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Janowski EM, Hall E, Jin R, Horton B, Walker K, Mistro M, Showalter T, Romano K. Impact of baseline lymphopenia on outcomes of definitive treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer. Gynecol Oncol Rep 2024; 54:101448. [PMID: 39040940 PMCID: PMC11261294 DOI: 10.1016/j.gore.2024.101448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2024] [Revised: 06/21/2024] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Objectives The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between lymphopenia and survival in women with locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) treated with definitive chemoradiation (CRT). Methods We retrospectively reviewed patients with LACC treated at a single institution from 2004 to 2021. Patient and treatment characteristics were recorded along with baseline absolute lymphocyte counts (ALC). Overall survival (OS), progression free survival (PFS), and local control (LC) were calculated from start of treatment to date of last follow-up. Cox regression and competing risks regression model were performed to evaluate whether baseline ALC was associated with OS, PFS, or LC. Results 246 patients met study inclusion criteria with stage IB - IV disease with a median follow up of 2.8 years (range 0.2-13.4 years). 5-year OS, PFS, and LC were 68.4 % (95 % CI 61.7-75.9), 57.2 % (95 % CI 50.4-64.8), and 79.0 % (95 % CI 73.0-84.4), respectively. Baseline lymphopenia (ALC < 1000 cells/mm3) was present in 12.5 % of patients. OS was improved in the patients without lymphopenia, with a 5-year OS of 69.0 % (95 % CI 61.6-77.3) versus 63.0 % (95 % CI 47.6-83.3)in the lymphopenia group (p = 0.233), though this did not meet statistical significance. PFS also trended towards improvement in patients without baseline lymphopenia, with a 5-year PFS of 58.5 % (95 % CI 51.2-66.8) versus 48.5 % (95 % CI 32.8-71.7), p = 0.220. No significant difference was found for LC in the patients without lymphopenia, p = 0.745. Conclusions In this single institution experience of LACC treated with definitive CRT, we found that baseline lymphopenia trends toward inferior OS and PFS.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Emilee Hall
- University of Virginia, School of Medicine, USA
| | - Ruyun Jin
- University of Virginia, Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Biostatistics, USA
| | - Bethany Horton
- University of Virginia, Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Biostatistics, USA
| | - Kristin Walker
- University of Virginia, Department of Radiation Oncology, USA
| | - Matthew Mistro
- University of Virginia, Department of Radiation Oncology, USA
| | | | - Kara Romano
- University of Virginia, Department of Radiation Oncology, USA
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Antonouli S, Di Nisio V, Daponte N, Daponte AI, Daponte A. Cervical Cancer Genetic Profile through Circulating Tumor DNA: What Can We Learn from Blood? Biomolecules 2024; 14:825. [PMID: 39062539 PMCID: PMC11275054 DOI: 10.3390/biom14070825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2024] [Revised: 07/06/2024] [Accepted: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the deadliest gynecological cancers worldwide. Human papillomavirus is the main etiological agent responsible for the initiation and development of most CC cases. The standard method utilized for CC screening in the global population is the cytological Pap smear test. Despite its effective validity in detecting precancerous lesions and its response to layer stages of this disease, greater screening and diagnostic reliability are needed, as well as an improvement in specificity and sensitivity. In this context, the use of liquid biopsies, like blood, for the isolation of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in CC screening, diagnosis, prognosis, and surveillance could fill the gaps that still exist. In the present review, we aim to study the literature in order to collect knowledge on blood-based liquid biopsy based on descriptions of its precious molecular content and its utilization as a potential tool for CC patients' management. We will mainly focus on the important role of the novel ctDNA and the unique possibilities to additionally use HPV-ctDNA in CC at various stages of clinical application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sevastiani Antonouli
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, 41500 Larisa, Greece; (S.A.); (N.D.)
| | - Valentina Di Nisio
- Department of Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, 141 86 Stockholm, Sweden;
- Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Nikoletta Daponte
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, 41500 Larisa, Greece; (S.A.); (N.D.)
| | - Athina-Ioanna Daponte
- Second Department of Dermatology-Venereology, Aristotle University School of Medicine, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece;
| | - Alexandros Daponte
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, 41500 Larisa, Greece; (S.A.); (N.D.)
