The significance of tumoral ERCC1 status in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer treated with chemoradiation therapy: a multicenter clinicopathologic analysis

Prevalence and Prognostic Significance of PIK3CA Mutation and CNV Status and Phosphorylated AKT Expression in Patients With Cervical Cancer Treated With Primary Surgery

Currently, there are limited and conflicting reports on the prognostic utility of PIK3CA and associated pathway markers for cervical cancers treated with primary surgical management. Moreover, current studies are lacking complete characterization of adjuvant treatment with RT and/or chemotherapy. We aimed to document the prevalence, clinicopathologic, adjuvant treatment details, and prognostic value of PI3K/AKT pathway mutations and copy number variation and phosphorylated AKT status in patients with cervical cancers treated with primary surgery. A clinicopathologic review was performed on a retrospective cohort of 185 patients with cervical cancer, treated with primary surgery at a single tertiary institution. Next-generation sequencing and digital PCR was used to determine PI3K/AKT pathway mutational status and PIK3CA copy number variation, respectively, and fluorescent immunohistochemistry measured phosphorylated AKT expression. In all, 179 of 185 (96.8%) of tumors were successfully sequenced; 48 (26.8%) were positive for PI3K/AKT pathway mutations-the majority (n=37, 77.1%) PIK3CA mutations. PIK3CA mutation was associated with pathologically positive lymph nodes [12 (32%) vs. 22 (16%); P =0.022] and indication for postoperative chemoradiotherapy [17 (45.9%) vs. 32 (22.5%); P =0.004]. On multivariable analysis, PIK3CA status was not associated with overall survival ( P =0.103) or progression-free survival ( P =0.240) at 5 yrs, nor was PIK3CA copy number variation status. phosphorylated AKT ≤ median significantly predicted for progression-free survival [multivariable hazard ratio 0.39 (0.17-0.89; P =0.025)] but not overall survival ( P =0.087). The correlation of PIK3CA with pathologic positive lymph node status yet lack of association with survival outcomes may be due to the use of adjuvant postoperative therapy. PIK3CA assessment before radical hysterectomy may help identify patients with a higher risk of node-positive disease.

Perspectives of ERCC1 in early-stage and advanced cervical cancer: From experiments to clinical applications

Cervical cancer is a public health problem of extensive clinical importance. Excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) was found to be a promising biomarker of cervical cancer over the years. At present, there is no relevant review article that summarizes such evidence. In this review, nineteen eligible studies were included for evaluation and data extraction. Based on the data from clinical and experimental studies, ERCC1 plays a key role in the progression of carcinoma of the uterine cervix and the therapeutic response of chemoradiotherapy. The majority of the included studies (13/19, 68%) suggested that ERCC1 played a pro-oncogenic role in both early-stage and advanced cervical cancer. High expression of ERCC1 was found to be associated with the poor survival rates of the patients. ERCC1 polymorphism analyses demonstrated that ERCC1 might be a useful tool for predicting the risk of cervical cancer and the treatment-related toxicities. Experimental studies indicated that the biological effects exerted by ERCC1 in cervical cancer might be mediated by its associated genes and affected signaling pathways (i.e., XPF, TUBB3, and. To move towards clinical applications by targeting ERCC1 in cervical cancer, more clinical, in-vitro, and in-vivo investigations are still warranted in the future.

Cervical cancer therapies: Current challenges and future perspectives

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common female cancer worldwide and results in over 300 000 deaths globally. The causative agent of cervical cancer is persistent infection with high-risk subtypes of the human papillomavirus and the E5, E6 and E7 viral oncoproteins cooperate with host factors to induce and maintain the malignant phenotype. Cervical cancer is a largely preventable disease and early-stage detection is associated with significantly improved survival rates. Indeed, in high-income countries with established vaccination and screening programs it is a rare disease. However, the disease is a killer for women in low- and middle-income countries who, due to limited resources, often present with advanced and untreatable disease. Treatment options include surgical interventions, chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy either alone or in combination. This review describes the initiation and progression of cervical cancer and discusses in depth the advantages and challenges faced by current cervical cancer therapies, followed by a discussion of promising and efficacious new therapies to treat cervical cancer including immunotherapies, targeted therapies, combination therapies, and genetic treatment approaches.

PIK3CA mutation and CNV status and post-chemoradiotherapy survival in patients with cervical cancer

PURPOSE

This study aimed to describe the prognostic value of PI3K/AKT pathway mutations in a large cohort of patients with cervical cancer.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Patients with pre-treatment archival specimens, diagnosed with FIGO stages IB-IVA cervical cancer between 1998 and 2014 and treated with radical, curative intent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) at a single center were identified. Mutational status was determined by next generation sequencing and PIK3CA copy number (CNV) was assessed by digital PCR.

