| 1. |
- Backman, Max, et al.
(author)
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Extending the immune phenotypes of lung cancer: Oasis in the desert
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Introduction: Tumor infiltrating immune cells are key elements of the tumor microenvironment and mediate the anti-tumor effects of immunotherapy. The aim of the study was to characterize patterns of immune cell infiltration in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in relation to tumor mutations and clinicopathological parameters. Methods: Lymphocytes (CD4+, CD8+, CD20+, FOXP3+, CD45RO+), macrophages (CD163+), plasma cells (CD138+), NK cells (NKp46+) and PD-L1+ were annotated on a tissue microarray including 357 operated NSCLC cases. Somatic mutations and tumor mutational burden were analyzed by targeted sequencing for 82 genes, and transcriptomic immune patterns were established in 197 patients based on RNAseq data. Results: We identified somatic mutations (TP53, NF1, KEAP1, CSMD3, LRP1B) that correlated with specific immune cell infiltrates. Hierarchical clustering revealed four immune classes: with (1) high immune cell infiltration (“inflamed”), (2) low immune cell infiltration (“desert”), (3) a mixed phenotype, and (4) a new phenotype with an overall muted inflammatory cell pattern but with an imprint of NK and plasma cells. This latter class exhibited low expression of immune response-related genes (e.g. CXCL9, GZMB, INFG, TGFB1), but was linked to better survival and therefore designated “oasis”. Otherwise, the four immune classes were not related to the presence of specific mutations (EGFR, KRAS, TP53) or histologic subtypes. Conclusion: We present a compartment-specific immune cell analysis in the context of the molecular and clinical background of NSCLC and identified the novel immune class “oasis”. The immune classification helps to better define the immunogenic potency of NSCLC in the era of immunotherapy.
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| 2. |
- Backman, Max, et al.
(author)
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Infiltration of NK and plasma cells is associated with a distinct immune subset in non‐small cell lung cancer
- 2021
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In: Journal of Pathology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0022-3417 .- 1096-9896. ; 255:3, s. 243-256
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Immune cells of the tumor microenvironment are central but erratic targets for immunotherapy. The aim of this study was to characterize novel patterns of immune cell infiltration in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in relation to its molecular and clinicopathologic characteristics. Lymphocytes (CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD20+, FOXP3+, CD45RO+), macrophages (CD163+), plasma cells (CD138+), NK cells (NKp46+), PD1+, and PD-L1+ were annotated on a tissue microarray including 357 NSCLC cases. Somatic mutations were analyzed by targeted sequencing for 82 genes and a tumor mutational load score was estimated. Transcriptomic immune patterns were established in 197 patients based on RNA sequencing data. The immune cell infiltration was variable and showed only poor association with specific mutations. The previously defined immune phenotypic patterns, desert, inflamed, and immune excluded, comprised 30, 13, and 57% of cases, respectively. Notably, mRNA immune activation and high estimated tumor mutational load were unique only for the inflamed pattern. However, in the unsupervised cluster analysis, including all immune cell markers, these conceptual patterns were only weakly reproduced. Instead, four immune classes were identified: (1) high immune cell infiltration, (2) high immune cell infiltration with abundance of CD20+ B cells, (3) low immune cell infiltration, and (4) a phenotype with an imprint of plasma cells and NK cells. This latter class was linked to better survival despite exhibiting low expression of immune response-related genes (e.g. CXCL9, GZMB, INFG, CTLA4). This compartment-specific immune cell analysis in the context of the molecular and clinical background of NSCLC reveals two previously unrecognized immune classes. A refined immune classification, including traits of the humoral and innate immune response, is important to define the immunogenic potency of NSCLC in the era of immunotherapy. © 2021 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
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| 3. |
- Biswas, Dhruva, et al.
(author)
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A clonal expression biomarker associates with lung cancer mortality
- 2019
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In: Nature Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1078-8956 .- 1546-170X. ; 25:10, s. 1540-1548
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An aim of molecular biomarkers is to stratify patients with cancer into disease subtypes predictive of outcome, improving diagnostic precision beyond clinical descriptors such as tumor stage(1). Transcriptomic intratumor heterogeneity (RNA-ITH) has been shown to confound existing expression-based biomarkers across multiple cancer types(2-6). Here, we analyze multi-region whole-exome and RNA sequencing data for 156 tumor regions from 48 patients enrolled in the TRACERx study to explore and control for RNA-ITH in non-small cell lung cancer. We find that chromosomal instability is a major driver of RNA-ITH, and existing prognostic gene expression signatures are vulnerable to tumor sampling bias. To address this, we identify genes expressed homogeneously within individual tumors that encode expression modules of cancer cell proliferation and are often driven by DNA copy-number gains selected early in tumor evolution. Clonal transcriptomic biomarkers overcome tumor sampling bias, associate with survival independent of clinicopathological risk factors, and may provide a general strategy to refine biomarker design across cancer types.
