| 1. |
- Björkman, Anne, 1981, et al.
(författare)
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Plant functional trait change across a warming tundra biome
- 2018
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 562:7725, s. 57-62
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The tundra is warming more rapidly than any other biome on Earth, and the potential ramifications are far-reaching because of global feedback effects between vegetation and climate. A better understanding of how environmental factors shape plant structure and function is crucial for predicting the consequences of environmental change for ecosystem functioning. Here we explore the biome-wide relationships between temperature, moisture and seven key plant functional traits both across space and over three decades of warming at 117 tundra locations. Spatial temperature–trait relationships were generally strong but soil moisture had a marked influence on the strength and direction of these relationships, highlighting the potentially important influence of changes in water availability on future trait shifts in tundra plant communities. Community height increased with warming across all sites over the past three decades, but other traits lagged far behind predicted rates of change. Our findings highlight the challenge of using space-for-time substitution to predict the functional consequences of future warming and suggest that functions that are tied closely to plant height will experience the most rapid change. They also reveal the strength with which environmental factors shape biotic communities at the coldest extremes of the planet and will help to improve projections of functional changes in tundra ecosystems with climate warming.
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| 2. |
- Edvardsen, Hege, et al.
(författare)
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SNP in TXNRD2 Associated With Radiation-Induced Fibrosis : A Study of Genetic Variation in Reactive Oxygen Species Metabolism and Signaling.
- 2013
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Ingår i: International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics. - : Elsevier BV. - 1879-355X .- 0360-3016. ; 86:4, s. 791-9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to identify noninvasive markers of treatment-induced side effects. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated after irradiation, and genetic variation in genes related to ROS metabolism might influence the level of radiation-induced adverse effects (AEs).METHODS AND MATERIALS: 92 breast cancer (BC) survivors previously treated with hypofractionated radiation therapy were assessed for the AEs subcutaneous atrophy and fibrosis, costal fractures, lung fibrosis, pleural thickening, and telangiectasias (median follow-up time 17.1 years). Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 203 genes were analyzed for association to AE grade. SNPs associated with subcutaneous fibrosis were validated in an independent BC survivor material (n=283). The influence of the studied genetic variation on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression level of 18 genes previously associated with fibrosis was assessed in fibroblast cell lines from BC patients.RESULTS: Subcutaneous fibrosis and atrophy had the highest correlation (r=0.76) of all assessed AEs. The nonsynonymous SNP rs1139793 in TXNRD2 was associated with grade of subcutaneous fibrosis, the reference T-allele being more prevalent in the group experiencing severe levels of fibrosis. This was confirmed in another sample cohort of 283 BC survivors, and rs1139793 was found significantly associated with mRNA expression level of TXNRD2 in blood. Genetic variation in 24 ROS-related genes, including EGFR, CENPE, APEX1, and GSTP1, was associated with mRNA expression of 14 genes previously linked to fibrosis (P≤.005).CONCLUSION: Development of subcutaneous fibrosis can be associated with genetic variation in the mitochondrial enzyme TXNRD2, critically involved in removal of ROS, and maintenance of the intracellular redox balance.
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| 3. |
- Lacas, Benjamin, et al.
