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Lu Z, Fan P, Huo W, Feng Y, Wang R. Genomic profiles and their relationships with clinical characteristics and immune features in cervical cancer. Transl Oncol 2024; 44:101923. [PMID: 38432114 PMCID: PMC10920960 DOI: 10.1016/j.tranon.2024.101923] [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: 10/09/2023] [Revised: 02/18/2024] [Accepted: 02/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the genomic alteration profiles of cervical cancer patients, examine the correlation between mutation patterns and clinical and immune attributes, and discover novel targets for treatment of individuals with cervical cancer. METHODS We performed targeted next-generation sequencing of tumor tissues and blood samples obtained from 45 cervical cancer patients to analyze somatic alterations, mutation patterns, and HLA alleles comprehensively. Additionally, we used flow cytometry to assess expression levels of immune checkpoint genes. RESULTS Notably, genes such as AR (78%), KMT2D (76%), and NOTCH1 (62%) exhibited higher mutation frequencies. Moreover, the tumor mutation burden (TMB) was significantly greater in HPV-positive cervical cancer patients than in HPV-negative patients (P=0.029). BMI (P=0.047) and mutations in BARD1 (P=0.034), CEP290 (P=4E-04), and SLX4 (P=0.0128) were identified as predictors of shorter overall survival in cervical cancer patients. Furthermore, the present study revealed significant upregulation of PD-1 (P=0.027) and Tim-3 (P=0.048) in the high mutant-allele tumor heterogeneity (MATH) cohort. In the elderly cervical cancer patient population, HLA-A03:01 emerged as a high-risk allele (OR=3.2, P<0.0001); HLA-C07:02 (OR=0.073, P=0.02) and HLA-B*07:02 (OR=0.257, P=0.037) were associated with a reduced risk among patients with low TMB. CONCLUSIONS This study offers insights into the mutation characteristics of cervical cancer patients and identifies potential therapeutic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zinan Lu
- Xinjiang Medical University Affiliated Tumor Hospital, Key Laboratory of Cancer Immunotherapy and Radiotherapy, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, China; Key Laboratory of Oncology of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, China
| | - Peiwen Fan
- Xinjiang Medical University Affiliated Tumor Hospital, Key Laboratory of Cancer Immunotherapy and Radiotherapy, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, China; Key Laboratory of Oncology of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, China; State Key Laboratory of Pathogenesis, Prevention and Treatment of High Incidence Diseases in Central Asia, The Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, China
| | - Wen Huo
- Xinjiang Medical University Affiliated Tumor Hospital, Key Laboratory of Cancer Immunotherapy and Radiotherapy, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, China; Key Laboratory of Oncology of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, China
| | - Yaning Feng
- Xinjiang Medical University Affiliated Tumor Hospital, Key Laboratory of Cancer Immunotherapy and Radiotherapy, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, China; Key Laboratory of Oncology of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, China; State Key Laboratory of Pathogenesis, Prevention and Treatment of High Incidence Diseases in Central Asia, The Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, China
| | - Ruozheng Wang
- Xinjiang Medical University Affiliated Tumor Hospital, Key Laboratory of Cancer Immunotherapy and Radiotherapy, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, China; Key Laboratory of Oncology of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, China; Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Radiotherapy Clinical Research and Training Center, The Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, China.