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| 4. |
- Bogatyrova, Olga, et al.
(author)
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FGFR1 overexpression in non-small cell lung cancer is mediated by genetic and epigenetic mechanisms and is a determinant of FGFR1 inhibitor response
- 2021
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In: European Journal of Cancer. - : Elsevier. - 0959-8049 .- 1879-0852. ; 151, s. 136-149
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Amplification of fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been considered as an actionable drug target. However, pan-FGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors did not demonstrate convincing clinical efficacy in FGFR1-amplified NSCLC patients. This study aimed to characterise the molecular context of FGFR1 expression and to define biomarkers predictive of FGFR1 inhibitor response.In this study, 635 NSCLC samples were characterised for FGFR1 protein expression by immunohistochemistry and copy number gain (CNG) by in situ hybridisation (n = 298) or DNA microarray (n = 189). FGFR1 gene expression (n = 369) and immune cell profiles (n = 309) were also examined. Furthermore, gene expression, methylation and microRNA data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were compared. A panel of FGFR1-amplified NSCLC patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models were tested for response to the selective FGFR1 antagonist M6123.A minority of patients demonstrated FGFR1 CNG (10.5%) or increased FGFR1 mRNA (8.7%) and protein expression (4.4%). FGFR1 CNG correlated weakly with FGFR1 gene and protein expression. Tumours overexpressing FGFR1 protein were typically devoid of driver alterations (e.g. EGFR, KRAS) and showed reduced infiltration of T-lymphocytes and lower PD-L1 expression. Promoter methylation and microRNA were identified as regulators of FGFR1 expression in NSCLC and other cancers. Finally, NSCLC PDX models demonstrating FGFR1 amplification and FGFR1 protein overexpression were sensitive to M6123.The unique molecular and immune features of tumours with high FGFR1 expression provide a rationale to stratify patients in future clinical trials of FGFR1 pathway-targeting agents.
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| 5. |
- Djureinovic, Dijana, et al.
(author)
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Profiling cancer testis antigens in non-small-cell lung cancer
- 2016
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In: JCI INSIGHT. - : American Society for Clinical Investigation. - 2379-3708. ; 1:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cancer testis antigens (CTAs) are of clinical interest as biomarkers and present valuable targets for immunotherapy. To comprehensively characterize the CTA landscape of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we compared RNAseq data from 199 NSCLC tissues to the normal transcriptome of 142 samples from 32 different normal organs. Of 232 CTAs currently annotated in the Caner Testis Database (CTdatabase), 96 were confirmed in NSCLC. To obtain an unbiased CTA profile of NSCLC, we applied stringent criteria on our RNAseq data set and defined 90 genes as CTAs, of which 55 genes were not annotated in the CTdatabase, thus representing potential new CTAs. Cluster analysis revealed that CTA expression is histology dependent and concurrent expression is common. IHC confirmed tissue-specific protein expression of selected new CTAs (TKTL1, TGIF2LX, VCX, and CXORF67). Furthermore, methylation was identified as a regulatory mechanism of CTA expression based on independent data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. The proposed prognostic impact of CTAs in lung cancer was not confirmed, neither in our RNAseq cohort nor in an independent meta-analysis of 1,117 NSCLC cases. In summary, we defined a set of 90 reliable CTAs, including information on protein expression, methylation, and survival association. The detailed RNAseq catalog can guide biomarker studies and efforts to identify targets for immunotherapeutic strategies.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Elfving, Hedvig, et al.
