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Harris MA, Savas P, Virassamy B, O'Malley MMR, Kay J, Mueller SN, Mackay LK, Salgado R, Loi S. Towards targeting the breast cancer immune microenvironment. Nat Rev Cancer 2024; 24:554-577. [PMID: 38969810 DOI: 10.1038/s41568-024-00714-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 07/07/2024]
Abstract
The tumour immune microenvironment is shaped by the crosstalk between cancer cells, immune cells, fibroblasts, endothelial cells and other stromal components. Although the immune tumour microenvironment (TME) serves as a source of therapeutic targets, it is also considered a friend or foe to tumour-directed therapies. This is readily illustrated by the importance of T cells in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), culminating in the advent of immune checkpoint therapy in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy as standard of care for both early and advanced-stage TNBC, as well as recent promising signs of efficacy in a subset of hormone receptor-positive disease. In this Review, we discuss the various components of the immune TME in breast cancer and therapies that target or impact the immune TME, as well as the complexity of host physiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Harris
- The Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Medical Oncology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Division of Cancer Research, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Peter Savas
- The Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Medical Oncology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Division of Cancer Research, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Balaji Virassamy
- The Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Medical Oncology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Division of Cancer Research, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Megan M R O'Malley
- The Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Medical Oncology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Division of Cancer Research, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jasmine Kay
- The Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Medical Oncology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Division of Cancer Research, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Scott N Mueller
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Laura K Mackay
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Roberto Salgado
- Division of Cancer Research, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Pathology, ZAS Ziekenhuizen, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Sherene Loi
- The Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Medical Oncology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- Division of Cancer Research, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
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Okcu O, Öztürk Ç, Yalçın N, Yalçın AC, Şen B, Aydın E, Öztürk AE. Effect of tumor-infiltrating immune cells (mast cells, neutrophils and lymphocytes) on neoadjuvant chemotherapy response in breast carcinomas. Ann Diagn Pathol 2024; 70:152301. [PMID: 38581761 DOI: 10.1016/j.anndiagpath.2024.152301] [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: 03/12/2024] [Revised: 03/29/2024] [Accepted: 04/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/08/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Despite screening, the incidence of breast cancer is increasing worldwide. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) response is one of the most important parameters taken into consideration in surgery, optimal adjuvant chemotherapy planning and prognosis prediction. Research on predictive markers for the response to NAC is still ongoing. In our study, we investigated the relationship between tumor-infiltrating neutrophils/mast cells/lymphocytes and NAC response in breast carcinomas. MATERIAL AND METHOD Study included 117 patients who were diagnosed with invasive breast carcinoma using core needle biopsy. In these biopsies tumor-infiltrating neutrophils/mast cells/lymphocytes were evaluated and Miller Payne Score was used for NAC response. RESULT 53 patients exhibited high TILs, 36 had high TINs, and 46 showed high TIMs. While pathological complete response was 27 % in all patients, it was 38 % in high TINs patients, 35 % in high TILs patients, and 28 % in high TIMs patients. High TIMs were observed to be statistically associated with survival. TILs, TINs, nuclear grade, ER, PR and HER2 expression, Ki-67 proliferation index were found to be associated with the Miller - Payne score. In multivariate analysis, TINs, nuclear grade, pathological stage, and molecular subtype were found to be independent risk factors for treatment response. CONCLUSION TINs have better prognostic value to predict neoadjuvant treatment than TILs. High TIMs are associated with increased overall survival. The inclusion of TINs in NAC response and TIMs in overall survival in pathology reports and treatment planning is promising in breast carcinomas as they are simple to use and reproducible markers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oğuzhan Okcu
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Rize, Turkey.
| | - Çiğdem Öztürk
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Training and Research Hospital, Department of Pathology, Rize, Turkey
| | - Nazlıcan Yalçın
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Rize, Turkey
| | - Anıl Can Yalçın
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Rize, Turkey
| | - Bayram Şen
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Training and Research Hospital, Department of Biochemistry, Rize, Turkey
| | - Esra Aydın
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Training and Research Hospital, Department of Oncology, Rize, Turkey
| | - Ahmet Emin Öztürk
- University of Health Sciences, Prof Dr. Cemil Tascioglu City Hospital, Department of Medical Oncology, Istanbul, Turkey
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3
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Zhang Z, Wu H, Shen C, Zhou F. Comprehensive Characterization of Immune Cell Infiltration Characteristics and Drug Sensitivity Analysis in Inflammatory Breast Cancer Based on Bioinformatic Strategy. Biochem Genet 2024; 62:1021-1039. [PMID: 37517031 DOI: 10.1007/s10528-023-10460-3] [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: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare and highly invasive form of breast cancer, renowned for its aggressive behavior, malignant capacity, and unfavorable prognosis. Despite considerable advancements in comprehending the underlying biology of IBC, the immune cell infiltration (ICI) profile in IBC remains inadequately elucidated. The current work endeavors to investigate the ICI characteristics of IBC and ascertain the pivotal immune cell subtypes and genes that impact its prognosis. The present study employed microarray data from the GEO database to demonstrate that IBC exhibited a lower abundance of activated mast cells (AMC) in comparison to non-inflammatory breast cancer (nIBC) or normal breast tissue (NBT). Additionally, the mRNA expression level of the gene polo-like kinase 5 (PLK5), which was correlated with AMC, was found to be lower in IBC relative to nIBC or NBT. Furthermore, this investigation provided compelling evidence indicating a potential association between a decreased mRNA expression level of PLK5 and a shorter progression-free survival in patients with breast cancer. The gene set enrichment analysis performed on PLK5 revealed that the gene expression in IBC was closely associated with diverse immune functions and pathways. Besides, a negative correlation has been established between PLK5 mRNA expression level and a majority of immune checkpoint-related genes, thereby suggesting the potential suitability of immunotherapy treatment for IBC. In summary, this study offers valuable insights into the ICI profile of IBC and identifies potential target PLK5 for improving its clinical management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengguang Zhang
- School of Medicine & Holistic Integrative Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China.
| | - Haitao Wu
- School of Medicine & Holistic Integrative Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Cunsi Shen
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Pediatric Respiratory Disease, Institute of Pediatrics, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Fuqiong Zhou
- Central Laboratory, Nanjing Hospital of Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210022, China.
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4
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Jia F, Sun S, Li J, Wang W, Huang H, Hu X, Pan S, Chen W, Shen L, Yao Y, Zheng S, Chen H, Xia W, Yuan H, Zhou J, Yu X, Zhang T, Zhang B, Huang J, Ni C. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy-induced remodeling of human hormonal receptor-positive breast cancer revealed by single-cell RNA sequencing. Cancer Lett 2024; 585:216656. [PMID: 38266804 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2024.216656] [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: 09/19/2023] [Revised: 01/13/2024] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Hormone receptor-positive breast cancer (HR+ BC) is known to be relatively insensitive to chemotherapy, and since chemotherapy has remained the major neoadjuvant therapy for HR+ BC, the undetermined mechanism of chemoresistance and how chemotherapy reshapes the immune microenvironment need to be explored by high-throughput technology. By using single-cell RNA sequencing and multiplexed immunofluorescence staining analysis of HR+ BC samples (paired pre- and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC)), the levels of previously unrecognized immune cell subsets, including CD8+ T cells with pronounced expression of T-cell development (LMNA) and cytotoxicity (FGFBP2) markers, CD4+ T cells characterized by proliferation marker (ATP1B3) expression and macrophages characterized by CD52 expression, were found to be increased post-NAC, which were predictive of chemosensitivity and their antitumor function was also validated with in vitro experiments. In terms of immune checkpoint expression of CD8+ T cells, we found their changes were inconsistent post-NAC, that LAG3, VSIR were decreased, and PDCD1, HAVCR2, CTLA4, KLRC1 and BTLA were increased. In addition, we have identified novel genomic and transcriptional patterns of chemoresistant cancer cells, both innate and acquired, and have confirmed their prognostic value with TCGA cohorts. By shedding light on the ecosystem of HR+ BC reshaped by chemotherapy, our results uncover valuable candidates for predicting chemosensitivity and overcoming chemoresistance in HR+ BC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Jia
- Department of Breast Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Therapy of Zhejiang Province, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Cancer Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Alibaba-Zhejiang University Joint Research Center of Future Digital Healthcare, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shanshan Sun
- Department of Breast Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Therapy of Zhejiang Province, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Cancer Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jiaxin Li
- Department of Breast Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Therapy of Zhejiang Province, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Alibaba-Zhejiang University Joint Research Center of Future Digital Healthcare, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wenwen Wang
- Department of Pathology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Huanhuan Huang
- Department of Breast Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Therapy of Zhejiang Province, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou, China
| | - Xiaoxiao Hu
- Department of Breast Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Therapy of Zhejiang Province, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Sheng Pan
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Oncology and Intelligent Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wuzhen Chen
- Department of Breast Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Lesang Shen
- Department of Breast Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Therapy of Zhejiang Province, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yao Yao
- Department of Breast Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Therapy of Zhejiang Province, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Siwei Zheng
- Department of Breast Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Therapy of Zhejiang Province, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hailong Chen
- Department of Breast Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wenjie Xia
- General Surgery, Cancer Center, Department of Breast Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College), Hangzhou, China
| | - Hongjun Yuan
- General Surgery, Cancer Center, Department of Breast Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College), Hangzhou, China
| | - Jun Zhou
- Department of Breast Surgery, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiuyan Yu
- Department of Breast Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ting Zhang
- Department of Radiotherapy, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Bing Zhang
- Alibaba-Zhejiang University Joint Research Center of Future Digital Healthcare, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jian Huang
- Department of Breast Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Therapy of Zhejiang Province, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Cancer Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Chao Ni
- Department of Breast Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Therapy of Zhejiang Province, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Cancer Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Alibaba-Zhejiang University Joint Research Center of Future Digital Healthcare, Hangzhou, China.
