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Xie HM, Bernt KM. HOXA Amplification Defines a Genetically Distinct Subset of Angiosarcomas. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12081124. [PMID: 36009018 PMCID: PMC9406048 DOI: 10.3390/biom12081124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Revised: 08/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Angiosarcoma is a rare, devastating malignancy with few curative options for disseminated disease. We analyzed a recently published genomic data set of 48 angiosarcomas and noticed recurrent amplifications of HOXA-cluster genes in 33% of patients. HOXA genes are master regulators of embryonic vascular development and adult neovascularization, which provides a molecular rationale to suspect that amplified HOXA genes act as oncogenes in angiosarcoma. HOXA amplifications typically affected multiple pro-angiogenic HOXA genes and co-occurred with amplifications of CD36 and KDR, whereas the overall mutation rate in these tumors was relatively low. HOXA amplifications were found most commonly in angiosarcomas located in the breast and were rare in angiosarcomas arising in sun-exposed areas on the head, neck, face and scalp. Our data suggest that HOXA-amplified angiosarcoma is a distinct molecular subgroup. Efforts to develop therapies targeting oncogenic HOX gene expression in AML and other sarcomas may have relevance for HOXA-amplified angiosarcoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongbo M. Xie
- Division of Pediatric Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Center for Childhood Cancer Research, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 3501 Civic Center Boulevard, CTRB 3064, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Bioinformatics and Health Informatics (DBHI), Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Kathrin M. Bernt
- Division of Pediatric Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Center for Childhood Cancer Research, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 3501 Civic Center Boulevard, CTRB 3064, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Abramson Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-215-370-3171
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You HJ, Kim HK, Kim MS, Lee YH, Chung JH, Hwang NH, Kim DW, Choi JW, Lee JH. Establishment and characterization of two human cutaneous angiosarcoma cell lines, KU-CAS3 and KU-CAS5. Head Neck 2021; 44:7-17. [PMID: 34693591 DOI: 10.1002/hed.26886] [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: 03/18/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cutaneous angiosarcoma (CAS) is a rare but fatal cancer. Established CAS cell lines are necessary for the investigation of their properties and treatment options. METHODS Two cell lines, KU-CAS3 and KU-CAS5, were established from human angiosarcoma specimens obtained from the scalp. Flow cytometric assay, tube formation assay, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) uptake assay, immunofluorescence analysis, real-time PCR, tumorigenesis assay, and STR analysis were conducted. RESULTS The cells showed endothelial cell properties, based on the cobblestone appearance upon reaching confluence, CD31 positivity, tube-formation activity, active uptake of acetylated LDL, and vWF expression. The two cell lines expressed relatively high levels of adrenergic β2 receptor, and the VEGF1 and VEGF2 receptors. In the in vivo study, the growing neoplasms, confirmed as CAS, were identified as subcutaneous dark papules. KU-CAS cell lines were considered authentic based on STR profiling. CONCLUSIONS KU-CAS3 and KU-CAS5 are the first human CAS cell lines having tumorigenic potential in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hi-Jin You
- Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Korea University Medicine, Ansan, South Korea
| | - Hyung-Kyu Kim
- Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Korea University Medicine, Ansan, South Korea
| | - Min-Sook Kim
- Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Korea University Medicine, Ansan, South Korea
| | - Yun-Hwan Lee
- Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Korea University Medicine, Ansan, South Korea
| | - Jae-Ho Chung
- Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Korea University Medicine, Ansan, South Korea
| | - Na-Hyun Hwang
- Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Korea University Medicine, Ansan, South Korea
| | - Deok-Woo Kim
- Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Korea University Medicine, Ansan, South Korea
| | - Jung-Woo Choi
- Department of Pathology, Korea University Medicine, Ansan, South Korea
| | - Ju-Han Lee
- Department of Pathology, Korea University Medicine, Ansan, South Korea
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Wagner MJ, Lyons YA, Siedel JH, Dood R, Nagaraja AS, Haemmerle M, Mangala LS, Chanana P, Lazar AJ, Wang WL, Ravi V, Holland EC, Sood AK. Combined VEGFR and MAPK pathway inhibition in angiosarcoma. Sci Rep 2021; 11:9362. [PMID: 33931674 PMCID: PMC8087824 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88703-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Angiosarcoma is an aggressive malignancy of endothelial cells that carries a high mortality rate. Cytotoxic chemotherapy can elicit clinical responses, but the duration of response is limited. Sequencing reveals multiple mutations in angiogenesis pathways in angiosarcomas, particularly in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFR) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling. We aimed to determine the biological relevance of these pathways in angiosarcoma. Tissue microarray consisting of clinical formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue archival samples were