(author)
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Evaluation of NTRK immunohistochemistry as a screening method for NTRK gene fusion detection in non-small cell lung cancer
- 2021
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In: Lung Cancer. - : Elsevier. - 0169-5002 .- 1872-8332. ; 151, s. 53-59
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: The small molecule inhibitors larotrectinib and entrectinib have recently been approved as cancer agnostic drugs in patients with tumours harbouring a rearrangement of the neurotrophic tropomyosin receptor kinase (NTRK). These oncogenic fusions are estimated to occur in 0.1-3 % of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC). Although molecular techniques are most reliable for fusion detection, immunohistochemical analysis is considered valuable for screening. Therefore, we evaluated the newly introduced diagnostic immunohistochemical assay (clone EPR17341) on a representative NSCLC cohort.Methods: Cancer tissue from 688 clinically and molecularly extensively annotated NSCLC patients were comprised on tissue microarrays and stained with the pan-TRK antibody clone EPR17341. Positive cases were further analysed with the TruSight Tumor 170 RNA assay (Illumina). Selected cases were also tested with a NanoString NTRK fusion assay. For 199 cases, NTRK RNA expression data were available from previous RNA sequencing analysis.Results: Altogether, staining patterns for 617 NSCLC cases were evaluable. Of these, four cases (0.6 %) demonstrated a strong diffuse cytoplasmic and membranous staining, and seven cases a moderate staining (1.1 %). NanoString or TST170-analysis could not confirm an NTRK fusion in any of the IHC positive cases, or any of the cases with high mRNA levels. In the four cases with strong staining intensity in the tissue microarray, whole section staining revealed marked heterogeneity of NTRK protein expression.Conclusion: The presence of NTRK fusion genes in non-small cell lung cancer is exceedingly rare. The use of the immunohistochemical NTRK assay will result in a small number of false positive cases. This should be considered when the assay is applied as a screening tool in clinical diagnostics.
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| 9. |
- Goldmann, Torsten, et al.
(author)
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PD-L1 amplification is associated with an immune cell rich phenotype in squamous cell cancer of the lung
- 2021
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In: Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy. - : Springer Nature. - 0340-7004 .- 1432-0851. ; 70:9, s. 2577-2587
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Gene amplification is considered to be one responsible cause for upregulation of Programmed Death Ligand-1 (PD-L1) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to represent a specific molecular subgroup possibly associated with immunotherapy response. Our aim was to analyze the frequency of PD-L1 amplification, its relation to PD-L1 mRNA and protein expression, and to characterize the immune microenvironment of amplified cases. The study was based on two independent NSCLC cohorts, including 354 and 349 cases, respectively. Tissue microarrays were used to evaluate PD-L1 amplification by FISH and PD-L1 protein by immunohistochemistry. Immune infiltrates were characterized immunohistochemically by a panel of immune markers (CD3, CD4, CD8, PD-1, Foxp3, CD20, CD138, CD168, CD45RO, NKp46). Mutational status was determined by targeted sequencing. RNAseq data was available for 197 patients. PD-L1 amplification was detected in 4.5% of all evaluable cases. PD-L1 amplification correlated only weakly with mRNA and protein expression. About 37% of amplified cases were negative for PD-L1 protein. PD-L1 amplification did not show any association with the mutational status. In squamous cell cancer, PD-L1 amplified cases were enriched among patients with high tumoral immune cell infiltration and showed gene expression profiles related to immune exhaustion. In conclusion, PD-L1 amplification correlates with PD-L1 expression in squamous cell cancer and was associated with an immune cell rich tumor phenotype. The correlative findings help to understand the role of PD-L1 amplification as an important immune escape mechanism in NSCLC and suggest the need to further evaluate PD-L1 amplification as predictive biomarker for checkpoint inhibitor therapy.
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| 10. |
- Grinberg, Marianna, et al.
(author)
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Reaching the limits of prognostication in non-small cell lung cancer : an optimized biomarker panel fails to outperform clinical parameters.
