1. |
- Holm, Johanna, et al.
(author)
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Assessment of breast cancer risk factors reveals subtype heterogeneity
- 2017
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In: Cancer Research. - Stockholm : Karolinska Institutet, Dept of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics. - 0008-5472. ; 77:13, s. 3708-3717
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Subtype heterogeneity for breast cancer risk factors has been suspected, potentially reflecting etiological differences and implicating risk prediction. Reports are conflicting regarding presence of heterogeneity for many exposures. To examine subtype heterogeneity across known breast cancer risk factors, we conducted a case-control analysis of 2,632 breast cancers and 15,945 controls in Sweden. Molecular subtype was predicted from pathology-record derived immunohistochemistry markers by a classifier trained on PAM50 subtyping. Multinomial logistic regression estimated separate odds ratios for each subtype by the exposures parity, age at first birth, breastfeeding, menarche, HRT use, somatotype at age 18, benign breast disease, mammographic density, polygenic risk score, family history of breast cancer and BRCA mutations. We found clear subtype heterogeneity for genetic factors and breastfeeding. The polygenic risk score was associated with risk of all subtypes except for the basal-like (p heterogeneity < 0.0001). Parous women who never breastfed were at higher risk of basal-like subtype (OR 4.17; 95% CI 1.89 to 9.21) compared to both nulliparous (reference) and breastfeeding women. Breastfeeding was not associated with risk of HER2-overexpressing type, but protective for all other subtypes. The observed heterogeneity in risk of distinct breast cancer subtypes for germline variants supports heterogeneity in etiology and has implications for their use in risk prediction. The increased risk of basal-like subtype among women who never breastfed merits more research into potential causal mechanisms and confounders.
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2. |
- Holowko, Natalie, et al.
(author)
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Heritability of mammographic breast density, density change, microcalcifications, and masses
- 2020
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In: Cancer Research. - Stockholm : Karolinska Institutet, Dept of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics. - 0008-5472. ; 80:7, s. 1590-1600
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Mammographic features influence breast cancer risk and are used in risk prediction models. Understanding how genetics influence mammographic features is important since the mechanisms through which they are associated with breast cancer are not well known. Methods: Mammographic screening history and detailed questionnaire data for 56,820 women from the KARMA prospective cohort study were used. The heritability of mammographic features such as dense area (MD), microcalcifications, masses, and density change (MDC – cm2/year) were estimated using 1,940 sister pairs. We investigated the association between a genetic predisposition to breast cancer and mammographic features, among women with family history of breast cancer information (N=49,674) and a polygenic risk score (PRS, N=9,365). Results: Heritability was estimated at 58% (95% CI: 48%, 67%) for MD, 23% (2%, 45%) for microcalcifications, and 13% (1%, 25%) for masses. The estimated heritability for MDC was essentially null (2%, 95% CI: -8%, 12%). The association between a genetic predisposition to breast cancer (using PRS) and MD and microcalcifications was positive, while for masses this was borderline significant. In addition, for MDC, having a family history of breast cancer was associated with slightly greater MD reduction. Conclusions: We confirmed previous findings of heritability in MD, and also found heritability of the number of microcalcifications and masses at baseline. Since these features are associated with breast cancer risk, and can improve detecting women at short-term risk of breast cancer, further investigation of common loci associated with mammographic features is warranted to better understand the etiology of breast cancer.
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3. |
- Antoniou, A. C., et al.
(author)
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Common breast cancer susceptibility alleles and the risk of breast cancer for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers : Implications for risk prediction
- 2010
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In: Cancer Research. - : American Association for Cancer Research. - 0008-5472 .- 1538-7445. ; 70:23, s. 9742-9754
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The known breast cancer susceptibility polymorphisms in FGFR2, TNRC9/TOX3, MAP3K1, LSP1, and 2q35 confer increased risks of breast cancer for BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers. We evaluated the associations of 3 additional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs4973768 in SLC4A7/NEK10, rs6504950 in STXBP4/COX11, and rs10941679 at 5p12, and reanalyzed the previous associations using additional carriers in a sample of 12,525 BRCA1 and 7,409 BRCA2 carriers. Additionally, we investigated potential interactions between SNPs and assessed the implications for risk prediction. The minor alleles of rs4973768 and rs10941679 were associated with increased breast cancer risk for BRCA2 carriers (per-allele HR = 1.10, 95% CI: 1.03-1.18, P = 0.006 and HR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.01-1.19, P = 0.03, respectively). Neither SNP was associated with breast cancer risk for BRCA1 carriers, and rs6504950 was not associated with breast cancer for either BRCA1 or BRCA2 carriers. Of the 9 polymorphisms investigated, 7 were associated with breast cancer for BRCA2 carriers (FGFR2, TOX3, MAP3K1, LSP1, 2q35, SLC4A7, 5p12, P = 7 × 10-11 - 0.03), but only TOX3 and 2q35 were associated with the risk for BRCA1 carriers (P = 0.0049, 0.03, respectively). All risk-associated polymorphisms appear to interact multiplicatively on breast cancer risk for mutation carriers. Based on the joint genotype distribution of the 7 risk-associated SNPs in BRCA2 mutation carriers, the 5% of BRCA2 carriers at highest risk (i.e., between 95th and 100th percentiles) were predicted to have a probability between 80% and 96% of developing breast cancer by age 80, compared with 42% to 50% for the 5% of carriers at lowest risk. Our findings indicated that these risk differences might be sufficient to influence the clinical management of mutation carriers.