(författare)
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Role of radiotherapy fractionation in head and neck cancers (MARCH) : an updated meta-analysis
- 2017
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Ingår i: The Lancet Oncology. - 1470-2045 .- 1474-5488. ; 18:9, s. 1221-1237
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background The Meta-Analysis of Radiotherapy in squamous cell Carcinomas of Head and neck (MARCH) showed that altered fractionation radiotherapy is associated with improved overall and progression-free survival compared with conventional radiotherapy, with hyperfractionated radiotherapy showing the greatest benefit. This update aims to confirm and explain the superiority of hyperfractionated radiotherapy over other altered fractionation radiotherapy regimens and to assess the benefit of altered fractionation within the context of concomitant chemotherapy with the inclusion of new trials. Methods For this updated meta-analysis, we searched bibliography databases, trials registries, and meeting proceedings for published or unpublished randomised trials done between Jan 1, 2009, and July 15, 2015, comparing primary or postoperative conventional fractionation radiotherapy versus altered fractionation radiotherapy (comparison 1) or conventional fractionation radiotherapy plus concomitant chemotherapy versus altered fractionation radiotherapy alone (comparison 2). Eligible trials had to start randomisation on or after Jan 1, 1970, and completed accrual before Dec 31, 2010; had to have been randomised in a way that precluded prior knowledge of treatment assignment; and had to include patients with non-metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, or larynx undergoing first-line curative treatment. Trials including a non-conventional radiotherapy control group, investigating hypofractionated radiotherapy, or including mostly nasopharyngeal carcinomas were excluded. Trials were grouped in three types of altered fractionation: hyperfractionated, moderately accelerated, and very accelerated. Individual patient data were collected and combined with a fixed-effects model based on the intention-to-treat principle. The primary endpoint was overall survival. Findings Comparison 1 (conventional fractionation radiotherapy vs altered fractionation radiotherapy) included 33 trials and 11 423 patients. Altered fractionation radiotherapy was associated with a significant benefit on overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] 0·94, 95% CI 0·90–0·98; p=0·0033), with an absolute difference at 5 years of 3·1% (95% CI 1·3–4·9) and at 10 years of 1·2% (−0·8 to 3·2). We found a significant interaction (p=0·051) between type of fractionation and treatment effect, the overall survival benefit being restricted to the hyperfractionated group (HR 0·83, 0·74–0·92), with absolute differences at 5 years of 8·1% (3·4 to 12·8) and at 10 years of 3·9% (−0·6 to 8·4). Comparison 2 (conventional fractionation radiotherapy plus concomitant chemotherapy versus altered fractionation radiotherapy alone) included five trials and 986 patients. Overall survival was significantly worse with altered fractionation radiotherapy compared with concomitant chemoradiotherapy (HR 1·22, 1·05–1·42; p=0·0098), with absolute differences at 5 years of −5·8% (−11·9 to 0·3) and at 10 years of −5·1% (−13·0 to 2·8). Interpretation This update confirms, with more patients and a longer follow-up than the first version of MARCH, that hyperfractionated radiotherapy is, along with concomitant chemoradiotherapy, a standard of care for the treatment of locally advanced head and neck squamous cell cancers. The comparison between hyperfractionated radiotherapy and concomitant chemoradiotherapy remains to be specifically tested. Funding Institut National du Cancer; and Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer.
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| 4. |
- Lassen, Pernille, et al.
(författare)
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Prognostic impact of HPV-associated p16-expression and smoking status on outcomes following radiotherapy for oropharyngeal cancer : the MARCH-HPV project
- 2018
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Ingår i: Radiotherapy and Oncology. - : ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD. - 0167-8140 .- 1879-0887. ; 126:1, s. 107-115
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and purpose: Evaluate the prognostic and predictive impact of HPV-associated p16 -expression and assess the combined prognostic impact of p16 and smoking on altered fractionated radiotherapy (AFRT) for oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) within the frames of the update of the Meta-Analysis of Radiotherapy in Carcinomas of Head and neck (MARCH). Materials and methods: Patients with OPC, known tumor p16-status and smoking history were identified from the MARCH update, resulting in a dataset of 815 patients from four randomized trials (RTOG9003, DAHANCA6&7, RTOG0129, ARTSCAN). Analysis was performed using a Cox model stratified by trial and adjusted on gender, age, T-stage, N-stage, type of radiotherapy fractionation, p16, smoking. Primary end-point was progression-free survival (PFS). Results: In total, 465 patients (57%) had p16-positive tumors and 350 (43%) p16-negative. Compared to p16-negative, p16-positive patients had significantly better PFS (HR = 0.42 [95% CI: 0.34-0.51], 28.9% absolute increase at 10 years) and OS (HR = 0.40 [0.32-0.49], 32.1% absolute increase at 10 years). No interaction between p16-status and fractionation schedule was detected. Smoking negatively impacted outcome; in the p16-positive subgroup, never smokers had significantly better PFS than former/current smokers (HR = 0.49 [0.33-0.75], 24.2% survival benefit at 10 years). Conclusions: No predictive impact of p16-status on response to AFRT could be detected but the strong prognostic impact of p16-status was confirmed and especially p16-positive never smoking patients have superior outcome after RT.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Nielsen, Steffen, et al.