- 2017
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In: Modern Pathology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0893-3952 .- 1530-0285. ; 30:7, s. 964-977
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Numerous protein biomarkers have been analyzed to improve prognostication in non-small cell lung cancer, but have not yet demonstrated sufficient value to be introduced into clinical practice. Here, we aimed to develop and validate a prognostic model for surgically resected non-small cell lung cancer. A biomarker panel was selected based on (1) prognostic association in published literature, (2) prognostic association in gene expression data sets, (3) availability of reliable antibodies, and (4) representation of diverse biological processes. The five selected proteins (MKI67, EZH2, SLC2A1, CADM1, and NKX2-1 alias TTF1) were analyzed by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays including tissue from 326 non-small cell lung cancer patients. One score was obtained for each tumor and each protein. The scores were combined, with or without the inclusion of clinical parameters, and the best prognostic model was defined according to the corresponding concordance index (C-index). The best-performing model was subsequently validated in an independent cohort consisting of tissue from 345 non-small cell lung cancer patients. The model based only on protein expression did not perform better compared to clinicopathological parameters, whereas combining protein expression with clinicopathological data resulted in a slightly better prognostic performance (C-index: all non-small cell lung cancer 0.63 vs 0.64; adenocarcinoma: 0.66 vs 0.70, squamous cell carcinoma: 0.57 vs 0.56). However, this modest effect did not translate into a significantly improved accuracy of survival prediction. The combination of a prognostic biomarker panel with clinicopathological parameters did not improve survival prediction in non-small cell lung cancer, questioning the potential of immunohistochemistry-based assessment of protein biomarkers for prognostication in clinical practice.Modern Pathology advance online publication, 10 March 2017; doi:10.1038/modpathol.2017.14.
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Johansson, Ann-Charlotte, et al.
(author)
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The relationship between EMT, CD44(high)/EGFR(low) phenotype, and treatment response in head and neck cancer cell lines
- 2016
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In: Journal of Oral Pathology & Medicine. - : WILEY-BLACKWELL. - 0904-2512 .- 1600-0714. ; 45:9, s. 640-646
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BackgroundHead and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) tumors are often therapy resistant and may originate from cancer stem cells or tumor cells with an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype. The aim of this study was to characterize HNSCC cell lines with regard to EMT profile and to investigate the influence of EMT on the response to treatment. MethodsmRNA expression of the EMT-associated genes CDH1 (E-cadherin), CDH2 (N-cadherin), FOXC2, TWIST1, VIM (vimentin), and FN1 (fibronectin) was determined using quantitative real-time PCR. Cell morphology and migration were investigated by phase-contrast microscopy and Boyden chamber assay, respectively. The cell surface expression of CD44 and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was examined by flow cytometry. The response to radiotherapy, cetuximab, and dasatinib was assessed by crystal violet staining. ResultsA total of 25 cell lines investigated differed greatly with regard to EMT phenotype. Cell lines with an EMT expression profile showed a mesenchymal morphology and a high migratory capacity. In addition, they exhibited a high cell surface expression of CD44 and a low expression of EGFR, a pattern previously associated with stemness. When the EMT inducer transforming growth factor- (TGF-) was added to non-EMT cells, changes in treatment responses were observed. Moreover, the expression of TWIST1 was found to correlate with radioresistance. ConclusionsThe data presented in this report suggest that EMT is associated with a CD44(high)/EGFR(low) phenotype and possibly negative impact on radiotherapy response in HNSCC cell lines.
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| 13. |
- Karlsson, Anna, et al.
(author)
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Gene Expression Profiling of Large Cell Lung Cancer Links Transcriptional Phenotypes to the New Histological WHO 2015 Classification
- 2017
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In: Journal of Thoracic Oncology. - : ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. - 1556-0864 .- 1556-1380. ; 12:8, s. 1257-1267
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: Large cell lung cancer (LCLC) and large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) constitute a small proportion of NSCLC. The WHO 2015 classification guidelines changed the definition of the debated histological subtype LCLC to be based on immunomarkers for adenocarcinoma and squamous cancer. We sought to determine whether these new guidelines also translate into the transcriptional landscape of lung cancer, and LCLC specifically.Methods: Gene expression profiling was performed by using Illumina V4 HT12 microarrays (Illumina, San Diego, CA) on samples from 159 cases (comprising all histological subtypes, including 10 classified as LCLC WHO 2015 and 14 classified as LCNEC according to the WHO 2015 guidelines), with complimentary mutational and immunohistochemical data. Derived transcriptional phenotypes were validated in 199 independent tumors, including six WHO 2015 LCLCs and five LCNECs.Results: Unsupervised analysis of gene expression data identified a phenotype comprising 90% of WHO 2015 LCLC tumors, with characteristics of poorly differentiated proliferatiVe cancer, a 90% tumor protein p53 gene (TP53) mutation rate, and lack of well-known NSCLC oncogene driver alterations. Validation in independent data confirmed aggregation of WHO 2015 LCLCs in the specific phenotype. For LCNEC tumors, the unsupervised gene expression analysis suggested two different transcriptional patterns corresponding to a proposed genetic division of LCNEC tumors into SCLC-like and NSCLC-like cancer on the basis of TP53 and retinoblastoma 1 gene (RB1) alteration patterns.Conclusions: Refined classification of LCLC has implications for diagnosis, prognostics, and therapy decisions. Our molecular analyses support the WHO 2015 classification of LCLC and LCNEC tumors, which herein follow different tumorigenic paths and can accordingly be stratified into different transcriptional subgroups, thus linking diagnostic immunohistochemical staining driven classification with the transcriptional landscape of lung cancer.