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4. |
- Berg, Tracy J., et al.
(author)
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The Irradiated Brain Microenvironment Supports Glioma Stemness and Survival via Astrocyte-Derived Transglutaminase 2
- 2021
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In: Cancer Research. - : American Association For Cancer Research (AACR). - 0008-5472 .- 1538-7445. ; 81:8, s. 2101-2115
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The tumor microenvironment plays an essential role in supporting glioma stemness and radioresistance. Following radiotherapy, recurrent gliomas form in an irradiated microenvironment. Here we report that astrocytes, when pre-irradiated, increase stemness and survival of cocultured glioma cells. Tumor-naive brains increased reactive astrocytes in response to radiation, and mice subjected to radiation prior to implantation of glioma cells developed more aggressive tumors. Extracellular matrix derived from irradiated astrocytes were found to be a major driver of this phenotype and astrocyte-derived transglutaminase 2 (TGM2) was identified as a promoter of glioma stemness and radioresistance. TGM2 levels increased after radiation in vivo and in recurrent human glioma, and TGM2 inhibitors abrogated glioma stemness and survival. These data suggest that irradiation of the brain results in the formation of a tumor-supportive microenvironment. Therapeutic targeting of radiation-induced, astrocyte-derived extracellular matrix proteins may enhance the efficacy of standard-of-care radiotherapy by reducing stemness in glioma. Significance: These findings presented here indicate that radiotherapy can result in a tumor-supportive microenvironment, the targeting of which may be necessary to overcome tumor cell therapeutic resistance and recurrence.
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6. |
- Braekeveldt, Noémie, et al.
(author)
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Patient-derived xenograft models reveal intratumor heterogeneity and temporal stability in neuroblastoma
- 2018
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In: Cancer Research. - 0008-5472. ; 78:20, s. 5958-5969
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Patient-derived xenografts (PDX) and the Avatar, a single PDX mirroring an individual patient, are emerging tools in preclinical cancer research. However, the consequences of intratumor heterogeneity for PDX modeling of biomarkers, target identification, and treatment decisions remain underexplored. In this study, we undertook serial passaging and comprehensive molecular analysis of neuroblastoma orthotopic PDXs, which revealed strong intrinsic genetic, transcriptional, and phenotypic stability for more than 2 years. The PDXs showed preserved neuroblastoma-associated gene signatures that correlated with poor clinical outcome in a large cohort of patients with neuroblastoma. Furthermore, we captured spatial intratumor heterogeneity using ten PDXs from a single high-risk patient tumor. We observed diverse growth rates, transcriptional, proteomic, and phosphoproteomic profiles. PDX-derived transcriptional profiles were associated with diverse clinical characteristics in patients with high-risk neuroblastoma. These data suggest that high-risk neuroblastoma contains elements of both temporal stability and spatial intratumor heterogeneity, the latter of which complicates clinical translation of personalized PDX-Avatar studies into preclinical cancer research.
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7. |
- Busch, Susann, et al.
