Prediagnostic 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations in Relation to Tumor Molecular Alterations and Risk of Breast Cancer Recurrence

Germline polygenic risk scores are associated with immune gene expression signature and immune cell infiltration in breast cancer

The tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) plays key roles in tumor progression and response to immunotherapy. Previous studies have identified individual germline variants associated with differences in TIME. Here, we hypothesize that common variants associated with breast cancer risk or cancer-related traits, represented by polygenic risk scores (PRSs), may jointly influence immune features in TIME. We derived 154 immune traits from bulk gene expression profiles of 764 breast tumors and 598 adjacent normal tissue samples from 825 individuals with breast cancer in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and NHSII. Immunohistochemical staining of four immune cell markers were available for a subset of 205 individuals. Germline PRSs were calculated for 16 different traits including breast cancer, autoimmune diseases, type 2 diabetes, ages at menarche and menopause, body mass index (BMI), BMI-adjusted waist-to-hip ratio, alcohol intake, and tobacco smoking. Overall, we identified 44 associations between germline PRSs and immune traits at false discovery rate q < 0.25, including 3 associations with q < 0.05. We observed consistent inverse associations of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and Crohn disease (CD) PRSs with interferon signaling and STAT1 scores in breast tumor and adjacent normal tissue; these associations were replicated in a Norwegian cohort. Inverse associations were also consistently observed for IBD PRS and B cell abundance in normal tissue. We also observed positive associations between CD PRS and endothelial cell abundance in tumor. Our findings suggest that the genetic mechanisms that influence immune-related diseases are also associated with TIME in breast cancer.

Association of early menarche with breast tumor molecular features and recurrence

BACKGROUND

Early menarche is an established risk factor for breast cancer but its molecular contribution to tumor biology and prognosis remains unclear.

METHODS

We profiled transcriptome-wide gene expression in breast tumors (N = 846) and tumor-adjacent normal tissues (N = 666) from women in the Nurses' Health Studies (NHS) to investigate whether early menarche (age < 12) is associated with tumor molecular and prognostic features in women with breast cancer. Multivariable linear regression and pathway analyses using competitive gene set enrichment analysis were conducted in both tumor and adjacent-normal tissue and externally validated in TCGA (N = 116). Subgroup analyses stratified on ER-status based on the tumor were also performed. PAM50 signatures were used for tumor molecular subtyping and to generate proliferation and risk of recurrence scores. We created a gene expression score using LASSO regression to capture early menarche based on 28 genes from FDR-significant pathways in breast tumor tissue in NHS and tested its association with 10-year disease-free survival in both NHS (N = 836) and METABRIC (N = 952).

RESULTS

Early menarche was significantly associated with 369 individual genes in adjacent-normal tissues implicated in extracellular matrix, cell adhesion, and invasion (FDR ≤ 0.1). Early menarche was associated with upregulation of cancer hallmark pathways (18 significant pathways in tumor, 23 in tumor-adjacent normal, FDR ≤ 0.1) related to proliferation (e.g. Myc, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, cell cycle), oxidative stress (e.g. oxidative phosphorylation, unfolded protein response), and inflammation (e.g. pro-inflammatory cytokines IFN α and IFN γ ). Replication in TCGA confirmed these trends. Early menarche was associated with significantly higher PAM50 proliferation scores (β = 0.082 [0.02-0.14]), odds of aggressive molecular tumor subtypes (basal-like, OR = 1.84 [1.18-2.85] and HER2-enriched, OR = 2.32 [1.46-3.69]), and PAM50 risk of recurrence score (β = 4.81 [1.71-7.92]). Our NHS-derived early menarche gene expression signature was significantly associated with worse 10-year disease-free survival in METABRIC (N = 952, HR = 1.58 [1.10-2.25]).

CONCLUSIONS

Early menarche is associated with more aggressive molecular tumor characteristics and its gene expression signature within tumors is associated with worse 10-year disease-free survival among women with breast cancer. As the age of onset of menarche continues to decline, understanding its relationship to breast tumor characteristics and prognosis may lead to novel secondary prevention strategies.