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Parida P, Baburaj G, Rao M, Lewis S, Damerla RR. Circulating cell-free DNA as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for cervical cancer. Int J Gynecol Cancer 2023:ijgc-2023-004873. [PMID: 37949487 DOI: 10.1136/ijgc-2023-004873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is a promising tool for liquid biopsy-based tests. cfDNA has been reported to help in the diagnosis, quantification of minimal residual disease, prognosis, and identification of mutations conferring resistance in various types of cancers. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide. High-risk human papillomavirus (hr-HPV) infections have been associated with almost all cervical cancers. Lack of HPV vaccines in national vaccination programs and irregular screening strategies in nations with low or moderate levels of human development index have led to cervical cancer becoming the second leading cause of cancer mortality in women. As HPV integration and overexpression of E6/E7 oncoprotein are crucial steps in the development of cancer, HPV cfDNA could potentially be used as a specific biomarker for the detection of cervical cancer. Many studies have used HPV cfDNA and other gene mutations or mRNA expression profiles for diagnosis and disease surveillance in patients with cervical cancer at various stages of disease progression. In this review we present an overview of different studies discussing the utility of cfDNA in cervical cancer and summarize the evidence supporting its potential use in diagnosis and treatment monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Preetiparna Parida
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India
| | - Gayathri Baburaj
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India
| | - Mahadev Rao
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India
| | - Shirley Lewis
- Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Kasturba Medical College Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India
| | - Rama Rao Damerla
- Department of Medical Genetics, Kasturba Medical College Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India
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Heft Neal ME, Walline HM, Haring CT. Circulating Tumor DNA in Human Papillomavirus-Mediated Oropharynx Cancer: Leveraging Early Data to Inform Future Directions. Cancer J 2023; 29:215-219. [PMID: 37471611 DOI: 10.1097/ppo.0000000000000670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has become an area of intense study in many solid malignancies including head and neck cancer. This is of particular interest for human papillomavirus-mediated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma as this cohort of patients has excellent survival and is undergoing current clinical trials aimed at treatment de-escalation. Recent studies have demonstrated the prognostic implications of pretreatment ctDNA and the utility of monitoring ctDNA during and posttreatment; however, there is a need for a more critical understanding of ctDNA as it is beginning to be incorporated into clinical trials. This review discusses the current state of ctDNA in oropharynx cancer focusing on ctDNA kinetics and minimal residual disease detection and ends with a discussion of future applications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Heather M Walline
- From the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
| | - Catherine T Haring
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
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Elasifer H, Amukwaya MMN, Bhatia R, Cuschieri K, Gregory JM. The role of circulating viral and tumour DNA in the diagnosis and management of HPV associated anogenital cancers, a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Virol 2023; 164:105469. [PMID: 37163963 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcv.2023.105469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Human papillomavirus associated anogenital cancers are a significant global burden. The detection of biomarkers (circulating tumour DNA; ctDNA or circulating HPV DNA; cHPV DNA) in blood referred to as "liquid biopsy" may support the early diagnosis and monitoring of affected individuals. METHODS A systematic review, including meta-analysis of studies available in the literature on the utilization of ctDNA and cHPV DNA as diagnostic, predictive, and monitoring biomarker tests of HPV associated anogenital cancers was performed following the criteria of PRISMA. RESULTS A total of 31 studies were eligible for systematic review; 20 used cHPV DNA in cervical cancers; 7 used ctDNA in cervical cancer; 5 used cHPV DNA in anal cancer; no eligible studies on vulva, vaginal or penile cancer were available. The meta-analysis identified low sensitivity (0.36) and high specificity (0.96) of cHPV DNA as diagnostic for cervical cancer. Comparatively, there was high sensitivity (0.95) and specificity (1.0) of cHPV DNA for the diagnosis of anal cancer. cHPV DNA and/or ctDNA in cervical cancer were prognostic markers associated with poor clinical outcomes. Additionally, in anal cancer the post treatment detection of cHPV DNA was informative in the prediction of treatment response or progression-free survival. CONCLUSION ctDNA and cHPV DNA are promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for the detection of anogenital disease. Evolution and refinement of molecular tools is likely to improve performance further. Additionally the comparative absence of studies in the vulval, vaginal and penile context warrants further exploration and research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hana Elasifer
- HPV Research Group, Centre for Reproductive Health, University of Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - Ramya Bhatia
- HPV Research Group, Centre for Reproductive Health, University of Edinburgh, UK; Scottish HPV Reference Laboratory, NHS Lothian, UK
| | - Kate Cuschieri
- HPV Research Group, Centre for Reproductive Health, University of Edinburgh, UK; Scottish HPV Reference Laboratory, NHS Lothian, UK
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Corrected Allele Frequency of BRCA1/2 Mutations Is an Independent Prognostic Factor for Treatment Response to PARP-Inhibitors in Ovarian Cancer Patients. J Pers Med 2022; 12:jpm12091467. [PMID: 36143252 PMCID: PMC9504000 DOI: 10.3390/jpm12091467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
PARP inhibitors (PARPi) have increased treatment options in ovarian cancer, particularly in patients with BRCA1/2 mutations, although there are still marked differences in the duration of patients’ response to this targeted therapy. BRCA testing is routinely performed in tumor tissue of ovarian cancer patients. The resulting molecular pathological findings include the genetic nomenclature of the mutation, the frequency of the mutated allele (variant allele frequency, VAF), and the tumor cell content. VAF measures the percentage of mutated alleles from the total alleles in the cells of the examined tissue. The aim of this study was to investigate the significance of VAF on the therapeutic response to PARPis in ovarian cancer patients. Epithelial ovarian cancer patients harboring BRCA1/2 tumor mutations, who underwent germline testing and received PARPi therapy at the Medical University of Vienna (n = 41) were included in the study. Corrected VAF (cVAF) was calculated based on VAF, tumor cell content, and germline mutation. Patients were divided into two groups based on their cVAF. Median PFS under PARPi in patients with low cVAF was 13.0 months (IQR [10.3-not reached]) and was not reached in the high cVAF group. High cVAF was significantly associated with longer PFS in the multivariate analysis (HR = 0.07; 95% CI [0.01–0.63]; p = 0.017). In conclusion, high cVAF was associated with a significantly better response to PARPi in this study population.