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| 14. |
- La Fleur, Linnea, et al.
(author)
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A CD44(high)/EGFR(low) Subpopulation within Head and Neck Cancer Cell Lines Shows an Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Phenotype and Resistance to Treatment
- 2012
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science. - 1932-6203. ; 7:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Mortality in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is high due to emergence of therapy resistance which results in local and regional recurrences that may have their origin in resistant cancer stem cells (CSCs) or cells with an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype. In the present study, we investigate the possibility of using the cell surface expression of CD44 and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), both of which have been used as stem cell markers, to identify subpopulations within HNSCC cell lines that differ with respect to phenotype and treatment sensitivity. Three subpopulations, consisting of CD44(high)/EGFR(low), CD44(high)/EGFR(high) and CD44(low) cells, respectively, were collected by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. The CD44(high)/EGFR(low) population showed a spindle-shaped EMT-like morphology, while the CD44(low) population was dominated by cobblestone-shaped cells. The CD44(high)/EGFR(low) population was enriched with cells in G0/G1 and showed a relatively low proliferation rate and a high plating efficiency. Using a real time PCR array, 27 genes, of which 14 were related to an EMT phenotype and two with stemness, were found to be differentially expressed in CD44(high)/EGFR(low) cells in comparison to CD44(low) cells. Moreover, CD44(high)/EGFR(low) cells showed a low sensitivity to radiation, cisplatin, cetuximab and gefitinib, and a high sensitivity to dasatinib relative to its CD44(high)/EGFR(high) and CD44(low) counterparts. In conclusion, our results show that the combination of CD44 (high) and EGFR (low) cell surface expression can be used to identify a treatment resistant subpopulation with an EMT phenotype in HNSCC cell lines.
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| 15. |
- La Fleur, Linnea, et al.
(author)
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Expression of scavenger receptor MARCO defines a targetable tumor-associated macrophage subset in non-small cell lung cancer
- 2018
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : WILEY. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 143:7, s. 1741-1752
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are attractive targets for immunotherapy. Recently, studies in animal models showed that treatment with an anti-TAM antibody directed against the scavenger receptor MARCO resulted in suppression of tumor growth and metastatic dissemination. Here we investigated the expression of MARCO in relation to other macrophage markers and immune pathways in a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cohort (n=352). MARCO, CD68, CD163, MSR1 and programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence, and associations to other immune cells and regulatory pathways were studied in a subset of cases (n=199) with available RNA-seq data. We observed a large variation in macrophage density between cases and a strong correlation between CD68 and CD163, suggesting that the majority of TAMs present in NSCLC exhibit a protumor phenotype. Correlation to clinical data only showed a weak trend toward worse survival for patients with high macrophage infiltration. Interestingly, MARCO was expressed on a distinct subpopulation of TAMs, which tended to aggregate in close proximity to tumor cell nests. On the transcriptomic level, we found a positive association between MARCO gene expression and general immune response pathways including strong links to immunosuppressive TAMs, T-cell infiltration and immune checkpoint molecules. Indeed, a higher macrophage infiltration was seen in tumors expressing PD-L1, and macrophages residing within tumor cell nests co-expressed MARCO and PD-L1. Thus, MARCO is a potential new immune target for anti-TAM treatment in a subset of NSCLC patients, possibly in combination with available immune checkpoint inhibitors.