stained for phospho- extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK) with immunohistochemistry. Angiosarcoma cell lines were treated with the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) inhibitor trametinib, pan-VEGFR inhibitor cediranib, or combined trametinib and cediranib and viability was assessed. Reverse phase protein array (RPPA) was performed to assess multiple oncogenic protein pathways. SVR angiosarcoma cells were grown in vivo and gene expression effects of treatment were assessed with whole exome RNA sequencing. MAPK signaling was found active in over half of clinical angiosarcoma samples. Inhibition of MAPK signaling with the MEK inhibitor trametinib decreased the viability of angiosarcoma cells. Combined inhibition of the VEGF and MAPK pathways with cediranib and trametinib had an additive effect in in vitro models, and a combinatorial effect in an in vivo model. Combined treatment led to smaller tumors than treatment with either agent alone. RNA-seq demonstrated distinct expression signatures between the trametinib treated tumors and those treated with both trametinib and cediranib. These results indicate a clinical study of combined VEGFR and MEK inhibition in angiosarcoma is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Wagner
- Division of Medical Oncology, University of Washington, 825 Eastlake Ave E, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA.
- Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, USA.
| | - Yasmin A Lyons
- Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine and Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNA, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA
| | - Jean H Siedel
- Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine and Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNA, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA
| | - Robert Dood
- Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine and Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNA, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA
| | - Archana S Nagaraja
- Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine and Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNA, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA
| | - Monika Haemmerle
- Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine and Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNA, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA
- Section for Experimental Pathology, Medical Faculty, Institute of Pathology, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Lingegowda S Mangala
- Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine and Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNA, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA
| | - Pritha Chanana
- Bioinformatics Shared Resource, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, USA
| | - Alexander J Lazar
- Department of Pathology, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA
- Department of Genomic Medicine, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA
| | - Wei-Lien Wang
- Department of Pathology, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA
| | - Vinod Ravi
- Sarcoma Medical Oncology, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA
| | - Eric C Holland
- Division of Human Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, USA
| | - Anil K Sood
- Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine and Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNA, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA
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Whitlock RS, Yang T, Vasudevan SA, Woodfield SE. Animal Modeling of Pediatric Liver Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12020273. [PMID: 31979130 PMCID: PMC7072332 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12020273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2019] [Revised: 01/19/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatoblastoma (HB) is the most common pediatric liver malignancy. Management of HB requires multidisciplinary efforts. The 5-year overall survival of this disease is about 80% in developed countries. Despite advances in the care of these patients, survival in recurrent or treatment-refractory disease is lower than 50%. This is due to more complex tumor biology, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-like mutations and expression of aggressive gene signatures leading to chemoresistance, vascular invasion, and metastatic spread. The current treatment protocols for pediatric liver cancer do not incorporate targeted therapies, and the ability to test these therapies is limited due to the inaccessibility of cell lines and mouse models. In this review, we discuss the current status of preclinical animal modeling in pediatric liver cancer, primarily HB. Although HB is a rare cancer, the research community has worked together to develop a range of interesting and relevant mouse models for diverse preclinical studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard S. Whitlock
- Divisions of Pediatric Surgery and Surgical Research, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Pediatric Surgical Oncology Laboratory, Texas Children’s Surgical Oncology Program, Texas Children’s Liver Tumor Program, Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (R.S.W.); (S.A.V.)
| | - Tianyou Yang
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510623, Guangdong, China
| | - Sanjeev A. Vasudevan
- Divisions of Pediatric Surgery and Surgical Research, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Pediatric Surgical Oncology Laboratory, Texas Children’s Surgical Oncology Program, Texas Children’s Liver Tumor Program, Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (R.S.W.); (S.A.V.)
