| 1. |
- Dekker, T. J. A., et al.
(författare)
-
Disorganised stroma determined on pre-treatment breast cancer biopsies is associated with poor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy : Results from the NEOZOTAC trial
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Molecular Oncology. - : Wiley. - 1574-7891 .- 1878-0261. ; 9:6, s. 1120-1128
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: The tumor-associated stoma is of importance for tumor progression and is generally accepted to have a significant influence on patient prognosis. However, little is known regarding specific features of tumor-associated stromal tissues and response to (neoadjuvant) chemotherapy. This study investigated the predictive value of extracellular matrix organization on response to chemotherapy in patients treated in the NEOZOTAC trial. Methods: Stromal organisation was analyzed via a simple method using image analysis software on hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained slides from primary tumor biopsies collected as part of the NEOZOTAC trial. Heidenhain's AZAN trichrome-stained slides were also analyzed for comparison of collagen evaluation. Sections were stained for phospho-Smad2 (pS2) in order to determine the relationship of TGF-beta signaling with stromal organization. Results: A statistically significant relationship was observed between stroma consisting of organised collagen and pathological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (Odds Ratio 0.276, 95%CI 0.124-0.614, P = 0.002). This parameter was also related to ER-status (P = 0.003), clinical tumor -status (P = 0.041), nodal status (P = 0.029) and pS2 status (P = 0.025). Correlation between stromal organisation determined on H&E-stained and AZAN-stained tissue sections was high (Pearson's correlation coefficient = 0.806). Conclusion: Intratumoral stromal organisation determined using pre-treatment breast cancer biopsies was related to pathological response to chemotherapy. This parameter might play a role in the management of breast cancer for identifying those patients that are likely to benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
|
|
| 2. |
- de Kruijf, E M, et al.
(författare)
-
The prognostic role of TGF-β signaling pathway in breast cancer patients
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Annals of Oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0923-7534 .- 1569-8041. ; 24:2, s. 384-390
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundThe transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) pathway has dual effects on tumor growth. Seemingly, discordant results have been published on the relation between TGF-β signaling markers and prognosis in breast cancer. Improved prognostic information for breast cancer patients might be obtained by assessing interactions among TGF-β signaling biomarkers.Patients and methodsThe expression of nuclear Smad4, nuclear phosphorylated-Smad2 (p-Smad2), and the membranous expression of TGF-β receptors I and II (TβRI and TβRII) was determined on a tissue microarray of 574 breast carcinomas. Tumors were stratified according to the Smad4 expression in combination with p-Smad2 expression or Smad4 in combination with the expression of both TGF-β receptors.ResultsTumors with high expression of TβRII, TβRI and TβRII, and p-Smad2 (P = 0.018, 0.005, and 0.022, respectively), and low expression of Smad4 (P = 0.005) had an unfavorable prognosis concerning progression-free survival. Low Smad4 expression combined with high p-Smad2 expression or low expression of Smad4 combined with high expression of both TGF-β receptors displayed an increased hazard ratio of 3.04 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.390-6.658] and 2.20 (95% CI 1.464-3.307), respectively, for disease relapse.ConclusionsCombining TGF-β biomarkers provides prognostic information for patients with stage I-III breast cancer. This can identify patients at increased risk for disease recurrence that might therefore be candidates for additional treatment.
|
|
| 3. |
- Hawinkels, L J A C, et al.
(författare)
-
Interaction with colon cancer cells hyperactivates TGF-β signaling in cancer-associated fibroblasts
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Oncogene. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0950-9232 .- 1476-5594. ; 33:1, s. 97-107
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The interaction between epithelial cancer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) has a major role in cancer progression and eventually in metastasis. In colorectal cancer (CRC), CAFs are present in high abundance, but their origin and functional interaction with epithelial tumor cells has not been elucidated. In this study we observed strong activation of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)/Smad signaling pathway in CRC CAFs, accompanied by decreased signaling in epithelial tumor cells. We evaluated the TGF-β1 response and the expression of target genes including matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 of various epithelial CRC cell lines and primary CAFs in vitro. TGF-β1 stimulation caused high upregulation of MMPs, PAI-1 and TGF-β1 itself. Next we showed that incubation of CAFs with conditioned medium (CM) from epithelial cancer cells led to hyperactivation of the TGF-β signaling pathway, enhanced expression of target genes like PAI-1, and the expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). We propose that the interaction of tumor cells with resident fibroblasts results in hyperactivated TGF-β1 signaling and subsequent transdifferentiation of the fibroblasts into α-SMA-positive CAFs. In turn this leads to cumulative production of TGF-β and proteinases within the tumor microenvironment, creating a cancer-promoting feedback loop.
|
|
| 4. |
- Smit, Marloes A., et al.