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5
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Rypens C, Van Berckelaer C, Berditchevski F, van Dam P, Van Laere S. Deciphering the molecular biology of inflammatory breast cancer through molecular characterization of patient samples and preclinical models. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2024; 384:77-112. [PMID: 38637101 DOI: 10.1016/bs.ircmb.2023.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Inflammatory breast cancer is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer with dismal patient prognosis and a unique clinical presentation. In the past two decades, molecular profiling technologies have been used in order to gain insight into the molecular biology of IBC and to search for possible targets for treatment. Although a gene signature that accurately discriminates between IBC and nIBC patient samples and preclinical models was identified, the overall genomic and transcriptomic differences are small and ambiguous, mainly due to the limited sample sizes of the evaluated patient series and the failure to correct for confounding effects of the molecular subtypes. Nevertheless, data collected over the past 20 years by independent research groups increasingly support the existence of several IBC-specific biological characteristics. In this review, these features are classified as established, emerging and conceptual hallmarks based on the level of evidence reported in the literature. In addition, a synoptic model is proposed that integrates all hallmarks and that can explain how cancer cell intrinsic mechanisms (i.e. NF-κB activation, genomic instability, MYC-addiction, TGF-β resistance, adaptive stress response, chromatin remodeling, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition) can contribute to the establishment of the dynamic immune microenvironment associated with IBC. It stands to reason that future research projects are needed to further refine (parts of) this model and to investigate its clinical translatability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Rypens
- Center for Oncological Research (CORE), Integrated Personalized and Precision Oncology Network (IPPON), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; CellCarta N V, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Christophe Van Berckelaer
- Center for Oncological Research (CORE), Integrated Personalized and Precision Oncology Network (IPPON), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Fedor Berditchevski
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, The University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Peter van Dam
- Center for Oncological Research (CORE), Integrated Personalized and Precision Oncology Network (IPPON), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Multidisciplinary Oncological Centre Antwerp (MOCA), Antwerp University Hospital, Drie Eikenstraat 655, Edegem, Belgium
| | - Steven Van Laere
- Center for Oncological Research (CORE), Integrated Personalized and Precision Oncology Network (IPPON), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
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Yin F, Xu X, Qi J, Guo M, Wang Y, Wang Y, Ye R, Lin Q, Yang D, Zhu X, Wang J. DSPE-PEG 2000-methotrexate nanoparticles encapsulating phenobarbital sodium kill cancer cells by inducing pyroptosis. J Mol Med (Berl) 2024; 102:213-229. [PMID: 38047923 DOI: 10.1007/s00109-023-02403-7] [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: 05/27/2023] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
Cancer is a life-threatening disease worldwide. Nanomedicine and nanodelivery systems are recently developed scientific field that employs specific materials in the nanoscale range to deliver drugs. Lipid-based nanoparticles are an ideal delivery system since they exhibit many advantages, including high bioavailability, self-assembly, formulation simplicity, and the ability to exhibit a plethora of physicochemical properties. Herein, we report that phenobarbital sodium can kill cancer cells by using the DSPE-PEG2000-methotrexate nanoparticle delivery system, which can target folate receptors that are usually overexpressed on a variety of cancer cells. The released phenobarbital then executes cancer cells by inducing pyroptosis. Results from our animal model further indicate that the nanomedicine of nanoparticle-encapsulated phenobarbital sodium is a promising anticancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fengyue Yin
- Department of Emergency, Women and Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
- Department of Pharmacy, Medical College of Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, China
| | - Xiao Xu
- Department of Pharmacy, Medical College of Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, China
| | - Julia Qi
- Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Mengyu Guo
- Department of Emergency, Zhongshan Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, Fujian, China
| | - Yubo Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Medical College of Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, China
| | - Yun Wang
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, Jiamusi University, Heilongjiang 154007, Jiamusi, China
| | - Roumei Ye
- Department of Pharmacy, Medical College of Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, China
| | - Qian Lin
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, Fujian, China
| | - Daowei Yang
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, 21428, Malmö, Sweden.
| | - Xuan Zhu
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, Fujian, China.
| | - Jinling Wang
- Department of Emergency, Women and Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
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Xu T, Xu M, Xu Y, Cai X, Brenner MJ, Twigg J, Fei Z, Chen C. Developing and validating the model of tumor-infiltrating immune cell to predict survival in patients receiving radiation therapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Transl Cancer Res 2024; 13:394-412. [PMID: 38410204 PMCID: PMC10894341 DOI: 10.21037/tcr-23-2345] [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: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
Background Radiotherapy (RT) is a mainstay of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) treatment. Due to the influence of RT on tumor cells and immune/stromal cells in microenvironment, some studies suggest that immunologic landscape could shape treatment response. To better predict the survival based on genomic data, we developed a prognostic model using tumor-infiltrating immune cell (TIIC) signature to predict survival in patients undergoing RT for HNSCC. Methods Gene expression data and clinical information were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Data from HNSCC patients undergoing RT were extracted for analysis. TIICs prevalence in HNSCC patients was quantified by gene set variation analysis (GSVA) algorithm. TIICs and post-RT survival were analyzed using univariate Cox regression analysis and used to construct and validate a tumor-infiltrating cells score (TICS). Results Five of 26 immune cells were significantly associated with HNSCC prognosis in the training cohort (all P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier (KM) survival curves showed that patients in the high TICS group had better survival outcomes (log-rank test, P<0.05). Univariate analyses demonstrated that the TICS had independent prognostic predictive ability for RT outcomes (P<0.05). Patients with high TICS scores showed significantly higher expression of immune-related genes. Functional pathway analyses further showed that the TICS was significantly related to immune-related biological process. Stratified analyses supported integrating TICS and tumor mutation burden (TMB) into individualized treatment planning, as an adjunct to classification by clinical stage and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Conclusions The TICS model supports a personalized medicine approach to RT for HNSCC. Increased prevalence of TIIC within the tumor microenvironment (TME) confers a better prognosis for patients undergoing treatment for HNSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Xu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, China
| | - Mengting Xu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, China
| | - Yiying Xu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, China
| | - Xiaojun Cai
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, China
| | - Michael J. Brenner
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Joshua Twigg
- School of Dentistry, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Zhaodong Fei
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, China
| | - Chuanben Chen
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, China
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De Schepper M, Nguyen HL, Richard F, Rosias L, Lerebours F, Vion R, Clatot F, Berghian A, Maetens M, Leduc S, Isnaldi E, Molinelli C, Lambertini M, Grillo F, Zoppoli G, Dirix L, Punie K, Wildiers H, Smeets A, Nevelsteen I, Neven P, Vincent-Salomon A, Larsimont D, Duhem C, Viens P, Bertucci F, Biganzoli E, Vermeulen P, Floris G, Desmedt C. Treatment Response, Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes and Clinical Outcomes in Inflammatory Breast Cancer-Treated with Neoadjuvant Systemic Therapy. CANCER RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS 2024; 4:186-199. [PMID: 38147006 PMCID: PMC10807408 DOI: 10.1158/2767-9764.crc-23-0285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Revised: 10/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/27/2023]
Abstract
Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare (1%-5%), aggressive form of breast cancer, accounting for approximately 10% of breast cancer mortality. In the localized setting, standard of care is neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) ± anti-HER2 therapy, followed by surgery. Here we investigated associations between clinicopathologic variables, stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (sTIL), and pathologic complete response (pCR), and the prognostic value of pCR. We included 494 localized patients with IBC treated with NACT from October 1996 to October 2021 in eight European hospitals. Standard clinicopathologic variables were collected and central pathologic review was performed, including sTIL. Associations were assessed using Firth logistic regression models. Cox regressions were used to evaluate the role of pCR and residual cancer burden (RCB) on disease-free survival (DFS), distant recurrence-free survival (DRFS), and overall survival (OS). Distribution according to receptor status was as follows: 26.4% estrogen receptor negative (ER-)/HER2-; 22.0% ER-/HER2+; 37.4% ER+/HER2-, and 14.1% ER+/HER2+. Overall pCR rate was 26.3%, being highest in the HER2+ groups (45.9% for ER-/HER2+ and 42.9% for ER+/HER2+). sTILs were low (median: 5.3%), being highest in the ER-/HER2- group (median: 10%). High tumor grade, ER negativity, HER2 positivity, higher sTILs, and taxane-based NACT were significantly associated with pCR. pCR was associated with improved DFS, DRFS, and OS in multivariable analyses. RCB score in patients not achieving pCR was independently associated with survival. In conclusion, sTILs were low in IBC, but were predictive of pCR. Both pCR and RCB have an independent prognostic role in IBC treated with NACT. SIGNIFICANCE IBC is a rare, but very aggressive type of breast cancer. The prognostic role of pCR after systemic therapy and the predictive value of sTILs for pCR are well established in the general breast cancer population; however, only limited information is available in IBC. We assembled the largest retrospective IBC series so far and demonstrated that sTIL is predictive of pCR. We emphasize that reaching pCR remains of utmost importance in IBC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxim De Schepper