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Ghani M, Liau J, Eskander R, Mell L, Yusufaly T, Obrzut S. Imaging Biomarkers and Liquid Biopsy in Assessment of Cervical Cancer. J Comput Assist Tomogr 2022; 46:707-715. [PMID: 35995483 PMCID: PMC9474655 DOI: 10.1097/rct.0000000000001358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT The role of imaging has been increasing in pretherapy planning and response assessment in cervical cancer, particularly in high-resource settings that provide access to computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET). In 2018, imaging was incorporated into the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging system for cervical cancer. Magnetic resonance imaging is advantageous over CT for evaluation of the primary cervical cancer size and extent, because of superior contrast resolution. Furthermore, quantitative methods, including diffusion-weighted and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI, show promise in improving treatment response and prognosis evaluation. Molecular imaging with fluorodeoxyglucose-PET/CT and PET/MRI can be particularly helpful in the detection of nodal disease and distant metastases. Semiautomated delineation of 3-dimensional tumor regions of interest has facilitated the development of novel PET-derived biomarkers that include metabolic volume and radiomics textural analysis features for prediction of outcomes. However, posttreatment inflammatory changes can be a confounder and lymph node evaluation is challenging, even with the use of PET/CT. Liquid biopsy has emerged as a promising tool that may be able to overcome some of the drawbacks inherent with imaging, such as limited ability to detect microscopic metastases or to distinguish between postchemoradiotherapy changes and residual tumor. Preliminary evidence suggests that liquid biopsy may be able to identify cervical cancer treatment response and resistance earlier than traditional methods. Future work should prioritize how to best synergize imaging and liquid biopsy as an integrated approach for optimal cervical cancer management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mansur Ghani
- Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Joy Liau
- Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Ramez Eskander
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of California San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Loren Mell
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Tahir Yusufaly
- Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University, MD, USA
| | - Sebastian Obrzut
- Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, CA, USA
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8
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Herbst J, Pantel K, Effenberger K, Wikman H. Clinical applications and utility of cell-free DNA-based liquid biopsy analyses in cervical cancer and its precursor lesions. Br J Cancer 2022; 127:1403-1410. [PMID: 35725812 PMCID: PMC9554027 DOI: 10.1038/s41416-022-01868-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Human papilloma virus (HPV) is an infectious carcinogenic agent. Nearly all cervical cancers are positive for one of the high-risk HPV subtypes. Although the introduction of the HPV vaccines in many countries have shown tremendous positive effects on the incidence of both cervical intraepithelial lesions (CIN) and invasive cancer, the large majority of females worldwide are still not vaccinated. Patients with diagnosed high-grade CIN need a lifelong close monitoring of possible relapse or development of invasive cancer. Different blood-based liquid biopsy approaches have shown great promise as an easily obtainable minimally invasive tool for early detection and monitoring of disease. Among the different liquid biopsy approaches the clinical relevance of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in cervical cancer has been best investigated. In cervical cancer, the DNA fragments can be of both, human as well as viral origin. Thus, the mutation and methylation status of genes related to carcinogenesis as well as the HPV status can be analysed in plasma from cervical cancer patients. This review describes recent advances in different cfDNA approaches for early detection and monitoring of cervical cancer and its precursor lesions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Herbst
- Department of Tumour Biology, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Klaus Pantel
- Department of Tumour Biology, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Katharina Effenberger
- Department of Tumour Biology, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Harriet Wikman
- Department of Tumour Biology, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
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Chikuie N, Urabe Y, Ueda T, Hamamoto T, Taruya T, Kono T, Yumii K, Takeno S. Utility of plasma circulating tumor DNA and tumor DNA profiles in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Sci Rep 2022; 12:9316. [PMID: 35661138 PMCID: PMC9167274 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-13417-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Early recurrence detection of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is important for improving prognosis. Recently, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has been reported to be useful in early detection or treatment response determination in various carcinomas. This study aimed to identify the utility of ctDNA for predicting recurrent metastasis in patients with HNSCC. We collected pre-treatment tissues (malignant and normal tissues) and multiple plasma samples before and after treatment for 20 cases of HNSCC treated with radical therapy. ctDNA was detected in pre-treatment plasma in 10 cases; however, there were no significant associations with tumor recurrence and staging. During follow-up, ctDNA was detected in 5 of the 7 plasma samples of recurrent cases but not in the 13 recurrence-free cases. Moreover, there was a significant difference in post-treatment relapse-free survival time between the groups with and without detected ctDNA (20.6 ± 7.7 vs. 9.6 ± 9.1 months, respectively; log-rank test, p < 0.01). Moreover, for two of the five cases with ctDNA detected after treatment, ctDNA detection was a more sensitive predictor of recurrence than imaging studies. ctDNA detection during treatment follow-up was useful in patients with HNSCC for predicting the response to treatment and recurrent metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nobuyuki Chikuie
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, 734-8551, Japan
| | - Yuji Urabe
- Division of Regeneration and Medicine Center for Translational and Clinical Research, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Tsutomu Ueda
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, 734-8551, Japan.