| | - Sarah E. Woodfield
- Divisions of Pediatric Surgery and Surgical Research, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Pediatric Surgical Oncology Laboratory, Texas Children’s Surgical Oncology Program, Texas Children’s Liver Tumor Program, Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (R.S.W.); (S.A.V.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-832-824-4591
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Diethylnitrosamine (DENA) recapitulates formation of hepatic angiosarcoma in pigs. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0214756. [PMID: 31095587 PMCID: PMC6522042 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0214756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2018] [Accepted: 03/19/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Background & aim Primary hepatic angiosarcoma is a rare tumor with poor prognosis. The aim of this study was to generate a new angiosarcoma model to improve research on hepatic angiosarcoma. Methods Pigs sus scrofa were treated with different regimens of diethylnitrosamine (DENA). Tissues were analyzed by histology and immunohistochemistry. Serum parameters were determined. Angiosarcoma tissue was investigated for chromosomal aberrations by aCGH analysis. Results Animals of almost all different treatment regimens developed a multitude of variable liver lesions. Different tumor types such as granulation tissue type, cellular-like, hyalinization necrosis-like, angiosarcoma-like, dysplastic nodule-like, hepatocellular-like, glandular structure-like, and leiomyoma-like lesions were observed. Weekly treatment with 15 mg/kg for up to 52 weeks or a single shot of 200 mg/kg DENA led to the development of hepatic angiosarcomas. aCGH analysis of angiosarcoma tissue revealed increased alterations in tumors compared to non-tumorous tissue. Most of the chromosomal alterations were found on chromosomes 6, 7, 12, and 14. Conclusion In this preliminary study treatment of sus scrofa with weekly injections of 15 mg/kg DENA results in a new model for primary hepatic angiosarcoma. This model may help to shed light on the pathomechanisms of primary hepatic angiosarcoma and might therefore open new treatment options.
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Dendritic cell vaccination plus low-dose doxorubicin for the treatment of spontaneous canine hemangiosarcoma. Cancer Gene Ther 2019; 26:282-291. [PMID: 30670791 PMCID: PMC6760631 DOI: 10.1038/s41417-019-0080-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2018] [Accepted: 12/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Angiosarcoma is a deadly neoplasm of the vascular endothelium. Metastatic disease is often present at diagnosis, and 5-year survival is only 10–35%. Although there exist no immunocompetent mouse models of angiosarcoma with which to study immune-based approaches to therapy, angiosarcoma is a major killer of companion dogs, responsible for up to 2% of all canine deaths in some susceptible breeds or an estimated 120,000 per year in the US. The canine disease (HSA) often presents in the spleen as acute hemoabdomen secondary to splenic rupture. Even if life-saving splenectomy is performed, median overall survival (OS) is only 48 days, and 1-year survival is negligible. Here we report the analysis of a pilot phase I open-label trial of chemo-immunotherapy performed on consecutively presenting splenectomized canines with histologically verified HSA. Subjects received an abbreviated course of low-dose doxorubicin plus alpha interferon and an autologous dendritic cell-therapy reported to enhance durable CD8+ memory. Disease was monitored monthly by abdominal ultrasound, chest X-ray, and echocardiogram. Median OS in the per protocol population was 109 days including one of five animals that died cancer-free at 16 months after documented resolution of relapsed disease. These results indicate that therapeutic administration of chemo-immunotherapy is both feasible and safe, substantiating the rationale for additional veterinary and human clinical studies.
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High expression of HOXA13 correlates with poorly differentiated hepatocellular carcinomas and modulates sorafenib response in in vitro models. J Transl Med 2018; 98:95-105. [PMID: 29035381 DOI: 10.1038/labinvest.2017.107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2017] [Revised: 08/17/2017] [Accepted: 08/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents the fifth and ninth cause of mortality among male and female cancer patients, respectively and typically arises on a background of a cirrhotic liver. HCC develops in a multi-step process, often encompassing chronic liver injury, steatosis and cirrhosis eventually leading to the malignant transformation of hepatocytes. Aberrant expression of the class I homeobox gene family (HOX), a group of genes crucial in embryogenesis, has been reported in a variety of malignancies including solid tumors. Among HOX genes, HOXA13 is most overexpressed in HCC and is known to be directly regulated by the long non-coding RNA HOTTIP. In this study, taking advantage of a tissue microarray containing 305 tissue specimens, we found that HOXA13 protein expression increased monotonically from normal liver to cirrhotic liver to HCC and that HOXA13-positive HCCs were preferentially poorly differentiated and had fewer E-cadherin-positive cells. In two independent cohorts, patients with HOXA13-positive HCC had worse overall survival than those with HOXA13-negative HCC. Using HOXA13 immunohistochemistry and HOTTIP RNA in situ hybridization on consecutive sections of 16 resected HCCs, we demonstrated that HOXA13 and HOTTIP were expressed in the same neoplastic hepatocyte populations. Stable overexpression of HOXA13 in liver cancer cell lines resulted in increased colony formation on soft agar and migration potential as well as reduced sensitivity to sorafenib in vitro. Our results provide compelling evidence of a role for HOXA13 in HCC development and highlight for the first time its ability to modulate response to sorafenib.