- Laboratory for Translational Breast Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Pathology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ha-Linh Nguyen
- Laboratory for Translational Breast Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - François Richard
- Laboratory for Translational Breast Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Louise Rosias
- Department of Gynecological and Obstetrics, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Roman Vion
- Department of Medical Oncology, Centre Henri Becquerel, Rouen, France
| | - Florian Clatot
- Department of Medical Oncology, Centre Henri Becquerel, Rouen, France
| | - Anca Berghian
- Anatomical Pathology Unit, Department of Biopathology, Centre Henri Becquerel, Rouen, France
| | - Marion Maetens
- Laboratory for Translational Breast Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sophia Leduc
- Laboratory for Translational Breast Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Edoardo Isnaldi
- Laboratory for Translational Breast Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Chiara Molinelli
- Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (DiMI), School of Medicine, University of Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Matteo Lambertini
- Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (DiMI), School of Medicine, University of Genova, Genova, Italy
- Department of Medical Oncology, U.O. Clinica di Oncologia Medica, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Italy
| | - Federica Grillo
- Anatomical Pathology Unit, Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics, University of Genova, Genoa, Italy
- Department of Internal Medicine and Specialistic Medicine, U.O. Medicina Interna a Indirizzo Oncologico, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Italy
| | - Gabriele Zoppoli
- Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (DiMI), School of Medicine, University of Genova, Genova, Italy
- Department of Internal Medicine and Specialistic Medicine, U.O. Medicina Interna a Indirizzo Oncologico, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Italy
| | - Luc Dirix
- Translational Cancer Research Unit, Center for Oncological Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, GZA hospitals, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Kevin Punie
- Department of General Medical Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Hans Wildiers
- Department of General Medical Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ann Smeets
- Department of Surgical Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ines Nevelsteen
- Department of Surgical Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Patrick Neven
- Department of Gynecological Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Anne Vincent-Salomon
- Department of Pathology, Université Paris Sciences Lettres, Institut Curie, Paris, France
| | - Denis Larsimont
- Department of Pathology, Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Caroline Duhem
- Clinique du sein, Centre Hospitalier du Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | | | | | - Elia Biganzoli
- Unit of Medical Statistics, Biometry and Epidemiology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (DIBIC) “L. Sacco” & DSRC, LITA Vialba campus, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Peter Vermeulen
- Translational Cancer Research Unit, Center for Oncological Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, GZA hospitals, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Giuseppe Floris
- Department of Pathology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Laboratory for Translational Cell and Tissue Research, Department of Pathology and Imaging, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Christine Desmedt
- Laboratory for Translational Breast Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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9
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Zhang YY, Gan YM. Screening of coexpression genes of immune cells in breast cancer tissues. Medicine (Baltimore) 2024; 103:e36211. [PMID: 38181289 PMCID: PMC10766216 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000036211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate immune cell infiltration (ICI) in breast cancer tissues and its impact on the prognosis of patients. The whole transcriptome sequencing data sets of breast tissue (GSE126125, GSE190275 and GSE45498) were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus database. Data sets, including 281 breast cancer tissue samples and 59 normal breast tissue samples. In this study, the CIBERSORT algorithm was used to calculate the infiltration content of 22 immune cells subtypes in breast cancer tissues and normal breast tissues. The ICI between normal and breast cancer tissue samples was examined through the Rank-sum test. Furthermore, Kaplan-Meier and the log-rank test were used for survival analysis. Univariate and multivariate COX analysis was used to screen the prognostic risk factors of breast cancer based on ICI. The correlation between 22 kinds of immune cells was analyzed by the Pearson test. The results of univariate COX analysis indicated that resting dendritic cells, eosinophils, resting mast cells, monocytes, and memory CD4 T cells resting were protective factors for the prognosis of breast cancer patients (hazard ratio [HR] < 1, P < .05). The activation of macrophage M0 and mast cells were also prognostic risk factors for breast cancer patients (HR > 1, P < .05). Besides, multivariate COX analysis showed that resting mast cells were independent protective factors for the prognosis of breast cancer patients (HR < 1, P < .05). Macrophage M0 and mast cell activation were independent risk factors for the prognosis of breast cancer patients (HR > 1, P < .05). High infiltration of macrophage M0 and activated mast cells is associated with poor prognosis. Meanwhile, macrophage M0 and activated mast cells promote breast cancer progression. Low infiltration of resting mast cells is associated with poor prognosis, which inhibits breast cancer progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan-Yuan Zhang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Affiliated Huaian No.1 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai’an, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yi-Min Gan
- Blood Research Laboratory, The Affiliated Huaian No.1 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai’an, Jiangsu, China
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10
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A N, Lyu P, Yu Y, Liu M, Cheng S, Chen M, Liu Y, Cao X. PICALM as a Novel Prognostic Biomarker and Its Correlation with Immune Infiltration in Breast Cancer. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 2024:10.1007/s12010-023-04840-z. [PMID: 38175412 DOI: 10.1007/s12010-023-04840-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
PICALM (phosphatidylinositol-binding clathrin assembly protein) mutations have been linked to a number of human disorders, including leukemia, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. Nevertheless, the effect of PICALM on cancer, particularly on prognosis and immune infiltration in individuals with BRCA, is unknown. We obtained the data of breast cancer patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, and analyzed the expression of PICALM in breast cancer, its impact on survival' and its role in tumor immune invasion. Finally, in vitro cellular experiments were performed to validate the results. Research has found that PICALM expression was shown to be downregulated in BRCA and to be substantially linked with clinical stage, histological type, PAM50, and age. PICALM downregulation was linked to a lower overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) in BRCA patients. A multivariate Cox analysis revealed that PICALM is an independent predictor of OS. The enriched pathways revealed by functional enrichment analysis included oxidative phosphorylation, angiogenesis, the TGF signaling pathway, and the IL-6/JAK/STAT3 signaling system. Furthermore, the amount of immune cell infiltration by B cells, eosinophils, mast cells, neutrophils, and T cells was positively linked with PICALM expression. Finally, we experimentally verified that low expression of PICALM can reduce proliferation, migration, and invasion in tumor cells. This evidence shows that PICALM expression impacts prognosis, immune infiltration, and pathway expression in breast cancer patients, and it might be a potential predictive biomarker for the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naer A
- The First Department of Breast Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Huanhuxi Road, Hexi District, Tianjin, 300060, China
- Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin, 300060, China
- Tianjin's Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, 300060, China
- Key Laboratory of Breast Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin Medical University, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, 300060, China
| | - Pengfei Lyu
- Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, Haikou, 570102, China
| | - Yue Yu
- The First Department of Breast Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Huanhuxi Road, Hexi District, Tianjin, 300060, China
| | - Meiling Liu
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Shenzhen Bao'an District Songgang People's Hospital, No. 2 Shajiang Road, Shenzhen City, 518105, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Shaohua Cheng
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Shenzhen Bao'an District Songgang People's Hospital, No. 2 Shajiang Road, Shenzhen City, 518105, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Meiyan Chen
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Shenzhen Bao'an District Songgang People's Hospital, No. 2 Shajiang Road, Shenzhen City, 518105, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Yunhong Liu
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Shenzhen Bao'an District Songgang People's Hospital, No. 2 Shajiang Road, Shenzhen City, 518105, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Xuchen Cao
- The First Department of Breast Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Huanhuxi Road, Hexi District, Tianjin, 300060, China.
- Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin, 300060, China.
- Tianjin's Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, 300060, China.
- Key Laboratory of Breast Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin Medical University, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, 300060, China.
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11
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Moamin MR, Allen R, Woods SL, Brown JE, Nunns H, Juncker-Jensen A, Lewis CE. Changes in the immune landscape of TNBC after neoadjuvant chemotherapy: correlation with relapse. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1291643. [PMID: 38090569 PMCID: PMC10715438 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1291643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Patients with high-risk, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) often receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) alone or with immunotherapy. Various single-cell and spatially resolved techniques have demonstrated heterogeneity in the phenotype and distribution of macrophages and T cells in this form of breast cancer. Furthermore, recent studies in mice have implicated immune cells in perivascular (PV) areas of tumors in the regulation of metastasis and anti-tumor immunity. However, little is known of how the latter change during NAC in human TNBC or their impact on subsequent relapse, or the likely efficacy of immunotherapy given with or after NAC. Methods We have used multiplex immunofluorescence and AI-based image analysis to compare the immune landscape in untreated and NAC-treated human TNBCs. We quantified changes in the phenotype, distribution and intercellular contacts of subsets of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and regulatory T cells (Tregs) in PV and non-PV various areas of the stroma and tumor cell islands. These were compared in tumors from patients who had either developed metastases or were disease-free (DF) after a three-year follow up period. Results In tumors from patients who remained DF after NAC, there was a marked increase in stromal CD163+ TAMs, especially those expressing the negative checkpoint regulator, T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (TIM-3). Whereas CD4+ T cells preferentially located to PV areas in the stroma of both untreated and NAC-treated tumors, specific subsets of TAMs and Tregs only did so only after NAC. Distinct subsets of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells formed PV clusters with CD163+ TAMs and Tregs. These were retained after NAC. Discussion Quantification of stromal TIM-3+CD163+ TAMs in tumor residues after NAC may represent a new way of identifying patients at high risk of relapse. PV clustering of immune cells is highly likely to regulate the activation and function of T cells, and thus the efficacy of T cell-based immunotherapies administered with or after NAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed Ridha Moamin
- Division of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine & Population Health, Faculty of Health, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Allen
- Division of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine & Population Health, Faculty of Health, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Steven Leslie Woods
- Division of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine & Population Health, Faculty of Health, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Janet Elizabeth Brown
- Division of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine & Population Health, Faculty of Health, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Harry Nunns
- Neogenomics Labs., Aliso Viejo, CA, United States
| | | | - Claire Elizabeth Lewis
- Division of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine & Population Health, Faculty of Health, Sheffield, United Kingdom
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12
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Valenza C, Trapani D, Curigliano G. Immunotherapy for inflammatory breast cancer: current evidences and future perspectives. Curr Opin Oncol 2023; 35:507-512. [PMID: 37621167 DOI: 10.1097/cco.0000000000000967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most fatal type presentation of clinical breast cancer. The immune tumor microenvironment (TME) of IBC is characterized by signals of immune evasion but suggests actionable vulnerability to immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). In this review, we aimed to summarize the most important preclinical evidences of IBC immune-vulnerability and the first data from clinical trials evaluating ICIs in IBC. RECENT FINDINGS IBC is characterized by a preexisting active immune TME suppressed by mechanisms of immune-escape, including inhibitory immune-checkpoints, whose expression is higher than in non-IBC. Clinical trials evaluating ICIs in patients with IBC are burdened by slow accrual and low enrollment. SUMMARY Because of the limited data from clinical trials, no conclusions about the activity of ICIs in IBC can be drawn. Ongoing clinical trials are assessing many promising ICI-based combination approaches. An enhanced multicenter collaboration to evaluate ICIs in patients with this aggressive form of disease and to improve clinical outcomes is required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmine Valenza
- Division of New Drugs and Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Dario Trapani
- Division of New Drugs and Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Curigliano
- Division of New Drugs and Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
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13
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Awang Ahmad N, Lai SK, Suboh R, Hussin H. Comparison of Mast Cell Density and Prognostic Factors in Invasive Breast Carcinoma: A Single-Centre Study in Malaysia. Malays J Med Sci 2023; 30:81-90. [PMID: 37928785 PMCID: PMC10624438 DOI: 10.21315/mjms2023.30.5.7] [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: 09/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Mast cells influence tumour growth, neo-angiogenesis and the propensity for metastasis by contributing to innate and adaptive immune responses in the tumour microenvironment. The number of mast cells has increased in various malignant tumours and their abundance has been associated with either a favourable or unfavourable prognosis. This study investigated the significant difference in stromal mast cell density among multiple prognostic factor groups in invasive breast carcinoma. Methods CD117 (c-KIT) antibodies were used to stain 160 formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded invasive breast carcinoma tissues to demonstrate the presence of mast cells. Then the labelled mast cells were counted in 10 fields at 400× magnification and the mean value was used to represent the mast cell density. Results The demographic distribution revealed that most patients were 40 years old or older (92.5%) and of Malay ethnicity (66.3%). With regard to prognostic factors, the most prevalent subtype was invasive carcinoma of no special type (80.6%), followed by tumour grade 3 (41.3%), T2 tumour size (63.1%), N0 lymph node stage (51.3%), presence of lymphovascular invasion (59.4%), positive oestrogen (64.4%) and progesterone receptors (53.1%), and negative human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression (75.0%). However, there was no significant difference in stromal mast cell density among the different demographic and prognostic factor groups in invasive breast carcinoma. Conclusion The findings from this study suggest that stromal mast cells do not play a significant role in preventing or promoting tumour growth in invasive breast carcinoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norashikin Awang Ahmad
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
- Department of Pathology, Hospital Tuanku Ja’afar, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
- Department of Pathology, Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah, Terengganu, Malaysia
| | - Shau Kong Lai
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Roslina Suboh
- Department of Pathology, Hospital Tuanku Ja’afar, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
- Lablink Medical Laboratory, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Huzlinda Hussin
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
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14
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Valenza C, Trapani D, Fusco N, Wang X, Cristofanilli M, Ueno NT, Curigliano G. The immunogram of inflammatory breast cancer. Cancer Treat Rev 2023; 119:102598. [PMID: 37437342 DOI: 10.1016/j.ctrv.2023.102598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/14/2023]
Abstract
Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most aggressive and fatal clinical presentation of breast cancer. Despite the term "inflammatory", based on the clinical presentation, IBC is biologically driven by an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Whether IBC can be switched into an immune-inflamed TME by immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is a matter of debate. Presently, measurable biomarkers of IBC-TME have never been synthetized into a comprehensive portray of the immune-milieu (i.e., an immunogram), describing the immune-vulnerability of IBC and potentially predicting the response to ICIs. We propose an immunogram for IBC, based on preclinical and clinical studies, including six parameters: the presence of immune-effector cells, of immune-suppressive cells and of immune checkpoints, the general immune status, the activation of immune-suppressive pathways, the tumor foreignness. The IBC immunogram suggests the existence of a preexisting immune TME that is suppressed by mechanisms of immune-escape but might be restored by ICIs. The combination of chemotherapy and ICIs in patients with IBC is based on a strong biological rationale. However, the design and the development of clinical trials assessing the incorporation of ICIs raise many methodological and practical issues. In parallel with the further comprehension of IBC biology, the prospective validation and integration of biomarkers predictive of response to ICIs are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmine Valenza