| | - Takao Hamamoto
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, 734-8551, Japan
| | - Takayuki Taruya
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, 734-8551, Japan
| | - Takashi Kono
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, 734-8551, Japan
| | - Kohei Yumii
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, 734-8551, Japan
| | - Sachio Takeno
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, 734-8551, Japan
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Li CL, Yeh SH, Chen PJ. Circulating Virus–Host Chimera DNAs in the Clinical Monitoring of Virus-Related Cancers. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14102531. [PMID: 35626135 PMCID: PMC9139492 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14102531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Revised: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Cell-free tumor DNA (ctDNA), the DNA released into circulation from tumors, is a promising tumor marker with versatile applications. The associations of the amount, somatic mutation frequency, and epigenetic modifications of ctDNA with the tumor burden, tumor behavior, and prognosis have been widely investigated in different types of tumors. However, there are still some challenging issues to be resolved before ctDNA can complement or even replace current serum tumor markers. We propose employing exogenous viral DNA integration that produces unique virus–host chimera DNA (vh-DNA) at junction sites. Cell-free vh-DNA may become a new biomarker because it overcomes background interference detection problems, takes advantage of virus tropism to localize the tumor, and acts as a universal marker for monitoring clonal expansion or tumor loads in tumors related to oncogenic viruses. Abstract The idea of using tumor-specific cell-free DNA (ctDNA) as a tumor biomarker has been widely tested and validated in various types of human cancers and different clinical settings. ctDNA can reflect the presence or size of tumors in a real-time manner and can enable longitudinal monitoring with minimal invasiveness, allowing it to be applied in treatment response assessment and recurrence monitoring for cancer therapies. However, tumor detection by ctDNA remains a great challenge due to the difficulty in enriching ctDNA from a large amount of homologous non-tumor cell-free DNA (cfDNA). Only ctDNA with nonhuman sequences (or rearrangements) can be selected from the background of cfDNA from nontumor DNAs. This is possible for several virus-related cancers, such as hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC or human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cervical or head and neck cancers, which frequently harbor randomly integrated viral DNA. The junction fragments of the integrations, namely virus–host chimera DNA (vh-DNA), can represent the signatures of individual tumors and are released into the blood. Such ctDNA can be enriched by capture with virus-specific probes and therefore exploited as a circulating biomarker to track virus-related cancers in clinical settings. Here, we review virus integrations in virus-related cancers to evaluate the feasibility of vh-DNA as a cell-free tumor marker and update studies on the development of detection and applications. vh-DNA may be a solution to the development of specific markers to manage virus-related cancers in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiao-Ling Li
- Graduate Institute of Microbiology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 100, Taiwan;
| | - Shiou-Hwei Yeh
- Graduate Institute of Microbiology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 100, Taiwan;
- Center for Genomic Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 100, Taiwan
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 100, Taiwan
- Correspondence: (S.-H.Y.); (P.-J.C.)
| | - Pei-Jer Chen
- Center for Genomic Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 100, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 100, Taiwan
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 100, Taiwan
- Correspondence: (S.-H.Y.); (P.-J.C.)
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11
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Molecular Markers to Predict Prognosis and Treatment Response in Uterine Cervical Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13225748. [PMID: 34830902 PMCID: PMC8616420 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13225748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Revised: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Uterine cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality in women worldwide. Each year, over half a million new cases are estimated, resulting in more than 300,000 deaths. While less-invasive, fertility-preserving surgical procedures can be offered to women in early stages, treatment for locally advanced disease may include radical hysterectomy, primary chemoradiotherapy (CRT) or a combination of these modalities. Concurrent platinum-based chemoradiotherapy regimens remain the first-line treatments for locally advanced cervical cancer. Despite achievements such as the introduction of angiogenesis inhibitors, and more recently immunotherapies, the overall survival of women with persistent, recurrent or metastatic disease has not been extended significantly in the last decades. Furthermore, a broad spectrum of molecular markers to predict therapy response and survival and to identify patients with high- and low-risk constellations is missing. Implementation of these markers, however, may help to further improve treatment and to develop new targeted therapies. This review aims to provide comprehensive insights into the complex mechanisms of cervical cancer pathogenesis within the context of molecular markers for predicting treatment response and prognosis.
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12
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Al-Dherasi A, Liao Y, Al-Mosaib S, Hua R, Wang Y, Yu Y, Zhang Y, Zhang X, Jalayta R, Mousa H, Al-Danakh A, Alnadari F, Almoiliqy M, Baldi S, Shi L, Lv D, Li Z, Liu Q. Allele frequency deviation (AFD) as a new prognostic model to predict overall survival in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Cancer Cell Int 2021; 21:451. [PMID: 34446004 PMCID: PMC8390239 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-021-02127-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remains one of the world’s most known aggressive malignancies with a high mortality rate. Molecular biological analysis and bioinformatics are of great importance as they have recently occupied a large area in the studies related to the identification of various biomarkers to predict survival for LUAD patients. In our study, we attempted to identify a new prognostic model by developing a new algorithm to calculate the allele frequency deviation (AFD), which in turn may assist in the early diagnosis and prediction of clinical outcomes in LUAD. Method First, a new algorithm was developed to calculate AFD using the whole-exome sequencing (WES) dataset. Then, AFD was measured for 102 patients, and the predictive power of AFD was assessed using Kaplan–Meier analysis, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and area under the curve (AUC). Finally, multivariable cox regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the independence of AFD as an independent prognostic tool. Result The Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that AFD effectively segregated patients with LUAD into high-AFD-value and low-AFD-value risk groups (hazard ratio HR = 1.125, 95% confidence interval CI 1.001–1.26, p = 0.04) in the training group. Moreover, the overall survival (OS) of patients who belong to the high-AFD-value group was significantly shorter than that of patients who belong to the low-AFD-value group with 42.8% higher risk and 10% lower risk of death for both groups respectively (HR for death = 1.10; 95% CI 1.01–1.2, p = 0.03) in the training group. Similar results were obtained in the validation group (HR = 4.62, 95% CI 1.22–17.4, p = 0.02) with 41.6%, and 5.5% risk of death for patients who belong to the high and low-AFD-value groups respectively. Univariate and multivariable cox regression analyses demonstrated that AFD is an independent prognostic model for patients with LUAD. The AUC for 5-year survival were 0.712 and 0.86 in the training and validation groups, respectively. Conclusion AFD was identified as a new independent prognostic model that could provide a prognostic tool for physicians and contribute to treatment decisions. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12935-021-02127-z.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aisha Al-Dherasi
