Abstract P1-02-09: CDA screening technology for multi-ethnic group, early stage breast cancer screening

Background: Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer in American women. Current breast cancer screening technologies have issues with poor sensitivity for early stage breast cancer, high false positives, radiation side effects, etc. Cancer Differentiation Analysis (CDA) technology is a blood-sample based, multi-level, multi-parameter diagnostic method which detects signals from both proteins, cells, and to some extent, molecular level, in which multiple aspects of information are collected to improve diagnostic accuracy. CDA technology has been investigated as a viable clinical utility in breast cancer screening, particularly for early stage breast screening with clear advantages (both whole blood and serum can be used, ability to detect early, easy, simple, no side effects, and high degree of sensitivity and specificity).

Methods: In this study, the human subjects involved are Caucasians, with serum samples of 44 pathologically confirmed breast cancer patients and 34 healthy individuals from 3 blood bank centers in the USA, of which 40 cases were stageIbreast cancer, 2 cases were stageII, and the other 2 cases were stage III breast cancer. CDA data of 44 breast cancer patients and 34 healthy individuals were collected in US lab and analyzed using SPSS, and the results were shown in the table below. Results from the above study was compared with a clinical study on Asian group with data collected in lab in China using CDA technology.

Results: The average CDA value of all breast cancer and stageIbreast cancer samples, and controls were 45.99, 45.76 and 42.36 (rel. units) respectively (see Table 1). Both breast cancer and stageIbreast cancer could be significantly distinguished from the control group (p < 0.001) (Table 2). For stageIbreast cancer vs. control group, Area under ROC curve was 0.727, sensitivity and specificity were 62.5% and 82.4% respectively, which is higher than a typical mammogram. To compare with different ethnic groups, data collected on an Asian group is also shown in Table 2, which showed that overall, AUC, sensitivity and specificity are comparable (some difference may be attributed to sample type difference (whole blood vs. serum)) for early stage breast cancer patients for those two ethnic groups, demonstrating that CDA technology can be extended to multiple ethnic groups.

Conclusions: CDA screening can be extended to different ethnic group including Caucasian and Asian with good sensitivity and specificity for stageIbreast cancer.

We thank Ugur Basmaci, Sunsil Pandit and Sharon Vorse-Yu for their support.

Table 1Summary of CDA Test ResultsGroupSample SizeAge RangeAge MeanAge MedianCDA Mean (rel. units)CDA Median (rel. units)CDA STDEVControl3436 -79575742.3642.652.75Breast Cancer4436 – 77606145.9946.504.22Stage I Breast Cancer4036 – 77606145.7645.554.26Stage II Breast Cancer251 – 64585847.0547.054.88Stage III Breast Cancer262 – 75696949.5049.502.55

Table 2AUC, Sensitivity and Specificity of Control vs. Stage I Breast CancerStage I Breast Cancer vs. ControlArea Under the CurveSensitivitySpecificityCaucasian (Stage I)0.72762.5%82.4%Asian# (Stage I)0.87680.0%80.0%# Whole blood samples. 10 stage I breast cancer samples and 25 control samples

Citation Format: Tao H, Lin Y, Liu C, Dou J, Sheng Y, Wu J, Hu W, Li Y, Tang X, Yu C, Du X. CDA screening technology for multi-ethnic group, early stage breast cancer screening [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-02-09.

Correlation between SPARC, TGFβ1, Endoglin and angiogenesis mechanism in lung cancer

To study the relationship between Secreted protein, acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC), Transforming growth factorβ1 (TGFβ1), Endoglin and angiogenesis in lung cancer, 40 cases of lung cancer specimens and 40 adjacent normal lung tissues specimens were collected and 10 cases from each were selected for preparation of tissue chip. CD34 (endothelial cell marker), Endoglin human α-Smooth muscle actin, and (α-SMA) markers were performed by immunohistochemical staining, and the immuno-phenotype and the relationship between different morphologies of the microvascular wall components were evaluated. The expression of SPARC mRNA and protein, TGFβ1 mRNA and protein and Endoglin in the remaining 30 cases of lung cancer were detected by immunohistochemistry and in-situ hybridization. The result shows that the positive rates of SPARC, TGFβ1 and Endoglin in lung cancer tissues were significantly higher than those in adjacent normal lung tissues (P less than 0.05). The expression of SPARC and TGFβ1 was negatively correlated with lung cancer. When the positive expression of SPARC increased, the micro-vessel density (MVD) marked by Endoglin decreased gradually; while the positive expression of TGFβ1 increased, MVD increased gradually, and SPARC, TGFβ1 and MVD were correlated (P less than0.05). High SPARC mRNA expression in lung cancer tissues could inhibit the progression of lung cancer, while high TGFβ1 mRNA expression can promote the progression of lung cancer and participate in the metastasis of lung cancer. To sum up, the angiogenesis of lung cancer may be related to the interaction of SPARC, TGFβ1 and Endoglin.

