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Ardizzoia A, Jemma A, Redaelli S, Silva M, Bentivegna A, Lavitrano M, Conconi D. AhRR and PPP1R3C: Potential Prognostic Biomarkers for Serous Ovarian Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:11455. [PMID: 37511212 PMCID: PMC10380391 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241411455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The lack of effective screening and successful treatment contributes to high ovarian cancer mortality, making it the second most common cause of gynecologic cancer death. Development of chemoresistance in up to 75% of patients is the cause of a poor treatment response and reduced survival. Therefore, identifying potential and effective biomarkers for its diagnosis and prognosis is a strong critical need. Copy number alterations are frequent in cancer, and relevant for molecular tumor stratification and patients' prognoses. In this study, array-CGH analysis was performed in three cell lines and derived cancer stem cells (CSCs) to identify genes potentially predictive for ovarian cancer patients' prognoses. Bioinformatic analyses of genes involved in copy number gains revealed that AhRR and PPP1R3C expression negatively correlated with ovarian cancer patients' overall and progression-free survival. These results, together with a significant association between AhRR and PPP1R3C expression and ovarian cancer stemness markers, suggested their potential role in CSCs. Furthermore, AhRR and PPP1R3C's increased expression was maintained in some CSC subpopulations, reinforcing their potential role in ovarian cancer. In conclusion, we reported for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, a prognostic role of AhRR and PPP1R3C expression in serous ovarian cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Donatella Conconi
- School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20900 Monza, Italy; (A.A.); (A.J.); (S.R.); (M.S.); (A.B.); (M.L.)
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Killcoyne S, Fitzgerald RC. Evolution and progression of Barrett's oesophagus to oesophageal cancer. Nat Rev Cancer 2021; 21:731-741. [PMID: 34545238 DOI: 10.1038/s41568-021-00400-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Cancer cells are shaped through an evolutionary process of DNA mutation, cell selection and population expansion. Early steps in this process are driven by a set of mutated driver genes and structural alterations to the genome through copy number gains or losses. Oesophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and the pre-invasive tissue, Barrett's oesophagus (BE), provide an ideal example in which to observe and study this evolution. BE displays early genomic instability, specifically in copy number changes that may later be observed in EAC. Furthermore, these early changes result in patterns of progression (that is, 'born bad', gradual or catastrophic) that may help to describe the evolution of EAC. As only a small proportion of patients with BE will go on to develop cancer, a better understanding of these patterns and the resulting genomic changes should improve early detection in EAC and may provide clues for the evolution of cancer more broadly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Killcoyne
- Medical Research Council Cancer Unit, Hutchison/Medical Research Council Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Hinxton, UK
| | - Rebecca C Fitzgerald
- Medical Research Council Cancer Unit, Hutchison/Medical Research Council Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
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3
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Genomic instability signals offer diagnostic possibility in early cancer detection. Trends Genet 2021; 37:966-972. [PMID: 34218956 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2021.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Revised: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Emerging evidence from the large numbers of cancer genomes analyzed in recent years indicates that chromosomal instability (CI), a well-established hallmark of cancer cells, is detectable in precancerous lesions. In this opinion, we discuss the association of this instability with tumor progression and cancer risk. We highlight the opportunity that early genomic instability presents for the diagnosis of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and its precancerous lesion, Barrett's esophagus (BE). With a growing body of evidence suggesting that only a small pool of cancer-related genes are involved in early tumor development, we argue that general genomic instability may hold greater diagnostic potential for early cancer detection as opposed to the identification of individual mutational biomarkers.
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Piechowski J. Plausibility of trophoblastic-like regulation of cancer tissue. Cancer Manag Res 2019; 11:5033-5046. [PMID: 31213916 PMCID: PMC6549421 DOI: 10.2147/cmar.s190932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2018] [Accepted: 04/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Thus far, a well-established logical pattern of malignancy does not exist. The current approach to cancer properties is primarily descriptive with usually, for each of them, extensive analyses of the underlying associated biomolecular mechanisms. However, this remains a catalog and it would be valuable to determine the organizational chart that could account for their implementation, hierarchical links and input into tumor regulation. Hypothesis: Striking phenotypic similarities exist between trophoblast (invasive and expanding early placenta) and cancer regarding cell functions, logistics of development, means of protection and capacity to hold sway over the host organism. The concept of cancer cell trophoblastic-like transdifferentiation appears to be a rational proposal in an attempt to explain this analogy and provide a consistent insight into how cancer cells are functioning. Should this concept be validated, it could pave the way to promising research and therapeutic perspectives given that the trophoblastic properties are vital for the tumor while they are permanently epigenetically turned off in normal cells. Specifically targeting expression of the trophoblastic master genes could thereby be envisaged to jeopardize the tumor and its metastases without, in principle, inducing adverse side effects in the healthy tissues. Conclusion: A wide set of functional features of cancer tissue regulation, including some apparently paradoxical facts, was reviewed. Cancer cell misuse of physiological trophoblastic functions can clearly account for them, which identifies trophoblastic-like transdifferentiation as a likely key component of malignancy and makes it a potential relevant anticancer target.