(författare)
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Differential gene expression in primary fibroblasts induced by proton and cobalt-60 beam irradiation
- 2017
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Ingår i: Acta Oncologica. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 56:11, s. 1406-1412
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: Proton beam therapy delivers a more conformal dose distribution than conventional radiotherapy, thus improving normal tissue sparring. Increasing linear energy transfer (LET) along the proton track increases the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) near the distal edge of the Spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP). The severity of normal tissue side effects following photon beam radiotherapy vary considerably between patients.Aim: The dual study aim was to identify gene expression patterns specific to radiation type and proton beam position, and to assess whether individual radiation sensitivity influences gene expression levels in fibroblast cultures irradiated in vitro.Methods: The study includes 30 primary fibroblast cell cultures from patients previously classified as either radiosensitive or radioresistant. Cells were irradiated at three different positions in the proton beam profile: entrance, mid-SOBP and at the SOBP distal edge. Dose was delivered in three fractions × 3.5 Gy(RBE) (RBE 1.1). Cobalt-60 (Co-60) irradiation was used as reference. Real-time qPCR was performed to determine gene expression levels for 17 genes associated with inflammation response, fibrosis and angiogenesis.Results: Differences in median gene expression levels were observed for multiple genes such as IL6, IL8 and CXCL12. Median IL6 expression was 30%, 24% and 47% lower in entrance, mid-SOBP and SOBP distal edge groups than in Co-60 irradiated cells. No genes were found to be oppositely regulated by different radiation qualities. Radiosensitive patient samples had the strongest regulation of gene expression; irrespective of radiation type.Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the increased LET at the SOBP distal edge position did not generally lead to increased transcriptive response in primary fibroblast cultures. Inflammatory factors were generally less extensively upregulated by proton irradiation compared with Co-60 photon irradiation. These effects may possibly influence the development of normal tissue damage in patients treated with proton beam therapy.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Pedersen, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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A simple way to evaluate self-designed probes for tumor specific Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification (MLPA)
- 2010
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Ingår i: BMC Research Notes. - : BioMed Central Ltd. - 1756-0500. ; 3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND:The Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification (MLPA) is widely used for analysis of copy number variations (CNVs) in single or multiple loci. MLPA is a versatile methodology and important tool in cancer research; it provides precise information on increased or decreased copy number at specific loci as opposed to loss of heterozygosity (LOH) studies based upon microsatellite analysis. Pre-designed MLPA kits and software are commercially available to analyze multiple exons, genes, and genomic regions. However, an increasing demand for new gene specific assays makes it necessary to self-design new MLPA probes for which the available software may not be applicable. During evaluation of new self-designed reference probes, we encountered a number of problems, especially when applying the MLPA methodology to tumor samples.FINDINGS:DNA samples from 48 unaffected individuals and 145 breast cancer patients were used to evaluate 11 self-designed MLPA probes and determine the cut-off values for CNV, before applying the MLPA probes to normalize the target probes in a cohort of affected individuals. To test the calculation strategy, three probes were designed to cover regions in Regulator of G-protein Signaling 8 (RGS8), which we previously have identified as being affected by allelic imbalance by LOH analysis across RGS8 in the cohort comprising 145 breast tumors. Agreement between the LOH results and the results obtained by each of the three MLPA probes in RGS8 was found for 64%, 73%, and 91%, of the analyzed samples, respectively.CONCLUSION:Here, we present a straightforward method, based upon the normalization pattern in both unaffected and affected individuals, to evaluate self-designed reference probes and to calculate CNV for the MLPA assay with specific focus on the difficulties when analyzing tumor DNA.
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| 9. |
- Petit, Claire, et al.