[Prevalence of type-specific human papillomavirus infection among 18-45 year-old women from the general population in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region: a cross-sectional study]

Objective: To analyze the type-specific prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) among women aged 18-45 years from the general population in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Methods: Totally, 2 300 women aged 18-45 years old were enrolled in Liuzhou,from March to July, 2013. Cervical exfoliated cells were collected for liquid based cytological and HPV DNA tests. Women were referred to colposcopy exam, based on the clinical practice guideline. Results: Overall, the prevalence rates of any HPV or oncogenic HPV appeared as 22.7% (95% CI: 21.0%-24.4%) and 17.3% (95% CI: 16.0%-19.1%), respectively in this population under study. The high-risk HPV prevalence peaked at the age groups of 18-25 and 41-45, increasing along with the severity through cytological and histological tests. Statistically significant differences between the prevalence of CIN2+ (Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2+) in women older than 26 years (1.7%, 95% CI: 1.0%-2.4%) and 18-25 years (1.2%, 95% CI: 0.5%-1.9%) of age, were not observed. Among samples diagnosed as CIN2+, positivity of HPV bivalent (16/18) and nine-valent (6/11/16/18/31/33/45/52/58) vaccine, related high risks on the types of HPV types appeared as 44.1% and 97.1%. Conclusions: The age-specific HPV prevalence rates in the general women aged 18-45 in Liuzhou presented as having bimodal distribution, suggesting that the disease burden of cervical diseases in women aged 26-45 years should not be ignored. Nine-valent HPV vaccine might provide more effective prevention outcomes on cervical cancer in China.

The promoter polymorphisms of receptor for advanced glycation end products were associated with the susceptibility and progression of sepsis

Receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is considered a major pattern recognition receptor, which plays an important role in the development of sepsis. Increasing evidence showed an association between RAGE polymorphisms and the susceptibility to several inflammatory-related diseases. However, little is known about the clinical relationship between RAGE polymorphisms and sepsis. In this study, we analyzed the association of sepsis with three functional RAGE gene polymorphisms (rs1800624, rs1800625 and rs2070600) in a Chinese Han population (372 sepsis cases and 400 healthy controls). Significant differences were observed in the rs1800624 and rs1800625 genotype/allele distributions between the sepsis and controls, but no significant difference was observed in the rs2070600 genotype/allele. Moreover, our results also revealed a significant difference in the genotype/allele frequencies of the rs1800624 and rs1800625 polymorphisms between the sepsis and severe sepsis subtypes, the rs1800624 TT or rs1800625 TT genotype carriers exhibited a significant increase in RAGE mRNA, sRAGE, TNF-α and IL-6 expression compared with the rs1800624 AT/AA or rs1800625 CT/CC carriers in sepsis patients. Overall, this study might provide valuable clinical evidence between the RAGE gene polymorphisms and the risk or the development of sepsis.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation enhances spatial learning and synaptic plasticity via the VEGF and BDNF-NMDAR pathways in a rat model of vascular dementia

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on learning and memory in a rat model of vascular dementia (VaD) and to analyze the associated mechanisms. Bilateral carotid artery occlusion (2-VO) was used to establish a rat model of VaD. High-frequency (5Hz) rTMS was performed on rats for four weeks. Spatial learning and memory abilities were evaluated using the Morris water maze (MWM), and synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus was assessed via long-term potentiation (LTP). Hippocampal expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and three subunits of the N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor (NMDAR), NR1, NR2A and NR2B, was analyzed by Western blotting. Compared with the VaD group, escape latency was decreased (P<0.05) and the time spent in the target quadrant and the percentage of swimming distance within that quadrant were increased (P<0.05) in the rTMS group. LTP at hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapses was enhanced by rTMS (P<0.05). VEGF expression was up-regulated following 2-VO and was further increased by rTMS (P<0.05). BDNF, NR1 and NR2B expression was decreased in the VaD group and increased by rTMS (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in NR2A expression among the three groups. These results suggest that rTMS improved learning and memory in the VaD model rats via the up-regulation of VEGF, BDNF and NMDARs. In addition, NR2B may be more important than NR2A for LTP induction in the hippocampus during rTMS treatment of VaD.

