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Reshkin SJ, Cardone RA, Koltai T. Genetic Signature of Human Pancreatic Cancer and Personalized Targeting. Cells 2024; 13:602. [PMID: 38607041 PMCID: PMC11011857 DOI: 10.3390/cells13070602] [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: 02/12/2024] [Revised: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal disease with a 5-year survival rate of around 11-12%. Surgery, being the treatment of choice, is only possible in 20% of symptomatic patients. The main reason is that when it becomes symptomatic, IT IS the tumor is usually locally advanced and/or has metastasized to distant organs; thus, early diagnosis is infrequent. The lack of specific early symptoms is an important cause of late diagnosis. Unfortunately, diagnostic tumor markers become positive at a late stage, and there is a lack of early-stage markers. Surgical and non-surgical cases are treated with neoadjuvant and/or adjuvant chemotherapy, and the results are usually poor. However, personalized targeted therapy directed against tumor drivers may improve this situation. Until recently, many pancreatic tumor driver genes/proteins were considered untargetable. Chemical and physical characteristics of mutated KRAS are a formidable challenge to overcome. This situation is slowly changing. For the first time, there are candidate drugs that can target the main driver gene of pancreatic cancer: KRAS. Indeed, KRAS inhibition has been clinically achieved in lung cancer and, at the pre-clinical level, in pancreatic cancer as well. This will probably change the very poor outlook for this disease. This paper reviews the genetic characteristics of sporadic and hereditary predisposition to pancreatic cancer and the possibilities of a personalized treatment according to the genetic signature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan J. Reshkin
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Environment, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70125 Bari, Italy;
| | - Rosa Angela Cardone
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Environment, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70125 Bari, Italy;
| | - Tomas Koltai
- Oncomed, Via Pier Capponi 6, 50132 Florence, Italy
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Huang L, Lv Y, Guan S, Yan H, Han L, Wang Z, Han Q, Dai G, Shi Y. High somatic mutations in circulating tumor DNA predict response of metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma to first-line nab-paclitaxel plus S-1: prospective study. J Transl Med 2024; 22:184. [PMID: 38378604 PMCID: PMC10877900 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-024-04989-z] [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: 11/26/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
AIMS We previously showed that the nab-paclitaxel plus S-1 (NPS) regimen had promising effects against metastatic pancreatic ducal adenocarcinoma (mPDAC), whose efficacy however could not be precisely predicted by routine biomarkers. This prospective study aimed to investigate the values of mutations in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and their dynamic changes in predicting response of mPDAC to NPS chemotherapy. METHODS Paired tumor tissue and blood samples were prospectively collected from patients with mPDAC receiving first-line NPS chemotherapy, and underwent next-generation sequencing with genomic profiling of 425 genes for ctDNA. High mutation allelic frequency (MAF) was defined as ≥ 30% and ≥ 5% in tumor tissue and blood, respectively. Kappa statistics were used to assess agreement between mutant genes in tumor and ctDNA. Associations of mutations in ctDNA and their dynamic changes with tumor response, overall survival (OS), and progression-free survival (PFS) were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method, multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression, and longitudinal data analysis. RESULTS 147 blood samples and 43 paired tumor specimens from 43 patients with mPDAC were sequenced. The most common driver genes with high MAF were KRAS (tumor, 35%; ctDNA, 37%) and TP53 (tumor, 37%; ctDNA, 33%). Mutation rates of KRAS and TP53 in ctDNA were significantly higher in patients with liver metastasis, with baseline CA19-9 ≥ 2000 U/mL, and/or without an early CA19-9 response. κ values for the 5 most commonly mutated genes between tumor and ctDNA ranged from 0.48 to 0.76. MAFs of the genes mostly decreased sequentially during subsequent measurements, which significantly correlated with objective response, with an increase indicating cancer progression. High mutations of KRAS and ARID1A in both tumor and ctDNA, and of TP53, CDKN2A, and SMAD4 in ctDNA but not in tumor were significantly associated with shorter survival. When predicting 6-month OS, AUCs for the 5 most commonly mutated genes in ctDNA ranged from 0.59 to 0.84, larger than for genes in tumor (0.56 to 0.71) and for clinicopathologic characteristics (0.51 to 0.68). Repeated measurements of mutations in ctDNA significantly differentiated survival and tumor response. Among the 31 patients with ≥ 2 ctDNA tests, longitudinal analysis of changes in gene MAF showed that ctDNA progression was 60 and 58 days ahead of radiologic and CA19-9 progression for 48% and 42% of the patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS High mutations of multiple driving genes in ctDNA and their dynamic changes could effectively predict response of mPDAC to NPS chemotherapy, with promising reliable predictive performance superior to routine clinicopathologic parameters. Inspiringly, longitudinal ctDNA tracking could predict disease progression about 2 months ahead of radiologic or CA19-9 evaluations, with the potential to precisely devise individualized therapeutic strategies for mPDAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Huang
- Medical Center on Aging of Ruijin Hospital, MCARJH, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, 197 Ruijin Er Road, Shanghai, 200025, China.
- Department of Oncology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, China.
| | - Yao Lv
- Department of Medical Oncology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, 28 Fuxing Road, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Shasha Guan
- Department of Medical Oncology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, 28 Fuxing Road, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Huan Yan
- Department of Medical Oncology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, 28 Fuxing Road, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Lu Han
- Department of Medical Oncology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, 28 Fuxing Road, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Zhikuan Wang
- Department of Medical Oncology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, 28 Fuxing Road, Beijing, 100853, China.
| | - Quanli Han
- Department of Medical Oncology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, 28 Fuxing Road, Beijing, 100853, China.
| | - Guanghai Dai
- Department of Medical Oncology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, 28 Fuxing Road, Beijing, 100853, China.
| | - Yan Shi
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Seventh People's Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 358 Datong Road, Gaoqiao Town, Shanghai, 200137, China.