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Oliveira DM, Laudanna C, Migliozzi S, Zoppoli P, Santamaria G, Grillone K, Elia L, Mignogna C, Biamonte F, Sacco R, Corcione F, Viglietto G, Malanga D, Rizzuto A. Identification of different mutational profiles in cancers arising in specific colon segments by next generation sequencing. Oncotarget 2018; 9:23960-23974. [PMID: 29844865 PMCID: PMC5963617 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.25251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2017] [Accepted: 04/06/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the mutational profiles of cancers arising in different colon segments. To this aim, we have analyzed 37 colon cancer samples by use of the Ion AmpliSeq™ Comprehensive Cancer Panel. Overall, we have found 307 mutated genes, most of which already implicated in the development of colon cancer. Among these, 15 genes were mutated in tumors originating in all six colon segments and were defined "common genes" (i.e. APC, PIK3CA, TP53) whereas 13 genes were preferentially mutated in tumors originating only in specific colon segments and were defined "site-associated genes" (i.e. BLNK, PTPRD). In addition, the presence of mutations in 10 of the 307 identified mutated genes (NBN, SMUG1, ERBB2, PTPRT, EPHB1, ALK, PTPRD, AURKB, KDR and GPR124) were found to be of clinical relevance. Among clinically relevant genes, NBN and SMUG1 were identified as independent prognostic factors that predicted poor survival in colon cancer patients. In conclusion, the findings reported here indicate that tumors arising in different colon segments present differences in the type and/or frequency of genetic variants, with two of them being independent prognostic factors that predict poor survival in colon cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duarte Mendes Oliveira
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Carmelo Laudanna
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Simona Migliozzi
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Pietro Zoppoli
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Gianluca Santamaria
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Katia Grillone
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Laura Elia
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Chiara Mignogna
- Department of Health Sciences, University Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Flavia Biamonte
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Rosario Sacco
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy
| | | | - Giuseppe Viglietto
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Donatella Malanga
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Antonia Rizzuto
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy
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Abstract
Here, we describe the use of complementary techniques applicable to different types of samples to analyze chromosomal alterations in urothelial carcinoma. By a conventional chromosome analysis on fresh biopsies, it is possible to delineate the status of ploidy and rough chromosomal aberrations. The multi-target fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) UroVysion test, for the rapid detection of chromosomal aneusomy of chromosomes 3, 7, and 17 and/or deletion of 9p21 locus, is applicable to urine specimens as well as to formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimens and fresh biopsies. Finally, array comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH) gives the possibility of analyzing the DNA in a single experiment from a biopsy of the tumor but also from FFPE specimens; this technique is able to detect alterations at the genome level not excluding any chromosome.
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Beane J, Campbell JD, Lel J, Vick J, Spira A. Genomic approaches to accelerate cancer interception. Lancet Oncol 2017; 18:e494-e502. [PMID: 28759388 DOI: 10.1016/s1470-2045(17)30373-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2016] [Revised: 03/08/2017] [Accepted: 03/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Although major advances have been reported in the last decade in the treatment of late-stage cancer with targeted and immune-based therapies, there is a crucial unmet need to develop new approaches to improve the prevention and early detection of cancer. Advances in genomics and computational biology offer unprecedented opportunities to understand the earliest molecular events associated with carcinogenesis, enabling novel strategies to intercept the development of invasive cancers. This Series paper will highlight emerging big data genomic approaches with the potential to accelerate advances in cancer prevention, screening, and early detection across various tumour types, and the challenges inherent in the development of these tools for clinical use. Through coordinated multicentre consortia, these genomic approaches are likely to transform the landscape of cancer interception in the coming years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Beane
- Department of Medicine and BU-BMC Cancer Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Joshua D Campbell
- Department of Medicine and BU-BMC Cancer Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Julian Lel
- Department of Medicine and BU-BMC Cancer Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jessica Vick
- Department of Medicine and BU-BMC Cancer Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Avrum Spira
- Department of Medicine and BU-BMC Cancer Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
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Piechowski J. Hypothesis about Transdifferentiation As Backbone of Malignancy. Front Oncol 2017; 7:126. [PMID: 28674676 PMCID: PMC5474902 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2017.00126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2017] [Accepted: 05/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Cancer is mainly watched through the prism of random mutations and related corruption of signaling pathways. However, it would seem puzzling to explain the tumor organization, pugnacity and steady evolution of the tumorous disease and, moreover, a systematic ascendancy over the healthy tissues, only through stochastic genomic alterations. Malignancy specific properties Considering the core characteristics of cancer cells, it appears that two major sets of properties are emerging, corresponding to well-identified physiological phenotypes, i.e., (1) the trophoblastic logistical functions for cell survival, protection, expansion, migration, and host-tissue conditioning for angiogenesis and immune tolerance and (2) the sexual functions for genome maintenance. To explain the resurgence of these trophoblastic and sexual phenotypes, a particular cell reprogramming, to be called “malignant transdifferentiation” in view of its key role in the precancer-to-cancer shift, appears to be a convincing hypothesis. Perspectives The concept of malignant transdifferentiation, in addition to oncogenic mutations, would determine a more rational approach of oncogenesis and would open so far unexplored ways of therapeutic actions. Indeed, the trophoblastic phenotype would be a good candidate for therapeutic purposes because, on the one hand, it covers numerous properties that all are vital for the tumor, and on the other hand, it can be targeted with potentially no risk of affecting the healthy tissues as it is not expressed there after birth.
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