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Shaheen NL, Kataria E, Antony J, Galvan D, Ballou Y, Bryan BA. Extracellular matrix composition modulates angiosarcoma cell attachment and proliferation. Oncoscience 2017; 4:178-188. [PMID: 29344556 PMCID: PMC5769982 DOI: 10.18632/oncoscience.383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2017] [Accepted: 11/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Angiosarcoma is a rare and generally fatal tumor composed of aberrant cells of endothelial origin. Because of its infrequency in humans, very little is known about the growth requirements of this vascular sarcoma. Unlike the rapidly proliferating solid tumors from which they are isolated from, many of the established angiosarcoma cell lines exhibit less than robust growth in culture and often fail to form tumors in xenograft models. In order to better understand angiosarcoma in vitro growth conditions, we focused on a singular aspect of their culture—adhesion to the extracellular matrix—in order to identify attachment substrates that may facilitate and/or enhance their growth in tissue culture. Our data indicates that the extracellular matrix of angiosarcomas contains similar protein compositions to that of non-diseased endothelial cells. Moreover, angiosarcoma cell lines exhibited strong attachment preference to substrates such as collagen I or fibronectin, and less preference to collagen IV, laminin, or tropoelastin. Growth on preferred extracellular matrix substrates promoted mitogenic signaling and increased proliferation of angiosarcoma cell lines. These findings provide insight that may lead to more successful in vitro growth of angiosarcoma cell lines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noel L Shaheen
- Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, Texas, USA
| | - Esha Kataria
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, Texas, USA
| | - Jocelyn Antony
- Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, Texas, USA
| | - Dana Galvan
- Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, Texas, USA
| | - Yessenia Ballou
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, Texas, USA
| | - Brad A Bryan
- Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, Texas, USA.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, Texas, USA
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Wagner MJ, Ravi V, Menter DG, Sood AK. Endothelial cell malignancies: new insights from the laboratory and clinic. NPJ Precis Oncol 2017; 1:11. [PMID: 29872699 PMCID: PMC5859470 DOI: 10.1038/s41698-017-0013-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2016] [Accepted: 02/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Endothelial cell malignancies are rare in the Western world and range from intermediate grade hemangioendothelioma to Kaposi sarcoma to aggressive high-grade angiosarcoma that metastasize early and have a high rate of mortality. These malignancies are associated with dysregulation of normal endothelial cell signaling pathways, including the vascular endothelial growth factor, angiopoietin, and Notch pathways. Discoveries over the past two decades related to mechanisms of angiogenesis have led to the development of many drugs that intuitively would be promising therapeutic candidates for these endothelial-derived tumors. However, clinical efficacy of such drugs has been limited. New insights into the mechanisms that lead to dysregulated angiogenesis such as mutation or amplification in known angiogenesis related genes, viral infection, and chromosomal translocations have improved our understanding of the pathogenesis of endothelial malignancies and how they evade anti-angiogenesis drugs. In this review, we describe the major molecular alterations in endothelial cell malignancies and consider emerging opportunities for improving therapeutic efficacy against these rare but deadly tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Wagner
- 1Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030 USA
| | - Vinod Ravi
- 2Department of Sarcoma Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030 USA
| | - David G Menter
- 3Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030 USA
| | - Anil K Sood
- 4Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030 USA.,5Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNA, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030 USA.,6Department of Cancer Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030 USA
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