- Center of Genome and Personalized Medicine, Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116044, Liaoning, People's Republic of China.,Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Ibb University, Ibb, Yemen
| | - Yuwei Liao
- Yangjiang Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Yangjiang Peoples Hospital, Yangjiang, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
| | - Sultan Al-Mosaib
- Department of Computer Science and Technology, Sahyadri Science Collage, Kuvempu University, Shimoga district, Karnataka, India
| | - Rulin Hua
- Center of Genome and Personalized Medicine, Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116044, Liaoning, People's Republic of China
| | - Yichen Wang
- Center of Genome and Personalized Medicine, Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116044, Liaoning, People's Republic of China
| | - Ying Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences and Human Phenome Institute, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai, 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu Zhang
- Center of Genome and Personalized Medicine, Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116044, Liaoning, People's Republic of China
| | - Xuehong Zhang
- Center of Genome and Personalized Medicine, Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116044, Liaoning, People's Republic of China
| | - Raeda Jalayta
- Center of Genome and Personalized Medicine, Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116044, Liaoning, People's Republic of China
| | - Haithm Mousa
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, College of Laboratory Diagnostic Medicine, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116044, Liaoning, People's Republic of China
| | - Abdullah Al-Danakh
- Department of Urology, First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116044, Liaoning, People's Republic of China
| | - Fawze Alnadari
- Department of Food Science and Engineering, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Marwan Almoiliqy
- Key Lab of Aromatic Plant Resources Exploitation and Utilization in Sichuan Higher Education, Yibin University, Yibin, 644000, Sichuan, China
| | - Salem Baldi
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, College of Laboratory Diagnostic Medicine, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116044, Liaoning, People's Republic of China
| | - Leming Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences and Human Phenome Institute, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai, 200438, People's Republic of China
| | - Dekang Lv
- Center of Genome and Personalized Medicine, Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116044, Liaoning, People's Republic of China.
| | - Zhiguang Li
- Center of Genome and Personalized Medicine, Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116044, Liaoning, People's Republic of China.
| | - Quentin Liu
- Center of Genome and Personalized Medicine, Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116044, Liaoning, People's Republic of China.
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13
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Liquid Biopsy in Cervical Cancer: Hopes and Pitfalls. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13163968. [PMID: 34439120 PMCID: PMC8394398 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13163968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, and its incidence is variably distributed between developed and less-resourced countries, in which socio-economic issues and religious beliefs often limit the widespread diffusion and the access to screening campaigns. In the “liquid biopsy” era, the application of non-invasive and repeatable techniques to the identification of diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers might facilitate the management of this disease and, hopefully, improve its outcome. The purpose of this review is to explore the progress status of liquid biopsy in cervical cancer patients. Several methods are described, which include the analysis of circulating tumor cells, the search for pathogenic mutations on circulating tumor DNA, as well as the identification of circulating RNAs, focusing on their potential clinical applications and current limitations. Abstract Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, with about 90% of cancer-related deaths occurring in developing countries. The geographical influence on disease evolution reflects differences in the prevalence of human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, which is the main cause of CC, as well as in the access and quality of services for CC prevention and diagnosis. At present, the most diffused screening and diagnostic tools for CC are Papanicolaou test and the more sensitive HPV-DNA test, even if both methods require gynecological practices whose acceptance relies on the woman’s cultural and religious background. An alternative (or complimentary) tool for CC screening, diagnosis, and follow-up might be represented by liquid biopsy. Here, we summarize the main methodologies developed in this context, including circulating tumor cell detection and isolation, cell tumor DNA sequencing, coding and non-coding RNA detection, and exosomal miRNA identification. Moreover, the pros and cons of each method are discussed, and their potential applications in diagnosis and prognosis of CC, as well as their role in treatment monitoring, are explored. In conclusion, it is evident that despite many advances obtained in this field, further effort is needed to validate and standardize the proposed methodologies before any clinical use.
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Martins I, Ribeiro IP, Jorge J, Gonçalves AC, Sarmento-Ribeiro AB, Melo JB, Carreira IM. Liquid Biopsies: Applications for Cancer Diagnosis and Monitoring. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:349. [PMID: 33673461 PMCID: PMC7997281 DOI: 10.3390/genes12030349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2021] [Revised: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The minimally-or non-invasive detection of circulating tumor-derived components in biofluids, such as blood, liquid biopsy is a revolutionary approach with significant potential for the management of cancer. Genomic and transcriptomic alterations can be accurately detected through liquid biopsies, which provide a more comprehensive characterization of the heterogeneous tumor profile than tissue biopsies alone. Liquid biopsies could assist diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment selection, and hold great potential to complement current surveilling strategies to monitor disease evolution and treatment response in real-time. In particular, these are able to detect minimal residual disease, to predict progression, and to identify mechanisms of resistance, allowing to re-orient treatment strategies in a timelier manner. In this review we gathered current knowledge regarding the role and potential of liquid biopsies for the diagnosis and follow-up of cancer patients. The presented findings emphasize the strengths of liquid biopsies, revealing their chance of improving the diagnosis and monitoring of several tumor types in the near future. However, despite growing evidence supporting their value as a management tool in oncology, some limitations still need to be overcome for their implementation in the routine clinical setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivana Martins
- Cytogenetics and Genomics Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine University of Coimbra, Institute of Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal; (I.M.); (I.P.R.); (J.B.M.)
| | - Ilda Patrícia Ribeiro
- Cytogenetics and Genomics Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine University of Coimbra, Institute of Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal; (I.M.); (I.P.R.); (J.B.M.)