RESULTS

190 patients with available pre-treatment tumor specimens were identified. Median OS and PFS were 57.4 and 46.0 months, respectively. A total of 161 tumors were successfully sequenced; 60 (37.3%) had PI3K/AKT pathway mutations, with 50 (30.1%) having PIK3CA hotspot mutations. PIK3CA CNV gain was noted in 79 (59.2%) of the 154 successfully analyzed. On univariate analysis, PIK3CA mutation was associated with poor OS (HR 1.73; 95% CI: 1.03-2.92; p = .037) but not PFS (HR 1.38; 0.84-2.28; p = .204). Absence of any PI3K/AKT pathway mutation was associated with improved OS (HR 1.68; 1.01-2.81; p = .046) but not PFS (HR 1.50; 0.93-2.43; p = .202). Associations were not maintained when adjusting for clinical factors. On univariate analysis, PIK3CA mutation positive, CNV normal tumors were associated with poorer OS (HR 2.55; 1.18-5.50; p = .017) and trend to worse PFS (HR 1.87; 0.90-3.83; p = .094) when compared to those with CNV gain and wildtype PIK3CA.

CONCLUSIONS

PI3K/AKT pathway mutations are common in cervical cancer. Consideration of PIK3CA mutational status with CNV status may be important in predicting outcome in cervical cancer patients.

The prognostic value of excission repair cross-complementation group one enzyme expression in locally advanced cervical carcinoma patients treated with cisplatin-based treatment: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Recently, several studies observed that locally advanced cervical carcinoma with negative excision repair crross-complementation group one enzyme expression has better outcomes in cisplatin-based chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy than carcinoma with positive excission repair cross-complementation group one enzyme expression. In this meta-analysis, we quantitatively evaluated the prognostic value of excission repair cross-complementation group one enzyme expression in locally advanced cervical carcinoma patients receiving platinum-based chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy.

MATERIALS

A systematic search for relevant studies was conducted in the PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE and Medline databases. Fixed- or random-effects models were used for pooled analysis. The endpoints were overall survival and disease-free survival () reported as ORs and 95% CIs. The effects of excission repair cross-complementation group one enzyme expression on the clinicopathological parameters were measured by the pooled ORs and their 95% CIs.

RESULTS

Eight studies (612 patients in total) satisfied the inclusion criteria. Negative/low excission repair cross-complementation group one enzyme expression was significantly associated with better overall survival (OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.22 to 3.05; P = 0.005) and disease-free survival (OR, 5.77; 95% CI, 1.90 to 17.54; P = 0.002). Additionally, there were significant associations between excission repair cross-complementation group one enzyme expression and lymph node metastasis (OR, 2.57; 95% CI, 1.28 to 5.16; P = 0.008).

CONCLUSIONS

This meta-analysis suggested that pretreatment excission repair cross-complementation group one enzyme expression might be a useful biomarker to predict prognoses for locally advanced cervical carcinoma patients receiving platinum-based chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy.

Expression of ERCC1 and TUBB3 in Locally Advanced Cervical Squamous Cell Cancer and its Correlation with Different Therapeutic Regimens

Background

Several studies in solid tumors have shown that expression of excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) and class III β-tubulin (TUBB3) can predict response to chemoradiotherapy and might be prognostic factors. We assessed the role of ERCC1 and TUBB3 expressions as predictive and prognostic factors in locally advanced cervical squamous cell carcinoma (LACSCC) patients treated with different neoadjuvant regimens.

Methods

ERCC1 and TUBB3 were detected in 88 patients with LACSCC by immunohistochemical analysis. Sixty-two patients were included in 3 different prospective trials and grouped as follows: vinorelbine or docetaxel (group A, n = 44) and ifosfamide-vinorelbine-cisplatin (group B, n = 18). Both groups were compared with standard cisplatin chemoradiotherapy (group C, n = 26). Clinical data at baseline, disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were also collected. Univariate and multivariate Cox models were used to analyze the risk factors.