- Division of New Drugs and Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, Italy; Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Dario Trapani
- Division of New Drugs and Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, Italy; Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Nicola Fusco
- Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy; Division of Pathology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, Italy
| | - Xiaoping Wang
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Breast Medical Oncology, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Massimo Cristofanilli
- Division of Medical Oncology, Internal Medicine Department, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Naoto T Ueno
- University of Hawai'i Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA
| | - Giuseppe Curigliano
- Division of New Drugs and Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, Italy; Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
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15
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Okcu O, Öztürk Ç, Şen B, Ayazoğlu MS, Güvendi GF, Öztürk SD, Aşkan G, Bedir R. The prognostic significance of non-lymphoid immune cells of the tumor microenvironment, including neutrophils, eosinophils, and mast cells in breast carcinomas. Ann Diagn Pathol 2023; 65:152151. [PMID: 37121083 DOI: 10.1016/j.anndiagpath.2023.152151] [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: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE The prognostic importance of lymphoid cells in the tumor microenvironment and their effect on treatment response have been demonstrated in many cancer types. However, there are limited studies on non-lymphoid immune cells. Conflicting results have been obtained regarding the effects of these cells on prognosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 331 patients who underwent surgery for breast cancer were included. Patients that received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and those with distant metastasis were excluded. CD 15 immunohistochemistry was performed to detect tumor-infiltrating neutrophils (TINs) and eosinophils (TIEs), while Toluidine Blue histochemistry was performed to detect tumor-infiltrating mast cells (TIMs). RESULTS High TINs were statistically associated with low ER expression (p < 0.001), low PR expression (p = 0.001), high Ki-67 proliferation index (p = 0.008), and HER2/TN molecular subtypes (p = 0.001). High TIEs were associated with low ER expression (p = 0.001), high Ki67 proliferation index (p = 0.005), and HER2/TN molecular subtype (p = 0.002). High TIMs were associated with high PR expression (p = 0.024), low Ki-67 proliferation index (p = 0.003), and high survival rate (p = 0.006). TIMs and TIEs were good prognostic factors for overall survival in Luminal A and Luminal B subtypes, while TINs and TIEs were found to be independent risk factors for disease-free survival. CONCLUSION The evaluation of components of the tumor microenvironment including TINs, TIEs, and TIMs is easy and practical. High TIMs and TIEs are independent prognostic factors, especially in luminal molecular subtype of invasive breast carcinoma. However, to use this parameter in routine pathology practice, more studies from different centers and standard evaluation are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oğuzhan Okcu
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Rize, Turkiye.
| | - Çiğdem Öztürk
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Training and Research Hospital, Department of Pathology, Rize, Turkiye
| | - Bayram Şen
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Training and Research Hospital, Department of Biochemistry, Rize, Turkiye
| | - Muhammet Safa Ayazoğlu
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Training and Research Hospital, Department of Pathology, Rize, Turkiye
| | - Gülname Fındık Güvendi
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Rize, Turkiye
| | - Seda Duman Öztürk
- Kocaeli University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Kocaeli, Turkiye
| | - Gökçe Aşkan
- İstanbul University Cerrahpasa-Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pathology, İstanbul, Türkiye
| | - Recep Bedir
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Rize, Turkiye
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16
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Liu X, Li X, Wei H, Liu Y, Li N. Mast cells in colorectal cancer tumour progression, angiogenesis, and lymphangiogenesis. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1209056. [PMID: 37497234 PMCID: PMC10366593 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1209056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The characteristics of the tumour cells, as well as how tumour cells interact with their surroundings, affect the prognosis of cancer patients. The resident cells in the tumour microenvironment are mast cells (MCs), which are known for their functions in allergic responses, but their functions in the cancer milieu have been hotly contested. Several studies have revealed a link between MCs and the development of tumours. Mast cell proliferation in colorectal cancer (CRC) is correlated with angiogenesis, the number of lymph nodes to which the malignancy has spread, and patient prognosis. By releasing angiogenic factors (VEGF-A, CXCL 8, MMP-9, etc.) and lymphangiogenic factors (VEGF-C, VEGF-D, etc.) stored in granules, mast cells play a significant role in the development of CRC. On the other hand, MCs can actively encourage tumour development via pathways including the c-kit/SCF-dependent signaling cascade and histamine production. The impact of MC-derived mediators on tumour growth, the prognostic importance of MCs in patients with various stages of colorectal cancer, and crosstalk between MCs and CRC cells in the tumour microenvironment are discussed in this article. We acknowledge the need for a deeper comprehension of the function of MCs in CRC and the possibility that targeting MCs might be a useful therapeutic approach in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxin Liu
- Department of Nephrology, Liyuan Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Xinyu Li
- Department of Nephrology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Haotian Wei
- Department of Nephrology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Yanyan Liu
- Department of Nephrology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Ningxu Li
- Department of Nephrology, Liyuan Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
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Baran J, Sobiepanek A, Mazurkiewicz-Pisarek A, Rogalska M, Gryciuk A, Kuryk L, Abraham SN, Staniszewska M. Mast Cells as a Target-A Comprehensive Review of Recent Therapeutic Approaches. Cells 2023; 12:cells12081187. [PMID: 37190096 DOI: 10.3390/cells12081187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Revised: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Mast cells (MCs) are the immune cells distributed throughout nearly all tissues, mainly in the skin, near blood vessels and lymph vessels, nerves, lungs, and the intestines. Although MCs are essential to the healthy immune response, their overactivity and pathological states can lead to numerous health hazards. The side effect of mast cell activity is usually caused by degranulation. It can be triggered by immunological factors, such as immunoglobulins, lymphocytes, or antigen-antibody complexes, and non-immune factors, such as radiation and pathogens. An intensive reaction of mast cells can even lead to anaphylaxis, one of the most life-threatening allergic reactions. What is more, mast cells play a role in the tumor microenvironment by modulating various events of tumor biology, such as cell proliferation and survival, angiogenesis, invasiveness, and metastasis. The mechanisms of the mast cell actions are still poorly understood, making it difficult to develop therapies for their pathological condition. This review focuses on the possible therapies targeting mast cell degranulation, anaphylaxis, and MC-derived tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna Baran
- Centre for Advanced Materials and Technologies CEZAMAT, Warsaw University of Technology, 02-822 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Anna Sobiepanek
- Faculty of Chemistry, Warsaw University of Technology, 00-664 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Anna Mazurkiewicz-Pisarek
- Centre for Advanced Materials and Technologies CEZAMAT, Warsaw University of Technology, 02-822 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Marta Rogalska
- Centre for Advanced Materials and Technologies CEZAMAT, Warsaw University of Technology, 02-822 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Aleksander Gryciuk
- Centre for Advanced Materials and Technologies CEZAMAT, Warsaw University of Technology, 02-822 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Lukasz Kuryk
- Department of Virology, National Institute of Public Health NIH-NRI, 00-791 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Soman N Abraham
- Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Monika Staniszewska
- Centre for Advanced Materials and Technologies CEZAMAT, Warsaw University of Technology, 02-822 Warsaw, Poland
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18
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Ribatti D. Mast Cells and Resistance to Immunotherapy in Cancer. Arch Immunol Ther Exp (Warsz) 2023; 71:11. [PMID: 37038035 PMCID: PMC10085948 DOI: 10.1007/s00005-023-00676-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 04/12/2023]
Abstract
Mast cells are involved in tumor growth and their mediators exert both pro- and anti-tumorigenic roles in different human cancers. The identification of defined immunosuppressive pathways that are present in the tumor microenvironment has pointed therapeutic strategies that may promote inflammation and/or innate immune activation in this context. Mast cells can contribute to the immune suppressive tumor microenvironment and may also enhance anti-tumor responses. This review article is focused on the analysis of the mechanisms of the role of mast cells in resistance to immunotherapy in cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Domenico Ribatti
- Department of Translational Biomedicine and Neuroscience, University of Bari Medical School, Piazza Giulio Cesare, 11, 70125, Bari, Italy.