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| 16. |
- La Fleur, Linnéa
(author)
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Mutation and immune profiling of non-small cell lung cancer
- 2019
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Several novel therapies that target molecular alterations and immune checkpoints in lung cancer have been introduced in the last decade. Still, only a minority of patients obtain long term disease control and overall survival remains poor. The aim of this thesis was to characterize the landscape of genetic alterations and immune cell infiltrates in tumor tissues from a large representative patient cohort of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).The mutational status of 82 genes related to lung cancer development were evaluated, in paper I, by a targeted re-sequencing approach adapted to work on “real-life” samples of mixed quality. We observed a remarkably high prevalence of activating KRAS mutations. Otherwise, the mutation spectrum resembled other western lung cancer populations. Poor survival was linked to subgroups of lung adenocarcinoma with mutations in TP53, STK11 and SMARCA4, independent of concomitant KRAS mutations. In lung squamous cell carcinoma, patients with mutations in CSMD3 had better survival.The infiltration of tumor-associated immune cells was assessed by immunohistochemical analysis in paper II. Previously described immune response patterns termed “inflamed” and “desert” were confirmed in our dataset. In addition, we discovered a new immune phenotype characterized by overall sparse presence of most immune cell types except for a distinct infiltration of NK and plasma cells. This novel immune class displayed a favorable prognosis and was therefore designated “oasis”.In paper III, infiltration of macrophage subtypes was evaluated by immunohistochemical analysis of CD68, CD163, MSR1 and MARCO. The majority of macrophages exhibited a tumor promoting phenotype and expression of MARCO, a targetable scavenger receptor, was detected in a distinct subset of NSCLC patients. Further investigation of the functional roles of MARCO in a human NSCLC setting was carried out in paper IV. Here, MARCO expression on cultured myeloid cells could be induced by NSCLC cell lines. The MARCO+ cells displayed an immunosuppressive phenotype and could effectively suppress the cytolytic effect of NK cells and CD8+ T cells. A monoclonal antibody targeting MARCO removed these inhibitory effects of the MARCO+ cells.In summary, this thesis contributes knowledge on the genetic and immunologic underpinning of lung cancer that forms the basis for current and future treatment strategies in the evolving era of personalized oncology and pathology.
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| 17. |
- La Fleur, Linnea, et al.
(author)
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Mutation patterns in a population-based non-small cell lung cancer cohort and prognostic impact of concomitant mutations in KRAS and TP53 or STK11
- 2019
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In: Lung Cancer. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-5002 .- 1872-8332. ; 130, s. 50-58
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a heterogeneous disease with unique combinations of somatic molecular alterations in individual patients, as well as significant differences in populations across the world with regard to mutation spectra and mutation frequencies. Here we aim to describe mutational patterns and linked clinical parameters in a population-based NSCLC cohort.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using targeted resequencing the mutational status of 82 genes was evaluated in a consecutive Swedish surgical NSCLC cohort, consisting of 352 patient samples from either fresh frozen or formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissues. The panel covers all exons of the 82 genes and utilizes reduced target fragment length and two-strand capture making it compatible with degraded FFPE samples.RESULTS: We obtained a uniform sequencing coverage and mutation load across the fresh frozen and FFPE samples by adaption of sequencing depth and bioinformatic pipeline, thereby avoiding a technical bias between these two sample types. At large, the mutation frequencies resembled the frequencies seen in other western populations, except for a high frequency of KRAS hotspot mutations (43%) in adenocarcinoma patients. Worse overall survival was observed for adenocarcinoma patients with a mutation in either TP53, STK11 or SMARCA4. In the adenocarcinoma KRAS-mutated group poor survival appeared to be linked to concomitant TP53 or STK11 mutations, and not to KRAS mutation as a single aberration. Similar results were seen in the analysis of publicly available data from the cBioPortal. In squamous cell carcinoma a worse prognosis could be observed for patients with MLL2 mutations, while CSMD3 mutations were linked to a better prognosis.CONCLUSION: Here we have evaluated the mutational status of a NSCLC cohort. We could not confirm any survival impact of isolated driver mutations. Instead, concurrent mutations in TP53 and STK11 were shown to confer poor survival in the KRAS-positive adenocarcinoma subgroup.
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| 18. |
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| 19. |
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| 20. |
- La Fleur, Linnea, et al.