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Oketch DJA, Giulietti M, Piva F. Copy Number Variations in Pancreatic Cancer: From Biological Significance to Clinical Utility. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 25:391. [PMID: 38203561 PMCID: PMC10779192 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25010391] [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: 11/24/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common type of pancreatic cancer, characterized by high tumor heterogeneity and a poor prognosis. Inter- and intra-tumoral heterogeneity in PDAC is a major obstacle to effective PDAC treatment; therefore, it is highly desirable to explore the tumor heterogeneity and underlying mechanisms for the improvement of PDAC prognosis. Gene copy number variations (CNVs) are increasingly recognized as a common and heritable source of inter-individual variation in genomic sequence. In this review, we outline the origin, main characteristics, and pathological aspects of CNVs. We then describe the occurrence of CNVs in PDAC, including those that have been clearly shown to have a pathogenic role, and further highlight some key examples of their involvement in tumor development and progression. The ability to efficiently identify and analyze CNVs in tumor samples is important to support translational research and foster precision oncology, as copy number variants can be utilized to guide clinical decisions. We provide insights into understanding the CNV landscapes and the role of both somatic and germline CNVs in PDAC, which could lead to significant advances in diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. Although there has been significant progress in this field, understanding the full contribution of CNVs to the genetic basis of PDAC will require further research, with more accurate CNV assays such as single-cell techniques and larger cohorts than have been performed to date.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matteo Giulietti
- Department of Specialistic Clinical and Odontostomatological Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
| | - Francesco Piva
- Department of Specialistic Clinical and Odontostomatological Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
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Abu-Khudir R, Hafsa N, Badr BE. Identifying Effective Biomarkers for Accurate Pancreatic Cancer Prognosis Using Statistical Machine Learning. Diagnostics (Basel) 2023; 13:3091. [PMID: 37835833 PMCID: PMC10572229 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13193091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer (PC) has one of the lowest survival rates among all major types of cancer. Consequently, it is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Serum biomarkers historically correlate well with the early prognosis of post-surgical complications of PC. However, attempts to identify an effective biomarker panel for the successful prognosis of PC were almost non-existent in the current literature. The current study investigated the roles of various serum biomarkers including carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 8 (CXCL-8), procalcitonin (PCT), and other relevant clinical data for identifying PC progression, classified into sepsis, recurrence, and other post-surgical complications, among PC patients. The most relevant biochemical and clinical markers for PC prognosis were identified using a random-forest-powered feature elimination method. Using this informative biomarker panel, the selected machine-learning (ML) classification models demonstrated highly accurate results for classifying PC patients into three complication groups on independent test data. The superiority of the combined biomarker panel (Max AUC-ROC = 100%) was further established over using CA19-9 features exclusively (Max AUC-ROC = 75%) for the task of classifying PC progression. This novel study demonstrates the effectiveness of the combined biomarker panel in successfully diagnosing PC progression and other relevant complications among Egyptian PC survivors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rasha Abu-Khudir
- Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 380, Hofuf 31982, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
- Chemistry Department, Biochemistry Branch, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta 31527, Egypt
| | - Noor Hafsa
- Computer Science Department, College of Computer Science and Information Technology, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 400, Hofuf 31982, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Badr E. Badr
- Egyptian Ministry of Labor, Training and Research Department, Tanta 31512, Egypt;
- Botany Department, Microbiology Unit, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta 31527, Egypt
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Zhang S, Li X, Zheng Y, Liu J, Hu H, Zhang S, Kuang W. Single cell and bulk transcriptome analysis identified oxidative stress response-related features of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023; 11:1191074. [PMID: 37842089 PMCID: PMC10568628 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1191074] [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: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is a common lethal digestive system tumor. The oxidative stress mechanism is crucial in the HCC genesis and progression. Methods: Our study analyzed single-cell and bulk sequencing data to compare the microenvironment of non-tumor liver tissues and HCC tissues. Through these analyses, we aimed to investigate the effect of oxidative stress on cells in the HCC microenvironment and identify critical oxidative stress response-related genes that impact the survival of HCC patients. Results: Our results showed increased oxidative stress in HCC tissue compared to non-tumor tissue. Immune cells in the HCC microenvironment exhibited higher oxidative detoxification capacity, and oxidative stress-induced cell death of dendritic cells was attenuated. HCC cells demonstrated enhanced communication with immune cells through the MIF pathway in a highly oxidative hepatoma microenvironment. Meanwhile, using machine learning and Cox regression screening, we identified PRDX1 as a predictor of early occurrence and prognosis in patients with HCC. The expression level of PRDX1 in HCC was related to dysregulated ribosome biogenesis and positively correlated with the expression of immunological checkpoints (PDCD1LG2, CTLA4, TIGIT, LAIR1). High PRDX1 expression in HCC patients correlated with better sensitivity to immunotherapy agents such as sorafenib, IGF-1R inhibitor, and JAK inhibitor. Conclusion: In conclusion, our study unveiled variations in oxidative stress levels between non-tumor liver and HCC tissues. And we identified oxidative stress gene markers associated with hepatocarcinogenesis development, offering novel insights into the oxidative stress response mechanism in HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuqiao Zhang
- First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Xinyu Li
- First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yilu Zheng
- Department of Hematology, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Jiahui Liu
- Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Hao Hu
- First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Shijun Zhang
- Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Weihong Kuang
- Guangdong Key Laboratory for Research and Development of Natural Drugs, Dongguan Key Laboratory of Chronic Inflammatory Diseases, School of Pharmacy, The First Dongguan Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, Guangdong, China
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