more aggressive tumor biology and to mammographic features. The result indicates potential benefits for women earlier considered having pure DCIS but later diagnosed as breast carcinoma with neoductgenesis, suggesting a need to develop appropriate treatment regiments. Our findings have to be repeated and the relation to prognosis warrants further studies.
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