Levels of Vitamin D and Expression of the Vitamin D Receptor in Relation to Breast Cancer Risk and Survival

Previous research suggests associations between low systemic levels of vitamin D and poor breast cancer prognosis and between expression of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) in breast cancers and survival. This study aimed to study associations between pre-diagnostic systemic levels of vitamin D and expression of VDR in subsequent breast tumors, and interactions between vitamin D and VDR on breast cancer mortality. Systemic vitamin D levels were measured in women within the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study. The expression of VDR was evaluated immunohistochemically in a tissue microarray of subsequent breast cancers. Statistical analyses followed. Women with high levels of vitamin D had a smaller proportion of VDR negative breast tumors compared to women with low levels of vitamin D (odds ratio: 0.68; 95% confidence interval: 0.41–1.13). Vitamin D levels were not found to modify the association between low VDR expression and high breast cancer mortality. To conclude, there was no statistical evidence for an association between pre-diagnostic levels of vitamin D and the expression of VDRs in breast cancer, nor did vitamin D levels influence the association between VDR expression and breast cancer mortality. Further studies are needed in order to establish the effects of vitamin D on breast cancer.

Vitamin D: Dosing, levels, form, and route of administration: Does one approach fit all?

The 4th International Conference on Controversies in Vitamin D was held as a virtual meeting in September, 2020, gathering together leading international scientific and medical experts in vitamin D. Since vitamin D has a crucial role in skeletal and extra-skeletal systems, the aim of the Conference was to discuss improved management of vitamin D dosing, therapeutic levels and form or route of administration in the general population and in different clinical conditions. A tailored approach, based on the specific mechanisms underlying vitamin D deficiency in different diseases that were discussed, was recommended. Specifically, in comparison to healthy populations, higher levels of vitamin D and greater amounts of vitamin D were deemed necessary in osteoporosis, diabetes mellitus, obesity (particularly after bariatric surgery), and in those treated with glucocorticoids. Emerging and still open issues were related to target vitamin D levels and the role of vitamin D supplementation in COVID-19 since low vitamin D may predispose to SARS-CoV-2 infection and to worse COVID-19 outcomes. Finally, whereas oral daily cholecalciferol appears to be the preferred choice for vitamin D supplementation in the general population, and in most clinical conditions, active vitamin D analogs may be indicated in patients with hypoparathyroidism and severe kidney and liver insufficiency. Parenteral vitamin D administration could be helpful in malabsorption syndromes or in states of vitamin D resistance.Specific guidelines for desired levels of vitamin D should be tailored to the different conditions affecting vitamin D metabolism with the goal to define disease-specific normative values.

Mediterranean diet and breast cancer risk: a narrative review

Breast cancer is the second most frequent type of cancer worldwide and the most commonly occurring malignancy in women, and its incidence is increasing in most developed and developing countries. There is growing evidence that lifestyle factors, in particular diet may be associated with higher breast cancer risk. Some evidence exists regarding the benefit of Mediterranean diet on reduced risk of breast cancer in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. The protective effect of the Mediterranean diet against the risk of breast cancer, is primarily due to principal foods of this nutritional pattern. The principal components of the Mediterranean diet, such as fruits and vegetables, olive oil, fish and red wine have important antioxidants properties due to their high content of substances like polyphenols, flavonoids, carotenoids and fibers, along with a favorable fatty acid profile, that in turn could reduce the risk of breast cancer. Considering the severity of breast cancer and the increasing incidence in the world, there is an increasing interest in promoting prevention strategies in order to reduce the incidence. The aim of this paper is to provide a general overview of the current evidence on the relationship between breast cancer and Mediterranean diet, in premenopausal and postmenopausal women, and to emphasize the potential role of Mediterranean Diet as an effective tool in primary prevention. The possible molecular mechanisms underlying this association will be also pointed out.