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19
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Frank ML, Lu K, Erdogan C, Han Y, Hu J, Wang T, Heymach JV, Zhang J, Reuben A. T-Cell Receptor Repertoire Sequencing in the Era of Cancer Immunotherapy. Clin Cancer Res 2023; 29:994-1008. [PMID: 36413126 PMCID: PMC10011887 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-22-2469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Revised: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
T cells are integral components of the adaptive immune system, and their responses are mediated by unique T-cell receptors (TCR) that recognize specific antigens from a variety of biological contexts. As a result, analyzing the T-cell repertoire offers a better understanding of immune responses and of diseases like cancer. Next-generation sequencing technologies have greatly enabled the high-throughput analysis of the TCR repertoire. On the basis of our extensive experience in the field from the past decade, we provide an overview of TCR sequencing, from the initial library preparation steps to sequencing and analysis methods and finally to functional validation techniques. With regards to data analysis, we detail important TCR repertoire metrics and present several computational tools for predicting antigen specificity. Finally, we highlight important applications of TCR sequencing and repertoire analysis to understanding tumor biology and developing cancer immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meredith L Frank
- Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.,The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UT Health Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, Texas
| | - Kaylene Lu
- Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.,The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UT Health Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, Texas.,Department of Cancer Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
| | - Can Erdogan
- Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.,Rice University, Houston, Texas
| | - Yi Han
- Quantitative Biomedical Research Center, Peter O'Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
| | - Jian Hu
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UT Health Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, Texas.,Department of Cancer Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
| | - Tao Wang
- Quantitative Biomedical Research Center, Peter O'Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.,Center for the Genetics of Host Defense, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
| | - John V Heymach
- Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.,The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UT Health Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, Texas
| | - Jianjun Zhang
- Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.,The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UT Health Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, Texas.,Department of Genomic Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
| | - Alexandre Reuben
- Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.,The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UT Health Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, Texas
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20
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Zeng TM, Yang G, Lou C, Wei W, Tao CJ, Chen XY, Han Q, Cheng Z, Shang PP, Dong YL, Xu HM, Guo LP, Chen DS, Song YJ, Qi C, Deng WL, Yuan ZG. Clinical and biomarker analyses of sintilimab plus gemcitabine and cisplatin as first-line treatment for patients with advanced biliary tract cancer. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1340. [PMID: 36906670 PMCID: PMC10008621 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37030-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The prognosis of biliary tract cancer (BTC) remains unsatisfactory. This single-arm, phase II clinical trial (ChiCTR2000036652) investigated the efficacy, safety, and predictive biomarkers of sintilimab plus gemcitabine and cisplatin as the first-line treatment for patients with advanced BTCs. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). Secondary endpoints included toxicities, progression-free survival (PFS), and objective response rate (ORR); multi-omics biomarkers were assessed as exploratory objective. Thirty patients were enrolled and received treatment, the median OS and PFS were 15.9 months and 5.1 months, the ORR was 36.7%. The most common grade 3 or 4 treatment-related adverse events were thrombocytopenia (33.3%), with no reported deaths nor unexpected safety events. Predefined biomarker analysis indicated that patients with homologous recombination repair pathway gene alterations or loss-of-function mutations in chromatin remodeling genes presented better tumor response and survival outcomes. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis revealed a markedly longer PFS and tumor response were associated with higher expression of a 3-gene effector T cell signature or an 18-gene inflamed T cell signature. Sintilimab plus gemcitabine and cisplatin meets pre-specified endpoints and displays acceptable safety profile, multiomics potential predictive biomarkers are identified and warrant further verification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tian-Mei Zeng
- Department of Oncology, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second military medical univercity, Shanghai, China
| | - Guang Yang
- Department of Oncology, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second military medical univercity, Shanghai, China
| | - Cheng Lou
- Department of Oncology, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second military medical univercity, Shanghai, China
| | - Wei Wei
- Department of Oncology, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second military medical univercity, Shanghai, China
| | - Chen-Jie Tao
- Department of Oncology, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second military medical univercity, Shanghai, China
| | - Xi-Yun Chen
- Department of Oncology, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second military medical univercity, Shanghai, China
| | - Qin Han
- Department of Oncology, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second military medical univercity, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhuo Cheng
- Department of Oncology, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second military medical univercity, Shanghai, China
| | - Pei-Pei Shang
- Department of Oncology, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second military medical univercity, Shanghai, China
| | - Yu-Long Dong
- Department of Oncology, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second military medical univercity, Shanghai, China
| | - He-Ming Xu
- Department of Oncology, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second military medical univercity, Shanghai, China
| | - Lie-Ping Guo
- Department of Oncology, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second military medical univercity, Shanghai, China
| | - Dong-Sheng Chen
- Jiangsu Simcere Diagnostics Co., Ltd, The State Key Laboratory of Translational Medicine and Innovative Drug Development, Nanjing, China
| | - Yun-Jie Song
- Jiangsu Simcere Diagnostics Co., Ltd, The State Key Laboratory of Translational Medicine and Innovative Drug Development, Nanjing, China
| | - Chuang Qi
- Jiangsu Simcere Diagnostics Co., Ltd, The State Key Laboratory of Translational Medicine and Innovative Drug Development, Nanjing, China
| | - Wang-Long Deng
- Jiangsu Simcere Diagnostics Co., Ltd, The State Key Laboratory of Translational Medicine and Innovative Drug Development, Nanjing, China
| | - Zhen-Gang Yuan
- Department of Oncology, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second military medical univercity, Shanghai, China.
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21
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Hemmerlein B, Reinhardt L, Wiechens B, Khromov T, Schliephake H, Brockmeyer P. Is CCL2 an Important Mediator of Mast Cell-Tumor Cell Interactions in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma? Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24043641. [PMID: 36835050 PMCID: PMC9963724 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24043641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 02/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
In this study, we aimed to evaluate the influence of interactions between mast cells (MCs) and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) tumor cells on tumor proliferation and invasion rates and identify soluble factors mediating this crosstalk. To this end, MC/OSCC interactions were characterized using the human MC cell line LUVA and the human OSCC cell line PCI-13. The influence of an MC-conditioned (MCM) medium and MC/OSCC co-cultures on the proliferative and invasive properties of the tumor cells was investigated, and the most interesting soluble factors were identified by multiplex ELISA analysis. LUVA/PCI-13 co-cultures increased tumor cell proliferation significantly (p = 0.0164). MCM reduced PCI-13 cell invasion significantly (p = 0.0010). CC chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) secretion could be detected in PCI-13 monocultures and be significantly (p = 0.0161) increased by LUVA/PCI-13 co-cultures. In summary, the MC/OSCC interaction influences tumor cell characteristics, and CCL2 could be identified as a possible mediator.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Luisa Reinhardt
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Medical Center Goettingen, 37075 Goettingen, Germany
| | - Bernhard Wiechens
- Department of Orthodontics, University Medical Center Goettingen, 37075 Goettingen, Germany
| | - Tatjana Khromov
- Institute for Clinical Chemistry, University Medical Center Goettingen, 37075 Goettingen, Germany
| | - Henning Schliephake
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Medical Center Goettingen, 37075 Goettingen, Germany
| | - Phillipp Brockmeyer
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Medical Center Goettingen, 37075 Goettingen, Germany
- Correspondence:
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22
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Zhang W, Xu K, Li Z, Wang L, Chen H. Tumor immune microenvironment components and the other markers can predict the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. CLINICAL & TRANSLATIONAL ONCOLOGY : OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE FEDERATION OF SPANISH ONCOLOGY SOCIETIES AND OF THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE OF MEXICO 2023; 25:1579-1593. [PMID: 36652115 DOI: 10.1007/s12094-023-03075-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Breast cancer is an epithelial malignant tumor that occurs in the terminal ducts of the breast. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is an important part of breast cancer treatment. Its purpose is to use systemic treatment for some locally advanced breast cancer patients, to decrease the tumor size and clinical stage so that non-operable breast cancer patients can have a chance to access surgical treatment, or patients who are not suitable for breast-conserving surgery can get the opportunity of breast-conserving. However, some patients who do not respond to NACT will lead deterioration in their condition. Therefore, prediction of NACT efficacy in breast cancer is vital for precision therapy. The tumor microenvironment (TME) has a crucial role in the carcinogenesis and therapeutic response of breast cancer. In this review, we summarized the immune cells, immune checkpoints, and other biomarkers in the TME that can evaluate the efficacy of NACT in treating breast cancer. We believe that the detection and evaluation of the TME components in breast cancer are helpful to predict the efficacy of NACT, and the prediction methods are in the prospect. In addition, we also summarized other predictive factors of NACT, such as imaging examination, biochemical markers, and multigene/multiprotein profiling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiqian Zhang
- Department of Pathology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, People's Republic of China.,Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, People's Republic of China
| | - Ke Xu
- Department of Pathology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, People's Republic of China.,Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhengfa Li
- Department of Pathology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, People's Republic of China.,Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, People's Republic of China
| | - Linwei Wang
- Department of Oncology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, People's Republic of China
| | - Honglei Chen
- Department of Pathology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, People's Republic of China. .,Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, People's Republic of China.