- Center of Investigation on Environment Genetics and Oncobiology (CIMAGO), Faculty of Medicine University of Coimbra, Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research (iCBR), University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal; (J.J.); (A.C.G.); (A.B.S.-R.)
- Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CIBB), University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
- Clinical Academic Center of Coimbra (CACC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Joana Jorge
- Center of Investigation on Environment Genetics and Oncobiology (CIMAGO), Faculty of Medicine University of Coimbra, Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research (iCBR), University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal; (J.J.); (A.C.G.); (A.B.S.-R.)
- Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CIBB), University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
- Clinical Academic Center of Coimbra (CACC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
- Laboratory of Oncobiology and Haematology and University Clinic of Haematology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Ana Cristina Gonçalves
- Center of Investigation on Environment Genetics and Oncobiology (CIMAGO), Faculty of Medicine University of Coimbra, Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research (iCBR), University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal; (J.J.); (A.C.G.); (A.B.S.-R.)
- Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CIBB), University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
- Clinical Academic Center of Coimbra (CACC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
- Laboratory of Oncobiology and Haematology and University Clinic of Haematology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Ana Bela Sarmento-Ribeiro
- Center of Investigation on Environment Genetics and Oncobiology (CIMAGO), Faculty of Medicine University of Coimbra, Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research (iCBR), University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal; (J.J.); (A.C.G.); (A.B.S.-R.)
- Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CIBB), University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
- Clinical Academic Center of Coimbra (CACC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
- Laboratory of Oncobiology and Haematology and University Clinic of Haematology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
- Clinical Haematology Department, Coimbra University Hospital Centre (CHUC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Joana Barbosa Melo
- Cytogenetics and Genomics Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine University of Coimbra, Institute of Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal; (I.M.); (I.P.R.); (J.B.M.)
- Center of Investigation on Environment Genetics and Oncobiology (CIMAGO), Faculty of Medicine University of Coimbra, Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research (iCBR), University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal; (J.J.); (A.C.G.); (A.B.S.-R.)
- Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CIBB), University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
- Clinical Academic Center of Coimbra (CACC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Isabel Marques Carreira
- Cytogenetics and Genomics Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine University of Coimbra, Institute of Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal; (I.M.); (I.P.R.); (J.B.M.)
- Center of Investigation on Environment Genetics and Oncobiology (CIMAGO), Faculty of Medicine University of Coimbra, Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research (iCBR), University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal; (J.J.); (A.C.G.); (A.B.S.-R.)
- Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CIBB), University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
- Clinical Academic Center of Coimbra (CACC), 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal
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15
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Yan YY, Guo QR, Wang FH, Adhikari R, Zhu ZY, Zhang HY, Zhou WM, Yu H, Li JQ, Zhang JY. Cell-Free DNA: Hope and Potential Application in Cancer. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:639233. [PMID: 33693004 PMCID: PMC7938321 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.639233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is easily accessible in peripheral blood and can be used as biomarkers for cancer diagnostics, prognostics, and therapeutics. The applications of cfDNA in various areas of cancer management are attracting attention. In this review article, we discuss the potential relevance of using cfDNA analysis in clinical oncology, particularly in cancer screening, early diagnosis, therapeutic evaluation, monitoring disease progression; and determining disease prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan-Yan Yan
- School of Medicine, Shanxi Datong University, Datong, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Target and Clinical Pharmacology and the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qiao-Ru Guo
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Target and Clinical Pharmacology and the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.,The First Affiliated Hospital, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China
| | - Feng-Hua Wang
- Guangzhou Institute of Pediatrics/Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Rameshwar Adhikari
- Research Centre for Applied Science and Technology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Nepal
| | - Zhuang-Yan Zhu
- School of Medicine, Shanxi Datong University, Datong, China
| | - Hai-Yan Zhang
- School of Medicine, Shanxi Datong University, Datong, China
| | - Wen-Min Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Target and Clinical Pharmacology and the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hua Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, China
| | - Jing-Quan Li
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China
| | - Jian-Ye Zhang
- School of Medicine, Shanxi Datong University, Datong, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Target and Clinical Pharmacology and the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.,The First Affiliated Hospital, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China
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16
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Tian X, Ge D, Zhang F, Zhang B, Bai W, Xu X, Li Z, Cao Y, Li P, Zou K, Zou L. Dynamic analysis of circulating tumor DNA to predict prognosis and monitor therapeutic response in metastatic relapsed cervical cancer. Int J Cancer 2020; 148:921-931. [PMID: 33113150 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.33362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Limited and inefficient treatment options exist for metastatic relapsed cervical cancer (MRCC), and there are currently no reliable indicators to guide therapeutic selection. We performed deep sequencing analyses targeting 322 cancer-related genes in plasma cell-free DNA and matched white blood cells in 173 serial blood samples from 82 locally advanced CC (LACC) or MRCC patients and when possible during treatment. We identified five notable nonsynonymous mutant genes (PIK3CA, BRAF, GNA11, FBXW7 and CDH1) in the MRCC samples as the metastatic relapse significantly mutated (MSG) genes and found that MRCC patients with any detectable MSG mutations had significantly shorter progression-free survival (PFS) (P = .005) and overall survival (OS) (P = .007) times than those without detectable MSG mutations. Additionally, analyses of matched prechemotherapy and postchemotherapy plasma revealed that a reduction in the number of MSG mutations after chemotherapy was significantly associated with partial remission (PR) and stable disease (SD) (P = .007). Among the patients included in the longitudinal tracking ctDNA analysis, an increase in MSG mutations was observed earlier in response to disease progression than radiological imaging. Our results outline the mutation profiles of MRCC. We show how longitudinal monitoring with ctDNA in liquid biopsy samples provides both predictive and prognostic information during treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyuan Tian