(författare)
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Chemotherapy and radiotherapy in locally advanced head and neck cancer : an individual patient data network meta-analysis
- 2021
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Ingår i: The Lancet Oncology. - : Elsevier. - 1470-2045 .- 1474-5488. ; 22:5, s. 727-736
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Randomised, controlled trials and meta-analyses have shown the survival benefit of concomitant chemoradiotherapy or hyperfractionated radiotherapy in the treatment of locally advanced head and neck cancer. However, the relative efficacy of these treatments is unknown. We aimed to determine whether one treatment was superior to the other.METHODS: We did a frequentist network meta-analysis based on individual patient data of meta-analyses evaluating the role of chemotherapy (Meta-Analysis of Chemotherapy in Head and Neck Cancer [MACH-NC]) and of altered fractionation radiotherapy (Meta-Analysis of Radiotherapy in Carcinomas of Head and Neck [MARCH]). Randomised, controlled trials that enrolled patients with non-metastatic head and neck squamous cell cancer between Jan 1, 1980, and Dec 31, 2016, were included. We used a two-step random-effects approach, and the log-rank test, stratified by trial to compare treatments, with locoregional therapy as the reference. Overall survival was the primary endpoint. The global Cochran Q statistic was used to assess homogeneity and consistency and P score to rank treatments (higher scores indicate more effective therapies).FINDINGS: 115 randomised, controlled trials, which enrolled patients between Jan 1, 1980, and April 30, 2012, yielded 154 comparisons (28 978 patients with 19 253 deaths and 20 579 progression events). Treatments were grouped into 16 modalities, for which 35 types of direct comparisons were available. Median follow-up based on all trials was 6·6 years (IQR 5·0-9·4). Hyperfractionated radiotherapy with concomitant chemotherapy (HFCRT) was ranked as the best treatment for overall survival (P score 97%; hazard ratio 0·63 [95% CI 0·51-0·77] compared with locoregional therapy). The hazard ratio of HFCRT compared with locoregional therapy with concomitant chemoradiotherapy with platinum-based chemotherapy (CLRTP) was 0·82 (95% CI 0·66-1·01) for overall survival. The superiority of HFCRT was robust to sensitivity analyses. Three other modalities of treatment had a better P score, but not a significantly better HR, for overall survival than CLRTP (P score 78%): induction chemotherapy with taxane, cisplatin, and fluorouracil followed by locoregional therapy (ICTaxPF-LRT; 89%), accelerated radiotherapy with concomitant chemotherapy (82%), and ICTaxPF followed by CLRT (80%).INTERPRETATION: The results of this network meta-analysis suggest that further intensifying chemoradiotherapy, using HFCRT or ICTaxPF-CLRT, could improve outcomes over chemoradiotherapy for the treatment of locally advanced head and neck cancer.FUNDINGS: French Institut National du Cancer, French Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer, and Fondation ARC.
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| 10. |
- Singers Sørensen, Brita, et al.
(författare)
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Relative biological effectiveness (RBE) and distal edge effects of proton radiation on early damage in vivo
- 2017
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Ingår i: Acta Oncologica. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 56:11, s. 1387-1391
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: The aim of the present study was to examine the RBE for early damage in an in vivo mouse model, and the effect of the increased linear energy transfer (LET) towards the distal edge of the spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP).Method: The lower part of the right hind limb of CDF1 mice was irradiated with single fractions of either 6 MV photons, 240 kV photons or scanning beam protons and graded doses were applied. For the proton irradiation, the leg was either placed in the middle of a 30-mm SOBP, or to assess the effect in different positions, irradiated in 4 mm intervals from the middle of the SOBP to behind the distal dose fall-off. Irradiations were performed with the same dose plan at all positions, corresponding to a dose of 31.25 Gy in the middle of the SOBP. Endpoint of the study was early skin damage of the foot, assessed by a mouse foot skin scoring system.Results: The MDD50 values with 95% confidence intervals were 36.1 (34.2–38.1) Gy for protons in the middle of the SOBP for score 3.5. For 6 MV photons, it was 35.9 (34.5–37.5) Gy and 32.6 (30.7–34.7) Gy for 240 kV photons for score 3.5. The corresponding RBE was 1.00 (0.94–1.05), relative to 6 MV photons and 0.9 (0.85–0.97) relative to 240 kV photons. In the mice group positioned at the SOBP distal dose fall-off, 25% of the mice developed early skin damage compared with 0–8% in other groups. LETd,z = 1 was 8.4 keV/μm at the distal dose fall-off and the physical dose delivered was 7% lower than in the central SOBP position, where LETd,z =1 was 3.3 keV/μm.Conclusions: Although there is a need to expand the current study to be able to calculate an exact enhancement ratio, an enhanced biological effect in vivo for early skin damage in the distal edge was demonstrated.
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