Genomic full-length sequence of two HLA-A alleles, A*02:07:01 and A*02:10, identified by cloning and sequencing

We report the sequences of 5' promoter and 3' untranslated region (UTR) of A*02:07:01 and A*02:10 for the first time.

Caesarean Sections in Beijing, China - Results from a Descriptive Study

OBJECTIVE

Caesarean section rates are increasing dramatically in China. The predominant contributor to the increase in China was the unnecessary Caesarean section. The objective of this study was to estimate the excess economic burden caused by unnecessary Caesarean sections vs. vaginal delivery for Beijing and all China.

METHODS

The 33 476 obstetric medical case files from randomly selected 17 hospitals of Beijing in 2011 were taken for our descriptive approach. Based on the individual medical files and on a definition of what necessary and unnecessary Caesarean sections are, we sampled also the data for costs and length of stay for comparisons with vaginal deliveries. The Mann-Whitney U test and Pearson chi-square test statistics were used to test for significant difference in the analysis.

RESULTS

The Caesarean section rate was 58.5% among all deliveries and that rate of unnecessary Caesarean sections was 71.5% among all the Caesarean sections but 41.8% among all deliveries in Beijing. The hospitalisation expenses of unnecessary Caesarean sections were 472 US$ higher than that of a vaginal delivery on average. The total excess economic burden caused by unnecessary Caesarean sections can be estimated to 38.97 million US$ for Beijing and to 3.29 billion US$ all over China in 2011. This is equivalent to the annual health expenditure of over 139 575 residents in Beijing and of 11 783 120 residents in China, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Socio-economic factors are possible reasons for the increase of unnecessary Caesarean section in China and more analytical attention should be paid to that problem in order to propose fitting practical reactions.

Both genes and lncRNAs can be used as biomarkers of prostate cancer by using high throughput sequencing data

OBJECTIVE

To investigate prostate cancer-related genes and lncRNAs by using a high throughput sequencing dataset.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

RNA-seq data were obtained from the sequencing read archive database, including both benign and malignant tumor samples. After aligning the RNA-seq reads to human genome reference, gene expression profile as well as lncRNA expression profile was obtained. Next, student's t-test was used to screen both the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and lncRNAs (DELs) between benign and malignant samples. Finally, goseq was used to conduct the functional annotation of DEGs.

RESULTS

A total of 7112 DEGs were screened, such as ZNF512B, UCKL1, STMN3, GMEB2, and PTK6. The top 10 enriched functions of DEGs were mainly related to organism development, including multi-cellular development, system development and anatomical structure development. Also, we discovered 26 differentially expressed lncRNAs.

CONCLUSIONS

The analysis used in this study is reliable in screening prostate cancer markers including both genes and lncRNAs by using RNA-seq data, which provides new insight into the understanding of molecular mechanism of prostate cancer.

Genomic full-length sequence of two HLA-A alleles, A*03:01:01:01 and A*03:02:01 identified by cloning and sequencing

Genomic full-length sequences of HLA-A*03:01:01:01 and A*03:02:01, were identified in two Chinese donors.

Parental environmental exposure leads to glycometabolic disturbances that affect fertilization of eggs in the silkworm Bombyx mori: the parental transcript legacy

Parental transcript legacy plays an important role in fertilization and development of the early embryo. Parental environmental exposure affects the fertilization of eggs, but the underlying biochemical mechanism is largely unresolved. In this study, the parental environmental effects on fertilization of eggs were explored in the silkworm Bombyx mori (B. mori), an ideal lepidopteran animal model. The results showed that the rate of fertilization decreased after the parents were exposed to a poor environment at 32 °C with continuous illumination for 72 h on days 6-9 of the pupal stage, which is a key period for germ cell maturation. This was likely attributable to lower energy charge values, obstructed nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) regeneration and inactive tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA), leading to accumulation of large amounts of pyruvic acid and lactic acid. This effect was related to energy metabolism via glycolysis; in particular disruption of pyruvate metabolism. In conclusion, this study showed parental exposure to an abnormal environment during germ cell maturation affected glycolysis and the subsequent fertilization of eggs via the parental transcript legacy in B. mori.

Genomic full-length sequence of two HLA-A alleles, A*02:01:01:01 and A*02:03:01, identified by cloning and sequencing

Genomic full-length sequences of HLA-A*02:01:01:01 and HLA-A*02:03:01 were identified by cloning and sequencing from two Chinese donors.