(author)
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Loss of TGF beta Receptor Type 2 Expression Impairs Estrogen Response and Confers Tamoxifen Resistance
- 2015
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In: Cancer Research. - : American Association for Cancer Research. - 0008-5472 .- 1538-7445. ; 75:7, s. 1457-1469
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- One third of the patients with estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha)-positive breast cancer who are treated with the antiestrogen tamoxifen will either not respond to initial therapy or will develop drug resistance. Endocrine response involves crosstalk between ER alpha and TGF beta signaling, such that tamoxifen non-responsiveness or resistance in breast cancer might involve aberrant TGF beta signaling. In this study, we analyzed TGF beta receptor type 2 (TGFBR2) expression and correlated it with ER alpha status and phosphorylation in a cohort of 564 patients who had been randomized to tamoxifen or no-adjuvant treatment for invasive breast carcinoma. We also evaluated an additional four independent genetic datasets in invasive breast cancer. In all the cohorts we analyzed, we documented an association of low TGFBR2 protein and mRNA expression with tamoxifen resistance. Functional investigations confirmed that cell cycle or apoptosis responses to estrogen or tamoxifen in ER alpha-positive breast cancer cells were impaired by TGFBR2 silencing, as was ER alpha phosphorylation, tamoxifen-induced transcriptional activation of TGF beta, and upregulation of the multidrug resistance protein ABCG2. Acquisition of low TGFBR2 expression as a contributing factor to endocrine resistance was validated prospectively in a tamoxifen-resistant cell line generated by long-term drug treatment. Collectively, our results established a central contribution of TGF beta signaling in endocrine resistance in breast cancer and offered evidence that TGFBR2 can serve as an independent biomarker to predict treatment outcomes in ER alpha-positive forms of this disease.
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8. |
- Cunha, Sara I., et al.
(author)
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Endothelial ALK1 Is a Therapeutic Target to Block Metastatic Dissemination of Breast Cancer.
- 2015
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In: Cancer Research. - 1538-7445 .- 0008-5472. ; 75:12, s. 2445-2456
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Exploration of new strategies for the prevention of breast cancer metastasis is justifiably at the center of clinical attention. In this study, we combined a computational biology approach with mechanism-based preclinical trials to identify inhibitors of activin-like receptor kinase (ALK) 1 as effective agents for blocking angiogenesis and metastasis in breast cancer. Pharmacologic targeting of ALK1 provided long-term therapeutic benefit in mouse models of mammary carcinoma, accompanied by strikingly reduced metastatic colonization as a monotherapy or part of combinations with chemotherapy. Gene-expression analysis of breast cancer specimens from a population-based nested case-control study encompassing 768 subjects defined endothelial expression of ALK1 as an independent and highly specific prognostic factor for metastatic manifestation, a finding that was corroborated in an independent clinical cohort. Overall, our results suggest that pharmacologic inhibition of endothelial ALK1 constitutes a tractable strategy for interfering with metastatic dissemination of breast cancer. Cancer Res; 75(12); 2445-56. ©2015 AACR.
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9. |
- Donia, Marco, et al.
(author)
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Acquired immune resistance follows complete tumor regression without loss of target antigens or IFNγ signaling
- 2017
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In: Cancer Research. - 0008-5472. ; 77:17, s. 4562-4566
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cancer immunotherapy can result in durable tumor regressions in some patients. However, patients who initially respond often experience tumor progression. Here, we report mechanistic evidence of tumoral immune escape in an exemplary clinical case: a patient with metastatic melanoma who developed disease recurrence following an initial, unequivocal radiologic complete regression after T-cell–based immunotherapy. Functional cytotoxic T-cell responses, including responses to one mutant neoantigen, were amplified effectively with therapy and generated durable immunologic memory. However, these immune responses, including apparently effective surveillance of the tumor mutanome, did not prevent recurrence. Alterations of the MHC class I antigen-processing and presentation machinery (APM) in resistant cancer cells, but not antigen loss or impaired IFNγ signaling, led to impaired recognition by tumor-specific CD8þ T cells. Our results suggest that future immunotherapy combinations should take into account targeting cancer cells with intact and impaired MHC class I–related APM. Loss of target antigens or impaired IFNγ signaling does not appear to be mandatory for tumor relapse after a complete radiologic regression. Personalized studies to uncover mechanisms leading to disease recurrence within each individual patient are warranted.
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10. |
- Gerlee, Philip, 1980
(author)
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The Model Muddle: In Search of Tumor Growth Laws
- 2013
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In: Cancer Research. - : American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). - 0008-5472 .- 1538-7445. ; 73:8, s. 2407-2411
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this article, we will trace the historical development of tumor growth laws, which in a quantitative fashion describe the increase in tumor mass/volume over time. These models are usually formulated in terms of differential equations that relate the growth rate of the tumor to its current state and range from the simple one-parameter exponential growth model to more advanced models that contain a large number of parameters. Understanding the assumptions and consequences of such models is important, as they often underpin more complex models of tumor growth. The conclusion of this brief survey is that although much improvement has occurred over the last century, more effort and new models are required if we are to understand the intricacies of tumor growth.
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