Results

Thirty-five patients (39.8%) and 18 (20.5%) had high ERCC1 and TUBB3 expression, respectively. Both proteins were overexpressed in tumors with unfavorable characteristics. High ERCC1 was associated with advanced FIGO stage (p = 0.034) and progressive disease (49% vs. 28%). Poor DFS (p = 0.021) and OS (p = 0.005) were observed in group C patients with high ERCC1 expression. Multivariate analysis showed that ERCC1 expression, FIGO stage and pretreatment hemoglobin level were significant prognostic factors (p = 0.002, p = 0.008 and p = 0.005, respectively).

Conclusions

ERCC1 expression could be a predictive and prognostic factor in LACSCC patients who receive cisplatin monotherapy. Conversely, TUBB3 had no impact on survival in patients treated with antimicrotubule agents.

Relationship between clinical toxicities and ERCC1 rs3212986 and XRCC3 rs861539 polymorphisms in cervical cancer patients

BACKGROUND

Several studies have suggested that there are single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that can be considered potential biomarkers in the prognosis and therapeutic response of cancer patients. The present study investigated the association between ERCC1 rs3212986 and XRCC3 rs861539 polymorphisms and clinical toxicities induced by chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in cervical cancer.

METHODS

This hospital-based retrospective cohort study included 260 patients with cervical cancer, FIGO stages Ib2-IVa, who underwent CRT (cisplatin). Genetic polymorphisms analysis was performed by allelic discrimination with real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

RESULTS

Our results indicated a link between ERCC1 rs3212986 and the onset of late gastrointestinal toxicity (p = 0.038). Furthermore, using a recessive model (AA vs. CC/CA), we found that patients carrying AA homozygous genotype presented a fourfold increased risk of developing late gastrointestinal toxicity when compared with patients with the C allele (odds ratio = 3.727, 95% confidence interval, 1.199-11.588; p = 0.017). No association was found regarding the XRCC3 rs861539 polymorphism and any clinical toxicity event.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first study evaluating the relationship between these polymorphisms and clinical toxicities in cervical cancer patients submitted to CRT with cisplatin. These results may contribute toward a better understanding of the influence of genetic polymorphisms in genes associated with DNA repair in the clinical response to CRT of patients with cervical cancer.

Prognostic and predictive factors in patients with metastatic or recurrent cervical cancer treated with platinum-based chemotherapy

BACKGROUND

Recognizing resistance or susceptibility to the current standard cisplatin and paclitaxel treatment could improve therapeutic outcomes of metastatic or recurrent cervical cancer.

METHODS

Forty-five tissue samples from patients participating in a phase II trial of cisplatin and ifosfamide, with or without paclitaxel were collected for retrograde analysis. Immunohistochemistry and genotyping was performed to test ERCC1, III β-tubulin, COX-2, CD4, CD8 and ERCC1 (C8092A and N118 N) and MDR1 (C3435T and G2677 T) gene polymorphisms, as possible predictive and prognostic markers. Results were statistically analyzed and correlated with patient characteristics and outcomes.

RESULTS

Patients with higher levels of ERCC1 expression had shorter PFS and OS than patients with low ERCC1 expression (mPFS:5.1 vs 10.2 months, p = 0.027; mOS:10.5 vs. 21.4 months, p = 0.006). Patients with TT in the site of ERCC1 N118 N and GT in the site of MDR1 G2677 T polymorphisms had significantly longer PFS (p = 0.006 and p = 0.027 respectively). ERCC1 expression and the ERCC1 N118 N polymorphism remained independent predictors of PFS. Interestingly, high III beta tubulin expression was associated with chemotherapy resistance and fewer responses [5/20 (25%)] compared to lower III β-tubulin expression [15/23 (65.2%)] (p = 0.008). Finally, ΙΙΙ β-tubulin levels and chemotherapy regimen were independent predictors of response to treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

ERCC1 expression proved to be a significant prognostic factor for survival in our metastatic or recurrent cervical cancer population treated with cisplatin based chemotherapy. ERCC1 N118 N and MDR1 G2677 T polymorphism also proved of prognostic significance for disease progression, while overexpression of III β-tubulin was positively correlated with chemotherapy resistance.

Anemia, leukocytosis and thrombocytosis as prognostic factors in patients with cervical cancer treated with radical chemoradiotherapy: A retrospective cohort study

Introduction

Anemia has long been associated with poor prognosis in patients with cervical cancer. Recently, additional hematologic parameters have emerged as potential indicators of worse outcome in this patient group. In a cohort of cervical cancer patients treated with chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and brachytherapy, we report on the prognostic significance of hematologic parameters including anemia, leukocytosis, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and thrombocytosis, the effect of combining anemia with other hematologic parameters, and the effect of changes in hemoglobin levels during treatment.