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23
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Shi S, Ye L, Yu X, Jin K, Wu W. Focus on mast cells in the tumor microenvironment: Current knowledge and future directions. Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer 2023; 1878:188845. [PMID: 36476563 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2022.188845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Revised: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Mast cells (MCs) are crucial cells participating in both innate and adaptive immune processes that play important roles in protecting human health and in the pathophysiology of various diseases, such as allergies, cardiovascular diseases, and autoimmune diseases. In the context of tumors, MCs are a non-negligible population of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME). In most tumor types, MCs accumulate in both the tumor tissue and the surrounding tissue. MCs interact with multiple components of the TME, affecting TME remodeling and the tumor cell fate. However, controversy persists regarding whether MCs contribute to tumor progression or trigger an anti-tumor immune response. This review focuses on the context of the TME to explore the specific properties and functions of MCs and discusses the crosstalk that occurs between MCs and other components of the TME, which affect tumor angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, invasion and metastasis, and tumor immunity through different mechanisms. We also anticipate the potential role of MCs in cancer immunotherapy, which might expand upon the success achieved with existing cancer therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saimeng Shi
- Department of Pancreatic Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai 200032, China; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Shanghai Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Shanghai 200032, China; Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Longyun Ye
- Department of Pancreatic Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai 200032, China; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Shanghai Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Shanghai 200032, China; Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Xianjun Yu
- Department of Pancreatic Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai 200032, China; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Shanghai Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Shanghai 200032, China; Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
| | - Kaizhou Jin
- Department of Pancreatic Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai 200032, China; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Shanghai Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Shanghai 200032, China; Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
| | - Weiding Wu
- Department of Pancreatic Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai 200032, China; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Shanghai Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Shanghai 200032, China; Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
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24
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Wang X, Semba T, Manyam GC, Wang J, Shao S, Bertucci F, Finetti P, Krishnamurthy S, Phi LTH, Pearson T, Van Laere SJ, Burks JK, Cohen EN, Reuben JM, Yang F, Min H, Navin N, Trinh VN, Iwase T, Batra H, Shen Y, Zhang X, Tripathy D, Ueno NT. EGFR is a master switch between immunosuppressive and immunoactive tumor microenvironment in inflammatory breast cancer. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabn7983. [PMID: 36525493 PMCID: PMC9757751 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn7983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), the most aggressive breast cancer subtype, is driven by an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Current treatments for IBC have limited efficacy. In a clinical trial (NCT01036087), an anti-EGFR antibody combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy produced the highest pathological complete response rate ever reported in patients with IBC having triple-negative receptor status. We determined the molecular and immunological mechanisms behind this superior clinical outcome. Using novel humanized IBC mouse models, we discovered that EGFR-targeted therapy remodels the IBC TME by increasing cytotoxic T cells and reducing immunosuppressive regulatory T cells and M2 macrophages. These changes were due to diminishing immunosuppressive chemokine expression regulated by transcription factor EGR1. We also showed that induction of an immunoactive IBC TME by an anti-EGFR antibody improved the antitumor efficacy of an anti-PD-L1 antibody. Our findings lay the foundation for clinical trials evaluating EGFR-targeted therapy combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoping Wang
- Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Takashi Semba
- Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Ganiraju C. Manyam
- Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Jing Wang
- Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Shan Shao
- Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Francois Bertucci
- Laboratoire d’Oncologie Prédictive, Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Marseille (CRCM), Inserm, U1068, CNRS UMR7258, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France
- Département d’Oncologie Médicale, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France
| | - Pascal Finetti
- Laboratoire d’Oncologie Prédictive, Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Marseille (CRCM), Inserm, U1068, CNRS UMR7258, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France
| | - Savitri Krishnamurthy
- Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Lan Thi Hanh Phi
- Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Troy Pearson
- Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Steven J. Van Laere
- Center for Oncological Research (CORE), Integrated Personalized and Precision Oncology Network (IPPON), University of Antwerp; Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Jared K. Burks
- Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Evan N. Cohen
- Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Hematopathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - James M. Reuben
- Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Hematopathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Fei Yang
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Hu Min
- Department of Genetics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Nicholas Navin
- Department of Genetics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Van Ngu Trinh
- Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Toshiaki Iwase
- Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Harsh Batra
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Yichao Shen
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Xiang Zhang
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Debu Tripathy
- Department of Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Naoto T. Ueno
- Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Cancer Biology Program, University of Hawai'i Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA
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25
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Massa D, Tosi A, Rosato A, Guarneri V, Dieci MV. Multiplexed In Situ Spatial Protein Profiling in the Pursuit of Precision Immuno-Oncology for Patients with Breast Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:4885. [PMID: 36230808 PMCID: PMC9562913 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14194885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2022] [Revised: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized the treatment of many solid tumors. In breast cancer (BC), immunotherapy is currently approved in combination with chemotherapy, albeit only in triple-negative breast cancer. Unfortunately, most patients only derive limited benefit from ICIs, progressing either upfront or after an initial response. Therapeutics must engage with a heterogeneous network of complex stromal-cancer interactions that can fail at imposing cancer immune control in multiple domains, such as in the genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic domains. To overcome these types of heterogeneous resistance phenotypes, several combinatorial strategies are underway. Still, they can be predicted to be effective only in the subgroups of patients in which those specific resistance mechanisms are effectively in place. As single biomarker predictive performances are necessarily suboptimal at capturing the complexity of this articulate network, precision immune-oncology calls for multi-omics tumor microenvironment profiling in order to identify unique predictive patterns and to proactively tailor combinatorial treatments. Multiplexed single-cell spatially resolved tissue analysis, through precise epitope colocalization, allows one to infer cellular functional states in view of their spatial organization. In this review, we discuss-through the lens of the cancer-immunity cycle-selected, established, and emerging markers that may be evaluated in multiplexed spatial protein panels to help identify prognostic and predictive patterns in BC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Massa
- Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, 35128 Padova, Italy
- Division of Oncology 2, Istituto Oncologico Veneto IRCCS, 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Anna Tosi
- Immunology and Molecular Oncology Diagnostics, Istituto Oncologico Veneto IRCCS, 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Antonio Rosato
- Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, 35128 Padova, Italy
- Immunology and Molecular Oncology Diagnostics, Istituto Oncologico Veneto IRCCS, 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Valentina Guarneri
- Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, 35128 Padova, Italy
- Division of Oncology 2, Istituto Oncologico Veneto IRCCS, 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Maria Vittoria Dieci
- Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, 35128 Padova, Italy
- Division of Oncology 2, Istituto Oncologico Veneto IRCCS, 35128 Padova, Italy
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26
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Huang S, Wu H, Luo F, Zhang B, Li T, Yang Z, Ren B, Yin W, Wu D, Tai S. Exploring the role of mast cells in the progression of liver disease. Front Physiol 2022; 13:964887. [PMID: 36176778 PMCID: PMC9513450 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.964887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In addition to being associated with allergic diseases, parasites, bacteria, and venoms, a growing body of research indicates that mast cells and their mediators can regulate liver disease progression. When mast cells are activated, they degranulate and release many mediators, such as histamine, tryptase, chymase, transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), tumor necrosis factor–α(TNF-α), interleukins cytokines, and other substances that mediate the progression of liver disease. This article reviews the role of mast cells and their secretory mediators in developing hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and their essential role in immunotherapy. Targeting MC infiltration may be a novel therapeutic option for improving liver disease progression.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Dehai Wu