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.,Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Dongcen Ge
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Feng Zhang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Bocheng Zhang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.,Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Wanting Bai
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Xiaoying Xu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Zongjuan Li
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Ying Cao
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Peiying Li
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cell, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Kun Zou
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Lijuan Zou
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
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Plasma Cell-Free Human Papillomavirus Oncogene E6 and E7 DNA Predicts Outcome in Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma. J Mol Diagn 2020; 22:1333-1343. [PMID: 32822851 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoldx.2020.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Revised: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is associated with the development of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC), and increasing incidences of OPSCC are reported. The generally favorable treatment outcome in patients with HPV-driven OPSCC has brought de-escalation of treatment into discussion. Nevertheless, 13% to 25% develop a relapse within two years after current standard treatment. New biomarkers are urgently required to monitor therapy response, tumor burden, and minimal residual disease during follow-up. This observational study examined 50 patients with OPSCC to investigate plasma cell-free (cf) HPV-DNA derived from tumor cells before therapy and during follow-up. Real-time PCR was applied to quantify the DNA concentration of HPV oncogenes E6 and E7. A total of 85.7% of pretreatment samples from patients with HPV-driven OPSCC (n = 28) were positive for at least one marker, and cfHPV-DNA concentration increased with tumor size. Virtually no signals were detected in HPV-negative OPSCC patients (n = 20; P ≤ 0.001). Patients without clinical evidence of recurrence had significantly reduced cfHPV-DNA concentrations after therapy (P ≤ 0.001). Conversely, cfHPV-DNA levels increased or remained above threshold in five patients who had residual disease or developed recurrence. In conclusion, plasma cfHPV-DNA detection correlates with the clinical course of disease in patients with HPV-driven OPSCC. Consequently, extensive clinical investigation should be considered if cfHPV-DNA is detected during follow-up of patients with HPV-driven OPSCC.
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18
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Like a Rolling Stone: Sting-Cgas Pathway and Cell-Free DNA as Biomarkers for Combinatorial Immunotherapy. Pharmaceutics 2020; 12:pharmaceutics12080758. [PMID: 32796670 PMCID: PMC7464249 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12080758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2020] [Revised: 08/08/2020] [Accepted: 08/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Combining immune checkpoint inhibitors with other treatments likely to harness tumor immunity is a rising strategy in oncology. The exact modalities of such a combinatorial regimen are yet to be defined, and most attempts have relied so far on concomitant dosing, rather than sequential or phased administration. Because immunomodulating features are likely to be time-, dose-, and-schedule dependent, the need for biomarkers providing real-time information is critical to better define the optimal time-window to combine immune checkpoint inhibitors with other drugs. In this review, we present the various putative markers that have been investigated as predictive tools with immune checkpoint inhibitors and could be used to help further combining treatments. Whereas none of the current biomarkers, such as the PDL1 expression of a tumor mutational burden, is suitable to identify the best way to combine treatments, monitoring circulating tumor DNA is a promising strategy, in particular to check whether the STING-cGAS pathway has been activated by cytotoxics. As such, circulating tumor DNA could help defining the best time-window to administrate immune checkpoint inhibitors after that cytotoxics have been given.
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19
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Lee SY, Chae DK, Lee SH, Lim Y, An J, Chae CH, Kim BC, Bhak J, Bolser D, Cho DH. Efficient mutation screening for cervical cancers from circulating tumor DNA in blood. BMC Cancer 2020; 20:694. [PMID: 32718341 PMCID: PMC7385901 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-020-07161-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 07/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Early diagnosis and continuous monitoring are necessary for an efficient management of cervical cancers (CC). Liquid biopsy, such as detecting circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) from blood, is a simple, non-invasive method for testing and monitoring cancer markers. However, tumor-specific alterations in ctDNA have not been extensively investigated or compared to other circulating biomarkers in the diagnosis and monitoring of the CC. Therfore, Next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis with blood samples can be a new approach for highly accurate diagnosis and monitoring of the CC. Method Using a bioinformatics approach, we designed a panel of 24 genes associated with CC to detect and characterize patterns of somatic single-nucleotide variations, indels, and copy number variations. Our NGS CC panel covers most of the genes in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) as well as additional cancer driver and tumor suppressor genes. We profiled the variants in ctDNA from 24 CC patients who were being treated with systemic chemotherapy and local radiotherapy at the Jeonbuk National University Hospital, Korea. Result Eighteen out of 24 genes in our NGS CC panel had mutations across the 24 CC patients, including somatic alterations of mutated genes (ZFHX3–83%, KMT2C-79%, KMT2D-79%, NSD1–67%, ATM-38% and RNF213–27%). We demonstrated that the RNF213 mutation could be used potentially used as a monitoring marker for response to chemo- and radiotherapy. Conclusion We developed our NGS CC panel and demostrated that our NGS panel can be useful for the diagnosis and monitoring of the CC, since the panel detected the common somatic variations in CC patients and we observed how these genetic variations change according to the treatment pattern of the patient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sun-Young Lee
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Jeonbuk National University Hospital-Jeonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Jeonbuk, Republic of Korea.,Research Institute of Clinical Medicine of Jeonbuk National University-Biomedical Research Institute of Jeonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju, Republic of Korea
| | | | | | - Yohan Lim
- Clinomics Inc, Suwon, 16229, Republic of Korea
| | - Jahyun An
- Clinomics Inc, Suwon, 16229, Republic of Korea
| | - Chang Hoon Chae
- Department of Biophysics and Radiation Biology, Lab of Nanochemistry, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - Jong Bhak
- Clinomics Inc, Suwon, 16229, Republic of Korea.,KOGIC, UNIST, Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea.,Geromics LTD, Cambridge, CB1 1AH, UK
| | | | - Dong-Hyu Cho
- Research Institute of Clinical Medicine of Jeonbuk National University-Biomedical Research Institute of Jeonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju, Republic of Korea. .,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Jeonbuk National University Hospital-Jeonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Jeonbuk, Republic of Korea.