Materials and methods

Two-hundred fifty-seven cervical cancer patients were retrospectively identified from a single cancer institution’s database. Hematologic parameters were categorized as: anemia (hemoglobin ≤115 g/L), leukocytosis (white blood cell count >10 × 10⁹/L), thrombocytosis (platelets >400 × 10⁹/L), and NLR (ratio >5). The association between clinical factors and hematologic parameters on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were assessed at 5 years.

Results

At 5 years, both pre-treatment anemia (PFS: 60% vs 34%, p < 0.0001; OS: 68% vs 41%, p < 0.0001) and on-treatment anemia (PFS: 62% vs 40%, p < 0.0001; OS: 70% vs 48%, p < 0.0001) were significantly associated with worse survival. This adverse effect on 5-year PFS and OS was increased in patients with both pre-treatment anemia and leukocytosis (PFS: 72% vs 42%, p < 0.0001; OS: 68% vs 37%, p < 0.0001) and pre-treatment anemia and elevated NLR (PFS: 61% vs 30%, p < 0.0001; OS: 68% vs 37%, p < 0.0001). Five-year PFS (50% vs 31%) and OS (60% vs 36%) was better in patients whose pre-treatment anemia improved to normal hemoglobin levels on treatment vs those patients who were anemic both pre- and on-treatment.

Conclusion

Pre-treatment and on-treatment anemia were significant, independent predictors of worse PFS and OS. Anemia and other hematologic parameters remain prognostic markers for cervical cancer patients. Improvement in PFS and OS was seen in patients with normalization of hemoglobin.

Expression of PD-L1 and presence of CD8-positive T cells in pre-treatment specimens of locally advanced cervical cancer

Several of the cancer immunotherapies under investigation or in clinical use target the programmed death-ligand 1/programmed death-1 (PD-L1/PD-1) signaling axis. PD-L1 expression in tumor samples has been used as a predictive marker for response to these therapeutics, and may also have independent prognostic utility when assessed along with immune cell markers. Our objectives were to assess the expression of PD-L1 in tumor specimens from a uniformly treated patient cohort with locally advanced cervical cancer, and to determine its prognostic significance along with the density of tumor-infiltrating T cells. We identified 120 patients with locally advanced cervical cancer treated with radical chemoradiotherapy, and built tissue microarrays from their formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded pre-treatment biopsies. We used conventional brightfield and fluorescence immunohistochemistry to detect PD-L1, and quantified protein expression using both manual pathologist scoring and automated software analysis. We also evaluated the effect of PD-L1 expression in tumors, along with the presence and density of intra-tumoral CD8⁺ T cells, on patient survival outcomes. Approximately 96% of the tumor samples expressed PD-L1, as determined using quantitative software analysis. Neither expression of PD-L1 nor density of CD8⁺ T cells was associated with progression-free or overall survival. However, there was a trend towards worse progression-free survival in patients whose tumors expressed PD-L1 but lacked CD8⁺ T cells (hazard ratio=0.43 (0.18-1.01), P=0.053). Nevertheless, the high percentage of cervical cancer tumor samples expressing PD-L1 suggests that anti-PD-L1 or anti-PD-1 therapies are potential treatment options for this patient population.

Expression of DNA damage response proteins in cervical cancer patients treated with radical chemoradiotherapy

OBJECTIVE

The management of locally advanced cervical cancer has improved significantly with the advent of cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy (CRT) as the primary treatment regimen. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of patients fail to respond or relapse on this treatment and have a very poor prognosis. Our goal was to determine the prognostic value of a panel of proteins involved in detection and repair of DNA damage.

METHODS

We performed fluorescence immunohistochemistry, and used software analysis to assess expression of DNA damage response proteins ATM, DNA-PKcs, PARP-1, Ku70 and Ku86 in 117 pre-treatment specimens from patients with locally advanced cervical cancer. We compared expression to clinicopathologic correlates to determine prognostic significance.

RESULTS

Five-year progression-free survival was significantly lower in the low expressors than in high expressors of ATM (35% vs. 58%, p=0.044) and PARP-1 (24% vs. 61%, p=0.003), and showed a trend to significance for DNA-PKcs (30% vs. 60%, p=0.050). Low expression of the same proteins also correlated significantly with lower overall survival. In multivariable analysis, adjusted for FIGO stage and tumor size, low ATM and PARP-1 expression was significantly associated with both poorer progression-free and overall survival. Pairwise analyses indicated that expression levels of these proteins were correlated.

