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Makhlouf S, Quinn C, Toss M, Alsaleem M, Atallah NM, Ibrahim A, Rutland CS, Mongan NP, Rakha EA. Quantitative expression of oestrogen receptor in breast cancer: Clinical and molecular significance. Eur J Cancer 2024; 197:113473. [PMID: 38103327 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2023.113473] [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: 09/16/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Oestrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer (BC) patients are eligible for endocrine therapy (ET), regardless of ER immunohistochemical expression level. There is a wide spectrum of ER expression and the response to ET is not uniform. This study aimed to assess the clinical and molecular consequences of ER heterogeneity with respect to ET-response. METHODS ER expression, categorised by percentage and staining intensity in a large BC cohort (n = 7559) was correlated with clinicopathological parameters and patient ET response. The Cancer Genome Atlas Data BC cohort (n = 1047) was stratified by ER expression and transcriptomic analysis completed to better understand the molecular basis of ER heterogeneity. RESULTS The quantitative proportional increase in ER expression was positively associated with favourable prognostic parameters. Tumours with 1-9% ER expression were characteristically similar to ER-negative (<1%) tumours. Maximum ET-response was observed in tumours with 100% ER expression, with responses significantly different to tumours exhibiting ER at < 100% and significantly decreased survival rates were observed in tumours with 50% and 10% of ER expression. The Histochemical-score (H-score), which considers both staining intensity and percentage, added significant prognostic value over ER percentage alone with significant outcome differences observed at H-scores of 30, 100 and 200. There was a positive correlation between ER expression and ESR1 mRNA expression and expression of ER-regulated genes. Pathway analysis identified differential expression in key cancer-related pathways in different ER-positive groups. CONCLUSION ET-response is statistically proportionally related to ER expression with significant differences observed at 10%, 50% and 100%. The H-score adds prognostic and predictive information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shorouk Makhlouf
- Academic Unit for Translational Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK; Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt
| | - Cecily Quinn
- Irish National Breast Screening Programme and Department of Histopathology, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Michael Toss
- Academic Unit for Translational Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK; Department of Histopathology, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Sheffield, UK
| | - Mansour Alsaleem
- Academic Unit for Translational Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK; Unit of Scientific Research, Applied College, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia
| | - Nehal M Atallah
- Academic Unit for Translational Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK; Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Menoufia, Egypt
| | - Asmaa Ibrahim
- Academic Unit for Translational Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Catrin S Rutland
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Sciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK
| | - Nigel P Mongan
- Biodiscovery Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine and Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK; Department of Pharmacology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Emad A Rakha
- Academic Unit for Translational Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK; Department of Histopathology, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK; Department of Pathology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
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Selistre-de-Araujo HS, Pachane BC, Altei WF. Tumor heterogeneity and the dilemma of antioxidant therapies in cancer. ANNALS OF TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE 2022; 10:1074. [PMID: 36330399 PMCID: PMC9622474 DOI: 10.21037/atm-22-4219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 08/30/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Heloisa Sobreiro Selistre-de-Araujo
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Department of Physiological Sciences, Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Bianca Cruz Pachane
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Department of Physiological Sciences, Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Wanessa Fernanda Altei
- Molecular Oncology Research Center, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, Brazil
- Radiation Oncology Department, Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, Brazil
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Beyond Genetics: Metastasis as an Adaptive Response in Breast Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23116271. [PMID: 35682953 PMCID: PMC9181003 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23116271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Revised: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Metastatic disease represents the primary cause of breast cancer (BC) mortality, yet it is still one of the most enigmatic processes in the biology of this tumor. Metastatic progression includes distinct phases: invasion, intravasation, hematogenous dissemination, extravasation and seeding at distant sites, micro-metastasis formation and metastatic outgrowth. Whole-genome sequencing analyses of primary BC and metastases revealed that BC metastatization is a non-genetically selected trait, rather the result of transcriptional and metabolic adaptation to the unfavorable microenvironmental conditions which cancer cells are exposed to (e.g., hypoxia, low nutrients, endoplasmic reticulum stress and chemotherapy administration). In this regard, the latest multi-omics analyses unveiled intra-tumor phenotypic heterogeneity, which determines the polyclonal nature of breast tumors and constitutes a challenge for clinicians, correlating with patient poor prognosis. The present work reviews BC classification and epidemiology, focusing on the impact of metastatic disease on patient prognosis and survival, while describing general principles and current in vitro/in vivo models of the BC metastatic cascade. The authors address here both genetic and phenotypic intrinsic heterogeneity of breast tumors, reporting the latest studies that support the role of the latter in metastatic spreading. Finally, the review illustrates the mechanisms underlying adaptive stress responses during BC metastatic progression.
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Testa U, Castelli G, Pelosi E. Breast Cancer: A Molecularly Heterogenous Disease Needing Subtype-Specific Treatments. Med Sci (Basel) 2020; 8:E18. [PMID: 32210163 PMCID: PMC7151639 DOI: 10.3390/medsci8010018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Revised: 02/23/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in women. There were over two-million new cases in world in 2018. It is the second leading cause of death from cancer in western countries. At the molecular level, breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, which is characterized by high genomic instability evidenced by somatic gene mutations, copy number alterations, and chromosome structural rearrangements. The genomic instability is caused by defects in DNA damage repair, transcription, DNA replication, telomere maintenance and mitotic chromosome segregation. According to molecular features, breast cancers are subdivided in subtypes, according to activation of hormone receptors (estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor), of human epidermal growth factors receptor 2 (HER2), and or BRCA mutations. In-depth analyses of the molecular features of primary and metastatic breast cancer have shown the great heterogeneity of genetic alterations and their clonal evolution during disease development. These studies have contributed to identify a repertoire of numerous disease-causing genes that are altered through different mutational processes. While early-stage breast cancer is a curable disease in about 70% of patients, advanced breast cancer is largely incurable. However, molecular studies have contributed to develop new therapeutic approaches targeting HER2, CDK4/6, PI3K, or involving poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors for BRCA mutation carriers and immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ugo Testa
- Department of Oncology, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy; (G.C.); (E.P.)
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