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Li T, Zhang J, Yan Y, Tan M, Chen Y. Applications of FAPI PET/CT in the diagnosis and treatment of breast and the most common gynecologic malignancies: a literature review. Front Oncol 2024; 14:1358070. [PMID: 38505595 PMCID: PMC10949888 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1358070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024] Open
Abstract
The fibroblast activating protein (FAP) is expressed by some fibroblasts found in healthy tissues. However, FAP is overexpressed in more than 90% of epithelial tumors, including breast and gynecological tumors. As a result, the FAP ligand could be used as a target for diagnosis and treatment purposes. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is a hybrid imaging technique commonly used to locate and assess the tumor's molecular and metabolic functions. PET imaging involves the injection of a radiotracer that tends to accumulate more in metabolically active lesions such as cancer. Several radiotracers have been developed to target FAP in PET/CT imaging, such as the fibroblast-activation protein inhibitor (FAPI). These tracers bind to FAP with high specificity and affinity, allowing for the non-invasive detection and quantification of FAP expression in tumors. In this review, we discussed the applications of FAPI PET/CT in the diagnosis and treatment of breast and the most common gynecologic malignancies. Radiolabeled FAPI can improve the detection, staging, and assessment of treatment response in breast and the most common gynecologic malignancies, but the problem with normal hormone-responsive organs remains insurmountable. Compared to the diagnostic applications of FAPI, further research is needed for future therapeutic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tengfei Li
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine Institute of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
| | - Jintao Zhang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine Institute of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
| | - Yuanzhuo Yan
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine Institute of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
| | - Min Tan
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine Institute of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
| | - Yue Chen
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine Institute of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
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Liao L, Huang P, Zhao J, Wang Z, Chen H, Zhang C, Huang L. lncRNA799/TBL1XR1/ZEB1 Axis Forms a Feedback Loop to Promote the Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition of Cervical Cancer Cells. Crit Rev Eukaryot Gene Expr 2024; 34:33-43. [PMID: 38073440 DOI: 10.1615/critreveukaryotgeneexpr.2023049916] [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: 12/18/2023]
Abstract
Cervical cancer is a common malignancy among women worldwide. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are frequently involved in the pathogenesis of cervical cancer. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the potentials of lncRNA799 in cervical cancer. mRNA and protein expression were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis, respectively. Cellular functions were assessed using CCK-8, wound healing and transwell analysis. The binding potential of zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) on the promoter of lncRNA799 was predicted utilizing the JASPAR database, and was then verified by luciferase and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays. Furthermore, the gene interactions were assessed using RNA immunoprecipitation and co-immunoprecipitation assays. The results demonstrated that lncRNA799 was upregulated in cervical cancer cells. However, lncRNA799 deficiency suppressed the proliferation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of cervical cancer cells. Furthermore, lncRNA799 could interact with eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4A3 to maintain the mRNA stability of transducin (β)-like 1 X-linked receptor 1 (TBL1XR1) and promote the interaction between ZEB1 and TBL1XR1. Additionally, the results showed that ZEB1 could transcriptionally activate lncRNA799. Taken together, the present study suggested that the lncRNA799/TBL1XR1/ZEB1 axis could form a positive feedback loop in cervical cancer and could be, therefore, considered as a potential therapeutic strategy for cervical cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingmin Liao
- Department of Ultrasound, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China; Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Clinical and Translational Cancer Research, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China
| | - Peng Huang
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Clinical and Translational Cancer Research, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China; Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China
| | - Jiali Zhao
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Clinical and Translational Cancer Research, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China; Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China
| | - Ziying Wang
- Department of Ultrasound, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China
| | - He Chen
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China; The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China
| | - Chunquan Zhang
- Department of Ultrasound, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China
| | - Long Huang
- Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Clinical and Translational Cancer Research, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China; Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006, China
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Ao M, Li P, Sun D, Li X, Xu S, Hao Y. Changes in T lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood of patients with middle-advanced cervical cancer before and after nimotuzumab combined with concurrent chemoradiotherapy. J OBSTET GYNAECOL 2023; 43:2179915. [PMID: 37001548 DOI: 10.1080/01443615.2023.2179915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