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20
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Chatrath A, Przanowska R, Kiran S, Su Z, Saha S, Wilson B, Tsunematsu T, Ahn JH, Lee KY, Paulsen T, Sobierajska E, Kiran M, Tang X, Li T, Kumar P, Ratan A, Dutta A. The pan-cancer landscape of prognostic germline variants in 10,582 patients. Genome Med 2020; 12:15. [PMID: 32066500 PMCID: PMC7027124 DOI: 10.1186/s13073-020-0718-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background While clinical factors such as age, grade, stage, and histological subtype provide physicians with information about patient prognosis, genomic data can further improve these predictions. Previous studies have shown that germline variants in known cancer driver genes are predictive of patient outcome, but no study has systematically analyzed multiple cancers in an unbiased way to identify genetic loci that can improve patient outcome predictions made using clinical factors. Methods We analyzed sequencing data from the over 10,000 cancer patients available through The Cancer Genome Atlas to identify germline variants associated with patient outcome using multivariate Cox regression models. Results We identified 79 prognostic germline variants in individual cancers and 112 prognostic germline variants in groups of cancers. The germline variants identified in individual cancers provide additional predictive power about patient outcomes beyond clinical information currently in use and may therefore augment clinical decisions based on expected tumor aggressiveness. Molecularly, at least 12 of the germline variants are likely associated with patient outcome through perturbation of protein structure and at least five through association with gene expression differences. Almost half of these germline variants are in previously reported tumor suppressors, oncogenes or cancer driver genes with the other half pointing to genomic loci that should be further investigated for their roles in cancers. Conclusions Germline variants are predictive of outcome in cancer patients and specific germline variants can improve patient outcome predictions beyond predictions made using clinical factors alone. The germline variants also implicate new means by which known oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and driver genes are perturbed in cancer and suggest roles in cancer for other genes that have not been extensively studied in oncology. Further studies in other cancer cohorts are necessary to confirm that germline variation is associated with outcome in cancer patients as this is a proof-of-principle study. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13073-020-0718-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ajay Chatrath
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, 1240 Pinn Hall, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
| | - Roza Przanowska
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, 1240 Pinn Hall, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
| | - Shashi Kiran
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, 1240 Pinn Hall, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
| | - Zhangli Su
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, 1240 Pinn Hall, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
| | - Shekhar Saha
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, 1240 Pinn Hall, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
| | - Briana Wilson
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, 1240 Pinn Hall, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
| | - Takaaki Tsunematsu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, 1240 Pinn Hall, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
| | - Ji-Hye Ahn
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, 1240 Pinn Hall, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
| | - Kyung Yong Lee
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, 1240 Pinn Hall, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
| | - Teressa Paulsen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, 1240 Pinn Hall, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
| | - Ewelina Sobierajska
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, 1240 Pinn Hall, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
| | - Manjari Kiran
- Department of Systems and Computational Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
| | - Xiwei Tang
- Department of Statistics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Tianxi Li
- Department of Statistics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Pankaj Kumar
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, 1240 Pinn Hall, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
| | - Aakrosh Ratan
- Center for Public Health Genomics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Anindya Dutta
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, 1240 Pinn Hall, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA.
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The prognostic landscape of tumor-infiltrating immune cells in cervical cancer. Biomed Pharmacother 2019; 120:109444. [PMID: 31562978 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2019.109444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2019] [Revised: 09/02/2019] [Accepted: 09/06/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TICs) are highly relevant to tumor development and are promising prognostic biomarkers. However, the precise assessment of TICs is limited by the deficiencies of traditional measurements, such as the lack of phenotypic markers. Here, we analyzed the composition of TICs in cervical cancer based on RNA expression data with a metagene approach called CIBERSORT and evaluated the prognostic value of TICs. The immune infiltration profiles functioned as intrinsic features to distinguish cervical cancer from normal tissue. According to the Cox regression analysis, higher levels of activated memory CD4+ T cells were independently associated with favorable overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.71, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.57-0.89; p = 0.003), whereas a higher fraction of activated mast cells was independently associated with adverse outcomes (HR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.23-1.91; p < 0.001). Furthermore, a novel prognostic model named aTMNs (activated memory CD4+ T cells, activated mast cells and activated natural killer [NK] cells) was constructed to predict OS in cervical cancer with high accuracy (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.723, concordance index [C-index] = 0.738): risk score = -0.34508 × (proportion of activated memory CD4+ T cells) + 0.426841 × (proportion of activated mast cells) + 0.272202 × (proportion of activated NK cells). The aTMNs model outperformed the immunomodulator model (AUC = 0.673, C-index = 0.693). Overall, TICs are important prognostic determinants in cervical cancer and may be a useful resource for the development of effective immunotherapy.
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