| 1. |
- Ali, Abir Salwa, 1986-, et al.
(författare)
-
Candidate protein biomarkers in pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms grade 3
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 10:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (PanNENs) are rare tumours that compose 1-2% of all pancreatic tumours. Patients with metastatic grade 3 neoplasia are usually treated with chemotherapy but have a poor progression-free and overall survival. According to the WHO 2017 classification, they are divided into neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) G3 and neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs). Despite the new classification, new diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers are needed to sub-categorise the patients and to help guide therapy decisions. Blood from 42 patients and 42 healthy controls were screened for the presence of 92 proteins with the Immuno-Oncology panel using the Proximity Extension Assay provided by Olink Biosciences. Immunohistochemical staining of FAS ligand (FASLG) was performed on 16 patient tumour specimens using a commercial antibody. Fifty-four out of 87 evaluable proteins differed significantly in concentration between blood from patients and blood from healthy controls. FASLG was the only protein for which the concentration in blood was significantly lower in patients compared to controls and the levels correlated negatively to Ki-67 index. Seven of 14 evaluable PanNEN G3 specimens showed FASLG immunoreactivity in the tumour cells while there was scattered immunoreactivity in immune cells. Positive FASLG immunoreactivity correlated to well-differentiated morphology. FASLG concentration in blood was significantly lower in patients with pancreatic NENs G3 compared to controls, and the expression in tumour tissue was variable. Furthermore, FASLG was negatively correlated to Ki-67 and was more frequently expressed in well-differentiated tumours. Taken together, these results may suggest a role of FASLG in PanNENs.
|
|
| 2. |
- Ali, Abir Salwa, 1986-
(författare)
-
Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Neoplasms Grade 3 : Biological and Clinical Aspects
- 2019
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis was to investigate biological and clinical aspects of G3 gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (G3 GEP-NENs).In our first study, the expression of the tumor suppressor p53 was investigated. In a cohort of G3 GEP-NENs we found the expression of p53 protein to be present in 39% of 124 cases. Expression of p53 correlated to poorer progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for patients with G3 GEP-NENs originating from colon or rectum. In the next study, we aimed to demonstrate the prevalence of PD-L1 expression in G3 GEP-NENs and its possible clinical importance. Ten per cent of 136 tumor specimens were immunoreactive for PD-L1 in either tumor cells or immune cells. In contrast to p53 expression that could be correlated to PFS and OS in a subgroup of patients the expression of PD-L1 did not correlate to any clinicopathological variables and conclusively, PD-L1 may not have a vital role for the pathogenesis of G3 GEP-NENs. In a further study, we sought to identify new potential biomarkers and a panel of immuno-oncological proteins were measured in serum collected from pancreatic G3 NENs and healthy controls. Out of 87 proteins, 62% were significantly lower in serum concentration in healthy controls compared to patients. One protein, FasL, was present in significantly higher levels in healthy controls compared to patients. FasL may have a protective role in its ability to activate T cells in the immune system. Other proteins of interest were chemokine (c-c motif) ligand and interleukin 8 that both correlated to poorer prognosis in G3 pancreatic NEN patients. More studies are needed for further understanding of the roles and clinical relevance of immuno-oncological proteins in G3 pancreatic NENs.Finally, we evaluated whether intravenous or oral administration of etoposide differed with regards to PFS and OS in patients with G3 GEP-NENs. There was no significant difference in PFS nor OS between patients receiving oral compared to intravenous etoposide; demonstrating that an oral option of etoposide is not inferior in its efficacy as compared to the more used intravenous formulation. These results suggest that considering oral options of etoposide is important since they are more often preferred by patients, increase the quality of life for the patients and reduce hospital costs.This thesis has contributed to an understanding of the distribution and clinical relevance of p53 and PD-L1 in GEP-NENs. A potential role of FasL, chemokine and interleukin 8 as prognostic and/or diagnostic factors in pancreatic G3 NENs has been identified and should be further investigated. The thesis also gave some insight into the role of oral etoposide as an alternative option to intravenous formulation with regards to efficacy. Oral formulations are preferred by many patients and improve quality of life while decreasing hospital-related costs. Further studies are needed to compare the tolerability of oral formulation compared to the intravenous formulation.
|
|
| 3. |
- Ali, Abir Salwa, 1986-
(författare)
-
PD-L1 expression in G3 Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Neoplasms
-
Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- G3 Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (GEP-NENs) are rare but highly aggressive tumors and traditionally treated with platinum-based chemotherapy in combination with etoposide. Immune checkpoint proteins such as programmed cell death ligand (PD-L1) may have a role in different cancers making them escape the immune system and hence progress making them excellent targets for treatment. Our aim was investigate the immunohistochemical expression of PD-L1 protein in G3 GEP-NEN (Ki67 >20%) and to evaluate the frequency and location of expression and its correlation to clinical parameters. In a cohort of 136 patients, 14 tumor samples (10%) had PD-L1 immunoreactive cells; in four (3%) patient’s expression was seen in the tumor cells and in 10 (7%) expression was seen in immune cells. PD-L1 expression did not correlate to clinical parameters, progression-free survival or overall survival. We conclude that PD-L1 expression is present only in a subset of G3 GEP-NENs. Further studies are needed to fully understand the role of PD-L1 in patients with G3 GEP-NEN, and to assess the potential treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors.
|
|
| 4. |
- Ali, Abir Salwa, 1986-, et al.