The current study sought to investigate the effect of nimotuzumab combined with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT + Nim) on T lymphocyte subsets in middle-advanced CC. Firstly, patients with middle-advanced CC were administered CCRT or CCRT + Nim. Next, levels of T lymphocytes in peripheral blood of CC patients pre- or post-treatment and healthy females were determined by flow cytometry. The short-term efficacy was evaluated, and overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients were recorded. In addition, the correlation of T lymphocyte subsets post-treatment with OS/PFS was assessed with Pearson analysis. CC patients exhibited decreased total T cells/T helper cells/CD4+/CD8+ ratio and increased T suppressor cells/Tregs in peripheral blood. Meanwhile, CCRT and CCRT + Nim improved T lymphocyte subset imbalance, with CCRT + Nim exhibiting better efficacy. CCRT + Nim exhibited better short-term efficacy and higher PFS than CCRT, with no evident difference in OS. The levels of total T cells/T helper cells/T suppressor cells/Tregs were not significantly-correlated with OS/PFS, and the CD4+/CD8+ ratio was correlated with PFS but not OS. Collectively, CCRT + nimotuzumab ameliorate the imbalance of T lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood of middle-advanced CC patients, and the CD4+/CD8+ ratio after therapy is correlated with PFS.IMPACT STATEMENTWhat is already known on this subject? The utilisation of Nimotuzumab targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) combined with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) as an efficient treatment for middle-advanced cervical cancer (CC) has garnered the attention of numerous researchers over the years. T cells represent a major immune cell type in the tumour microenvironment and serve as the basis for maintaining cellular immune functions.What do the results of this study add? Our findings revealed that nimotuzumab combined with CCRT improves the abnormality of T lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood of patients with middle-advanced CC, such that the CD4+/CD8+ ratio after treatment was significantly correlated with progression-free survival (PFS).What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? CCRT of CC may have a short-term negative impact on the peripheral T-cell immune micro-environment, and the combination of nimotuzumab, cisplatin-based chemotherapy, and radiotherapy enhances the frequency of Tregs in peripheral blood. Our findings illustrated that nimotuzumab combined with CCRT can improve the imbalance of T lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood of patients with middle-advanced CC. A better understanding of the mechanisms of these therapies will optimise the selection of patients most likely to benefit from treatment, serving as a reference for further research on the relationship between EGFR-specific T cells and clinical benefit in patients treated with nimotuzumab in combination with CCRT.
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Zou S, Ye M, Zhang JA, Ji H, Chen Y, Zhu X. Establishment and genetically characterization of patient-derived xenograft models of cervical cancer. BMC Med Genomics 2022; 15:191. [PMID: 36076209 PMCID: PMC9461207 DOI: 10.1186/s12920-022-01342-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models were established to reproduce the clinical situation of original cancers and have increasingly been applied to preclinical cancer research. Our study was designed to establish and genetically characterize cervical cancer PDX models. Methods A total of 91 fresh fragments obtained from 22 surgically resected cervical cancer tissues were subcutaneously engrafted into female NOD-SCID mice. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining was performed to assess whether the established PDX models conserved the histological features of original patient cervical cancer tissues. Moreover, a Venn diagram was applied to display the overlap of all mutations detected in whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data from patient original cervical cancer (F0) and F2-, F3-PDX models. The whole exome sequencing (WES) and the “maftools” package were applied to determine the somatic mutations among primary cervical cancers and the established PDX models. Results Our study successfully developed a panel of cervical cancer PDX models and the latency time of cervical cancer PDX model establishment was variable with a progressive decrease as the passage number increased, with a mean time to initial growth of 94.71 days in F1 engraftment to 40.65 days in F3 engraftment. Moreover, the cervical cancer PDX models preserved the histological features of their original cervical cancer. WGS revealed that the genome of original cervical cancer was preserved with high fidelity in cervical cancer PDX models throughout the xenografting and passaging process. Furthermore, WES demonstrated that the cervical cancer PDX models maintained the majority somatic mutations of original cervical cancer, of which the KMT2D, LRP1B, NAV3, TP53, FAT1, MKI67 and PKHD1L1 genes were identified as the most frequently mutated genes. Conclusions The cervical cancer PDX models preserved the histologic and genetic characteristics of their original cervical cancer, which helped to gain a deeper insight into the genetic alterations and lay a foundation for further investigation of the molecular targeted therapy of cervical cancer. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12920-022-01342-5.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuangwei Zou
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, No. 109 Xueyuan Xi Road, Wenzhou, 325027, Zhejiang, China
| | - Miaomiao Ye
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, No. 109 Xueyuan Xi Road, Wenzhou, 325027, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jian-An Zhang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, No. 109 Xueyuan Xi Road, Wenzhou, 325027, Zhejiang, China
| | - Huihui Ji
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, No. 109 Xueyuan Xi Road, Wenzhou, 325027, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yijie Chen
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, No. 109 Xueyuan Xi Road, Wenzhou, 325027, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xueqiong Zhu
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, No. 109 Xueyuan Xi Road, Wenzhou, 325027, Zhejiang, China.