CONCLUSIONS

Expression of DNA damage response proteins in cervical cancer is associated with outcome in patients treated with CRT. Immunohistochemical analysis of these proteins may be useful in guiding treatment decisions in such patients.

Breaking the DNA damage response to improve cervical cancer treatment

Every year, cervical cancer affects ∼500,000 women worldwide, and ∼275,000 patients die of this disease. The addition of platin-based chemotherapy to primary radiotherapy has increased 5-year survival of advanced-stage cervical cancer patients, which is, however, still only 66%. One of the factors thought to contribute to treatment failure is the ability of tumor cells to repair chemoradiotherapy-induced DNA damage. Therefore, sensitization of tumor cells for chemoradiotherapy via inhibition of the DNA damage response (DDR) as a novel strategy to improve therapy effect, is currently studied pre-clinically as well as in the clinic. Almost invariably, cervical carcinogenesis involves infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV), which inactivates part of the DNA damage response. This HPV-mediated partial inactivation of the DDR presents therapeutic targeting of the residual DDR as an interesting approach to achieve chemoradio-sensitization for cervical cancer. How the DDR can be most efficiently targeted, however, remains unclear. The fact that cisplatin and radiotherapy activate multiple signaling axes within the DDR further complicates a rational choice of therapeutic targets within the DDR. In this review, we provide an overview of the current preclinical and clinical knowledge about targeting the DDR in cervical cancer.

Radiation therapy oncology group gynecologic oncology working group: comprehensive results

The purpose of this report was to comprehensively describe the activities of the Gynecologic Oncology Working Group within the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG). Clinical trials will be reviewed as well as translational science and ancillary activities. During the past 40 years, a myriad of clinical trials have been performed within the RTOG with the aim of improving overall survival (OS) and decreasing morbidity in women with cervical or endometrial cancer. Major study questions have included hyperbaric oxygen, neutron radiotherapy, altered fractionation, hypoxic cell sensitization, chemosensitization, and volume-directed radiotherapy.RTOG 7920 demonstrated improvement in OS in patients with stages IB through IIB cervical carcinoma receiving prophylactic para-aortic irradiation compared to pelvic radiation alone. RTOG 9001 demonstrated that cisplatin and 5-FU chemoradiotherapy to the pelvis for advanced cervix cancer markedly improved OS compared to extended field radiotherapy alone. More recent trials have used radioprotectors, molecular-targeted therapy, and intensity-modulated radiation therapy. Ancillary studies have developed clinical target volume atlases for research protocols and routine clinical use. Worldwide practice patterns have been investigated in cervix, endometrial, and vulvar cancer through the Gynecologic Cancer Intergroup. Translational studies have focused on immunohistochemical markers, changes in gene expression, and miRNA patterns impacting prognosis.The RTOG gynecologic working group has performed clinical trials that have defined the standard of care, improved survival, and added to our understanding of the biology of cervical and endometrial cancers.

Pretreatment with the γ-secretase inhibitor DAPT sensitizes drug-resistant ovarian cancer cells to cisplatin by downregulation of Notch signaling

Notch signaling is implicated in ovarian cancer tumorigenesis and inhibition of Notch signaling with γ-secretase inhibitor DAPT resulted in reduction of tumor cell viability and induction of apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells. This study investigated whether DAPT has the same effect on ovarian cancer cells that are resistant to cisplatin and the underlying molecular events. Ovarian cancer cell lines resistant to cisplatin were treated with DAPT, cisplatin or combination for cell viability MTT, flow cytometric cell cycle, ELISA apoptosis and colony formation assays. qRT-PCR and western blotting were used to detect gene expressions. We found that pretreatment of ovarian cancer cisplatin-resistant cell lines with DAPT for 24 h and then with cisplatin for 72 h showed a synergistic antitumor activity in these cell lines, while cisplatin treatment and then addition of DAPT just showed an additive or antagonistic effects on these cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cells. Moreover, pretreatment of ovarian cancer cell lines with DAPT and then with cisplatin also inhibited tumor cell colony formation capacity, arrested tumor cells at G2 phase of the cell cycle and induced apoptosis. The cell cycle and apoptosis-related genes, such as cyclin B1, Bcl-2 and caspase-3, were also modulated by the treatment. Pretreatment of ovarian cancer cell lines with DAPT and then with cisplatin downregulated Notch1 and Hes1 expression dose- and time-dependently. The current data demonstrate that DAPT pretreatment was able to sensitize cisplatin-resistant human ovarian cancer cells to cisplatin by downregulation of Notch signaling.