(author)
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Targeting MARCO and IL-37R on immunosuppressive macrophages in lung cancer blocks regulatory T cells and supports cytotoxic lymphocyte function
- 2021
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In: Cancer Research. - : American Association For Cancer Research (AACR). - 0008-5472 .- 1538-7445. ; 81:4, s. 956-967
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The progression and metastatic capacity of solid tumors are strongly influenced by immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. In non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), accumulation of anti-inflammatory tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) is associated with worse clinical outcome and resistance to therapy. Here we investigated the immune landscape of NSCLC in the presence of pro-tumoral TAMs expressing the macrophage receptor with collagenous structure (MARCO). MARCO-expressing TAM numbers correlated with increased occurrence of regulatory T cells and effector T cells and decreased Natural Killer (NK) cells in these tumors. Furthermore, transcriptomic data from the tumors uncovered a correlation between MARCO expression and the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-37. In vitro studies subsequently showed that lung cancer cells polarized macrophages to express MARCO and gain an immune-suppressive phenotype through the release of IL-37. MARCO-expressing TAMs blocked cytotoxic T cell and NK cell activation, inhibiting their proliferation, cytokine production, and tumor killing capacity. Mechanistically, MARCO+ macrophages enhanced regulatory T (Treg) cell proliferation and IL-10 production and diminished CD8 T cell activities. Targeting MARCO or IL-37 receptor (IL-37R) by antibody or CRISPR knockout of IL-37 in lung cancer cell lines repolarized TAMs, resulting in recovered cytolytic activity and anti-tumoral capacity of NK cells and T cells and down-modulated Treg cell activities. In summary, our data demonstrate a novel immune therapeutic approach targeting human TAMs immune suppression of NK and T cell anti-tumor activities.
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| 21. |
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| 22. |
- Mattsson, Johanna Sofia Margareta, 1985-, et al.
(author)
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Inconsistent results in the analysis of ALK rearrangements in non-small cell lung cancer
- 2016
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In: BMC Cancer. - London, United Kingdom : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2407. ; 16
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Identification of targetable EML4-ALK fusion proteins has revolutionized the treatment of a minor subgroup of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Although fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is regarded as the gold standard for detection of ALK rearrangements, ALK immunohistochemistry (IHC) is often used as screening tool in clinical practice. In order to unbiasedly analyze the diagnostic impact of such a screening strategy, we compared ALK IHC with ALK FISH in three large representative Swedish NSCLC cohorts incorporating clinical parameters and gene expression data.Methods: ALK rearrangements were detected using FISH on tissue microarrays (TMAs), including tissue from 851 NSCLC patients. In parallel, ALK protein expression was detected using IHC, applying the antibody clone D5F3 with two different protocols (the FDA approved Ventana CDx assay and our in house Dako IHC protocol). Gene expression microarray data (Affymetrix) was available for 194 patients.Results: ALK rearrangements were detected in 1.7% in the complete cohort and 2.0% in the non-squamous cell carcinoma subgroup. ALK protein expression was observed in 1.9% and 1.5% when applying the Ventana assay or the in house Dako protocol, respectively. The specificity and accuracy of IHC was high (>99%), while the sensitivity was between 69% (Ventana) and 62% (in house Dako protocol). Furthermore, only 67% of the ALK IHC positive cases were positive in both IHC assays. Gene expression analysis revealed that 6/194 (3%) tumors showed high ALK gene expression (≥6AU) and of them only three were positive by either FISH or IHC.Conclusion: The overall frequency of ALK rearrangements based on FISH was lower than previously reported. The sensitivity of both IHC assays was low, and the concordance between the FISH and the IHC assays poor, questioning current strategies to screen with IHC prior to FISH or completely replace FISH by IHC.
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| 23. |
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| 24. |
- Mignardi, Marco, et al.
(author)
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Oligonucleotide gap-fill ligation for mutation detection and sequencing in situ.
- 2015
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In: Nucleic Acids Research. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0305-1048 .- 1362-4962. ; 43:22
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In clinical diagnostics a great need exists for targeted in situ multiplex nucleic acid analysis as the mutational status can offer guidance for effective treatment. One well-established method uses padlock probes for mutation detection and multiplex expression analysis directly in cells and tissues. Here, we use oligonucleotide gap-fill ligation to further increase specificity and to capture molecular substrates for in situ sequencing. Short oligonucleotides are joined at both ends of a padlock gap probe by two ligation events and are then locally amplified by target-primed rolling circle amplification (RCA) preserving spatial information. We demonstrate the specific detection of the A3243G mutation of mitochondrial DNA and we successfully characterize a single nucleotide variant in the ACTB mRNA in cells by in situ sequencing of RCA products generated by padlock gap-fill ligation. To demonstrate the clinical applicability of our assay, we show specific detection of a point mutation in the EGFR gene in fresh frozen and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) lung cancer samples and confirm the detected mutation by in situ sequencing. This approach presents several advantages over conventional padlock probes allowing simpler assay design for multiplexed mutation detection to screen for the presence of mutations in clinically relevant mutational hotspots directly in situ.
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| 25. |
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