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RNA modification "writer"-mediated RNA modification patterns and tumor microenvironment characteristics of cervical cancer. Clin Transl Oncol 2022; 24:1413-1424. [PMID: 35220552 DOI: 10.1007/s12094-022-02787-x] [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: 11/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE As an epigenetic regulation mechanism after transcription, RNA modification is installed by endogenous "writer" enzymes and is widely involved in a variety of physiological processes, including cancer progression. This study explored the RNA modification patterns of cervical cancer to clarify overall effect of RNA modification on tumor microenvironment (TME) characteristics and immune/targeted therapy. METHODS 26 RNA modification "writers" were clustered, and the RNA modification patterns and TME characteristics of cervical cancer patients in TCGA were systematically evaluated. Based on differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between different RNA modification patterns, an RNA modification "writer" score (WM score) system was developed to assess the RNA modification of a single sample. RESULTS Two different RNA modification patterns of cervical cancer were identified, and these patterns were significantly related to the prognosis and TME infiltration characteristics of patients. WM score was an independent risk factor for the prognosis of cervical cancer. High WM score was characterized by poor prognosis, low immune infiltration and low tumor mutation burden (TMB), while low-WM score was related to relatively long overall survival (OS), more immune components in TME and increased TMB. In addition, the low-WM score group was expected to be more sensitive to programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) therapy and showed lower predicted IC50 of chemotherapy drugs paclitaxel and cisplatin treatment. CONCLUSIONS This study identified and characterized RNA modification patterns, and clarified potential relationship between RNA modification patterns and immune infiltration characteristics and immunotherapy of cervical cancer, offering a new evaluation scheme for treatment of cervical cancer patients.
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Yoshida H, Shiraishi K, Kato T. Molecular Pathology of Human Papilloma Virus-Negative Cervical Cancers. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13246351. [PMID: 34944973 PMCID: PMC8699825 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13246351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide and is predominantly caused by infection with human papillomavirus (HPV). However, a small subset of cervical cancers tests negative for HPV, including true HPV-independent cancers and false-negative cases. True HPV-negative cancers appear to be more prevalent in certain pathological adenocarcinoma subtypes, such as gastric- and clear-cell-type adenocarcinomas. Moreover, HPV-negative cervical cancers have proven to be a biologically distinct tumor subset that follows a different pathogenetic pathway to HPV-associated cervical cancers. HPV-negative cervical cancers are often diagnosed at an advanced stage with a poor prognosis and are expected to persist in the post-HPV vaccination era; therefore, it is important to understand HPV-negative cancers. In this review, we provide a concise overview of the molecular pathology of HPV-negative cervical cancers, with a focus on their definitions, the potential causes of false-negative HPV tests, and the histology, genetic profiles, and pathogenesis of HPV-negative cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroshi Yoshida
- Department of Diagnostic Pathology, National Cancer Center Hospital, 5-1-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +81-3-3457-5201
| | - Kouya Shiraishi
- Division of Genome Biology, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan;
| | - Tomoyasu Kato
- Department of Gynecology, National Cancer Center Hospital, 5-1-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan;
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