(författare)
-
Deep learning based tumor–stroma ratio scoring in colon cancer correlates with microscopic assessment
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Journal of Pathology Informatics. - : Elsevier B.V.. - 2229-5089 .- 2153-3539. ; 14
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The amount of stroma within the primary tumor is a prognostic parameter for colon cancer patients. This phenomenon can be assessed using the tumor–stroma ratio (TSR), which classifies tumors in stroma-low (≤50% stroma) and stroma-high (>50% stroma). Although the reproducibility for TSR determination is good, improvement might be expected from automation. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the scoring of the TSR in a semi- and fully automated method using deep learning algorithms is feasible. Methods: A series of 75 colon cancer slides were selected from a trial series of the UNITED study. For the standard determination of the TSR, 3 observers scored the histological slides. Next, the slides were digitized, color normalized, and the stroma percentages were scored using semi- and fully automated deep learning algorithms. Correlations were determined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and Spearman rank correlations. Results: 37 (49%) cases were classified as stroma-low and 38 (51%) as stroma-high by visual estimation. A high level of concordance between the 3 observers was reached, with ICCs of 0.91, 0.89, and 0.94 (all P < .001). Between visual and semi-automated assessment the ICC was 0.78 (95% CI 0.23–0.91, P-value 0.005), with a Spearman correlation of 0.88 (P < .001). Spearman correlation coefficients above 0.70 (N=3) were observed for visual estimation versus the fully automated scoring procedures. Conclusion: Good correlations were observed between standard visual TSR determination and semi- and fully automated TSR scores. At this point, visual examination has the highest observer agreement, but semi-automated scoring could be helpful to support pathologists. © 2023 The Authors
|
|
| 5. |
- Geessink, Oscar G. F., et al.
(författare)
-
Computer aided quantification of intratumoral stroma yields an independent prognosticator in rectal cancer
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Cellular Oncology. - : SPRINGER. - 2211-3428 .- 2211-3436. ; 42:3, s. 331-341
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PurposeTumor-stroma ratio (TSR) serves as an independent prognostic factor in colorectal cancer and other solid malignancies. The recent introduction of digital pathology in routine tissue diagnostics holds opportunities for automated TSR analysis. We investigated the potential of computer-aided quantification of intratumoral stroma in rectal cancer whole-slide images.MethodsHistological slides from 129 rectal adenocarcinoma patients were analyzed by two experts who selected a suitable stroma hot-spot and visually assessed TSR. A semi-automatic method based on deep learning was trained to segment all relevant tissue types in rectal cancer histology and subsequently applied to the hot-spots provided by the experts. Patients were assigned to a stroma-high or stroma-low group by both TSR methods (visual and automated). This allowed for prognostic comparison between the two methods in terms of disease-specific and disease-free survival times.ResultsWith stroma-low as baseline, automated TSR was found to be prognostic independent of age, gender, pT-stage, lymph node status, tumor grade, and whether adjuvant therapy was given, both for disease-specific survival (hazard ratio=2.48 (95% confidence interval 1.29-4.78)) and for disease-free survival (hazard ratio=2.05 (95% confidence interval 1.11-3.78)). Visually assessed TSR did not serve as an independent prognostic factor in multivariate analysis.ConclusionsThis work shows that TSR is an independent prognosticator in rectal cancer when assessed automatically in user-provided stroma hot-spots. The deep learning-based technology presented here may be a significant aid to pathologists in routine diagnostics.
|
|
| 6. |
- Li, Yihao, et al.
(författare)
-
c-Myb Enhances Breast Cancer Invasion and Metastasis through the Wnt/beta-Catenin/Axin2 Pathway
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Cancer Research. - 0008-5472 .- 1538-7445. ; 76:11, s. 3364-3375
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The molecular underpinnings of aggressive breast cancers remain mainly obscure. Here we demonstrate that activation of the transcription factor c-Myb is required for the prometastatic character of basal breast cancers. An analysis of breast cancer patients led us to identify c-Myb as an activator of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling. c-Myb interacted with the intracellular Wnt effector beta-catenin and coactivated the Wnt/beta-catenin target genes Cyclin D1 and Axin2. Moreover, c-Myb controlled metastasis in an Axin2-dependent manner. Expression microarray analyses revealed a positive association between Axin2 and c-Myb, a target of the proinflammatory cytokine IL1 beta that was found to be required for IL1 beta-induced breast cancer cell invasion. Overall, our results identified c-Myb as a promoter of breast cancer invasion and metastasis through its ability to activate Wnt/beta-catenin/Axin2 signaling. (C) 2016 AACR.
|
|