(författare)
-
PD-L1 expression in gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms grade 3
- 2020
-
Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 15:12
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms grade 3 (GEP-NENs G3) are rare tumors. These highly aggressive neoplasms are traditionally treated with platinum-based chemotherapy in combination with etoposide. Immune checkpoint proteins such as programmed cell death ligand (PD-L1) may have a role in different cancers allowing them escape the immune system and hence, progress. We aimed to investigate the immunohistochemical expression of PD-L1 in GEP-NEN G3 and evaluate its correlation to clinical parameters. In a cohort of 136 patients, 14 (10%) expressed PD-L1 immunoreactivity; four (3%) patients in the tumor cells and 10 (7%) had immunoreactive immune cells. PD-L1 expression did not correlate to clinical parameters, progression-free survival or overall survival. We conclude that PD-L1 expression is present only in a subset of GEP-NEN G3 patients. Further studies are needed to fully understand the role of PD-L1 in patients with GEP-NEN G3, including the future possibility for treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors.
|
|
| 5. |
- Ali, Abir Salwa, 1986-
(författare)
-
Serum biomarkers in Pancreatic G3 Neuroendocrine Neoplasms
-
Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: Pancreatic G3 neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) are rare, aggressive and poorly understood tumors that compose 1-2% of all pancreatic tumors. Generally treated with chemotherapy with poor progression free survival according to their WHO 2010 classification, these tumors are heterogeneous and new diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers are needed to fully understand their biology, sub-categorize them and effectively treat them.Materials and methods: Serum from 42 patients and 42 healthy controls were screened for the presence of 96 different proteins with an immune-oncology panel using the proximity extension assay provided by Olink Biosciences. Immunohistochemical staining was performed on 16 patient tumor specimens with a commercial antibody versus FasL.Results: Fifty-four out of 87 evaluable proteins differed significantly in concentration between serum from patients and serum from healthy controls. FasL concentration in serum was significantly lower in patients compared to controls. Furthermore, chemokine (c-c motif) ligand 4 (CCL4) and interleukin 8 (IL8) were present in significantly higher serum concentration in patients who had progressive disease. Five of 15 evaluable specimens showed FasL immunoreactivity in the tumor cells and 10 showed immunoreactivity in immune cells.Conclusion: FasL concentration in serum was significantly lower in patients with pancreatic G3 NENs compared to controls, and the expression in tumor tissue was variable. CCL4 and IL8 correlated to worse prognosis. However, further studies in larger cohorts are needed for evaluation of the true clinical value of these proteins for patients with pancreatic G3 NENs.
|
|
| 6. |
- Elvebakken, Hege, et al.
(författare)
-
A Consensus-Developed Morphological Re-Evaluation of 196 High-Grade Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Neoplasms and Its Clinical Correlations
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Neuroendocrinology. - : S. Karger. - 0028-3835 .- 1423-0194. ; 111:9, s. 883-894
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- High-grade gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (GEP-NENs) are classified according to morphology as well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) G3 or poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs). Little data exist concerning which morphological criteria this subdivision should be based on. Uncertainty exists if the NEC group should be further subdivided according to proliferation rate. Clinical data on NET G3 and NEC with a lower Ki-67 range are limited. A total of 213 patients with high-grade GEP-NEN (Ki-67 >20%) were included from the Nordic NEC Registries. Four experienced NET pathologists re-evaluated the cases to develop the best morphological criteria to separate NET G3 from NEC, assuming longer survival in NET G3. Organoid growth pattern, capillary network in direct contact to tumour cells, and absence of desmoplastic stroma were found to best separate NET G3 from NEC. Of 196 patients with metastatic disease, NET G3 was found in 12.3%, NEC with a Ki-67 <55% (NEC < 55) in 29.6%, and NEC with a Ki-67 >= 55% (NEC >= 55) in 56.6%. Only in 1.5%, the morphology was ambiguous. Of 164 patients receiving first-line chemotherapy, 88% received platinum/etoposide treatment. Response rate was higher for NEC >= 55 (44%) than that of NEC < 55 (25%) and NET G3 (24%) (p = 0.025 and p = 0.026). Median progression-free survival was 5 months for all groups. Median overall survival was 33 months for NET G3 compared to 11 months for both NEC < 55 and NEC >= 55 (p = 0.004 and 0.003). Specific morphological criteria can separate NET G3 from NECs and show prognostic significance. High-grade GEP-NEN patients stratified by morphology and proliferation rate demonstrate significant differences in response to chemotherapy and survival.
|
|