- *Correspondence: Sheng Tai, ; Dehai Wu,
| | - Sheng Tai
- *Correspondence: Sheng Tai, ; Dehai Wu,
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27
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Zhou Y, Tian Q, Gao H, Zhu L, Yang J, Zhang J, Yang J. Correlation Between Immune-Related Genes and Tumor-Infiltrating Immune Cells With the Efficacy of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer. Front Genet 2022; 13:905617. [PMID: 35754838 PMCID: PMC9214242 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.905617] [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: 03/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: In the absence of targeted therapy or clear clinically relevant biomarkers, neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is still the standard neoadjuvant systemic therapy for breast cancer. Among the many biomarkers predicting the efficacy of NAC, immune-related biomarkers, such as immune-related genes and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), play a key role. Methods: We analyzed gene expression from several datasets in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and evaluated the relative proportion of immune cells using the CIBERSORT method. In addition, mIHC/IF detection was performed on clinical surgical specimens of triple-negative breast cancer patients after NAC. Results: We obtained seven immune-related genes, namely, CXCL1, CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11, IDO1, IFNG, and ORM1 with higher expression in the pathological complete response (pCR) group than in the non-pCR group. In the pCR group, the levels of M1 and γδT macrophages were higher, while those of the M2 macrophages and mast cells were lower. After NAC, the proportions of M1, γδT cells, and resting CD4 memory T cells were increased, while the proportions of natural killer cells and dendritic cells were decreased with downregulated immune-related genes. The results of mIHC/IF detection and the prognostic information of corresponding clinical surgical specimens showed the correlation of proportions of natural killer cells, CD8-positive T cells, and macrophages with different disease-free survival outcomes. Conclusion: The immune-related genes and immune cells of different subtypes in the tumor microenvironment are correlated with the response to NAC in breast cancer, and the interaction between TILs and NAC highlights the significance of combining NAC with immunotherapy to achieve better clinical benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Zhou
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Qi Tian
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Huan Gao
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Lizhe Zhu
- Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jiao Yang
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Juan Zhang
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jin Yang
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
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Depression in breast cancer patients: Immunopathogenesis and immunotherapy. Cancer Lett 2022; 536:215648. [DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2022.215648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 03/13/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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Garaud S, Dieu-Nosjean MC, Willard-Gallo K. T follicular helper and B cell crosstalk in tertiary lymphoid structures and cancer immunotherapy. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2259. [PMID: 35473931 PMCID: PMC9043192 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29753-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Soizic Garaud
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Marie-Caroline Dieu-Nosjean
- Sorbonne University UMRS1135, Inserm U1135, Laboratory "Immune microenvironment and immunotherapy", Centre d'Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses Paris (CIMI-Paris), Paris, France
| | - Karen Willard-Gallo
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
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Majorini MT, Colombo MP, Lecis D. Few, but Efficient: The Role of Mast Cells in Breast Cancer and Other Solid Tumors. Cancer Res 2022; 82:1439-1447. [PMID: 35045983 PMCID: PMC9306341 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-21-3424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Revised: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Tumor outcome is determined not only by cancer cell-intrinsic features but also by the interaction between cancer cells and their microenvironment. There is great interest in tumor-infiltrating immune cells, yet mast cells have been less studied. Recent work has highlighted the impact of mast cells on the features and aggressiveness of cancer cells, but the eventual effect of mast cell infiltration is still controversial. Here, we review multifaceted findings regarding the role of mast cells in cancer, with a particular focus on breast cancer, which is further complicated because of its classification into subtypes characterized by different biological features, outcome, and therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mario Paolo Colombo
- Corresponding Authors: Daniele Lecis, Department of Research, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Via Amadeo 42, Milano 20133, Italy. Phone: 022-390-2212; E-mail: ; and Mario Paolo Colombo,
| | - Daniele Lecis
- Department of Research, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milano, Italy.,Corresponding Authors: Daniele Lecis, Department of Research, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Via Amadeo 42, Milano 20133, Italy. Phone: 022-390-2212; E-mail: ; and Mario Paolo Colombo,
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Shueng PW, Yu LY, Hou HH, Chiu HC, Lo CL. Charge Conversion Polymer–Liposome Complexes to Overcome the Limitations of Cationic Liposomes in Mitochondrial-Targeting Drug Delivery. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23063080. [PMID: 35328500 PMCID: PMC8954455 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23063080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2022] [Revised: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Mitochondrial-targeting therapy is considered an important strategy for cancer treatment. (3-Carboxypropyl) triphenyl phosphonium (CTPP) is one of the candidate molecules that can drive drugs or nanomedicines to target mitochondria via electrostatic interactions. However, the mitochondrial-targeting effectiveness of CTPP is low. Therefore, pH-sensitive polymer–liposome complexes with charge-conversion copolymers and CTPP-containing cationic liposomes were designed for efficiently delivering an anti-cancer agent, ceramide, into cancer cellular mitochondria. The charge-conversion copolymers, methoxypoly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(methacrylic acid-g-histidine), were anionic and helped in absorbing and shielding the positive charges of cationic liposomes at pH 7.4. In contrast, charge-conversion copolymers became neutral in order to depart from cationic liposomes and induced endosomal escape for releasing cationic liposomes into cytosol at acidic endosomes. The experimental results reveal that these pH-sensitive polymer–liposome complexes could rapidly escape from MCF-7 cell endosomes and target MCF-7 mitochondria within 3 h, thereby leading to the generation of reactive oxygen species and cell apoptosis. These findings provide a promising solution for cationic liposomes in cancer mitochondrial-targeting drug delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei-Wei Shueng
- Division of Radiation Oncology, Department of Radiology, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei City 220, Taiwan;
- School of Medicine, College of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
- Medical Device Innovation and Translation Center, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
| | - Lu-Yi Yu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan; (L.-Y.Y.); (H.-H.H.)
| | - Hsiao-Hsin Hou
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan; (L.-Y.Y.); (H.-H.H.)
| | - Hsin-Cheng Chiu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences, National Tsing-Hua University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan;
| | - Chun-Liang Lo
- Medical Device Innovation and Translation Center, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan; (L.-Y.Y.); (H.-H.H.)
- Correspondence:
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Krishnan SN, Mohammed S, Frankel TL, Rao A. GaWRDenMap: a quantitative framework to study the local variation in cell-cell interactions in pancreatic disease subtypes. Sci Rep 2022; 12:3708. [PMID: 35260589 PMCID: PMC8904504 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06602-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatial pattern modelling concepts are being increasingly used in capturing disease heterogeneity. Quantification of heterogeneity in the tumor microenvironment is extremely important in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), which has been shown to co-occur with other pancreatic diseases and neoplasms with certain attributes that make visual discrimination difficult. In this paper, we propose the GaWRDenMap framework, that utilizes the concepts of geographically weighted regression (GWR) and a density function-based classification model, and apply it to a cohort of multiplex immunofluorescence images from patients belonging to six different pancreatic diseases. We used an internal cohort of 228 patients comprised of 34 Chronic Pancreatitis (CP), 71 PDAC, 70 intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN), 16 mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN), 29 pancreatic intraductal neoplasia (PanIN) and 8 IPMN-associated PDAC patients. We utilized GWR to model the relationship between epithelial cells and immune cells on a spatial grid. The GWR model estimates were used to generate density signatures which were used in subsequent pairwise classification models to distinguish between any two pairs of disease groups. Image-level, as well as subject-level analysis, were performed. When applied to this dataset, our classification model showed significant discrimination ability in multiple pairwise comparisons, in comparison to commonly used abundance-based metrics, like the Morisita-Horn index. The model was able to best discriminate between CP and PDAC at both the subject- and image-levels. It was also able to reasonably discriminate between PDAC and IPMN. These results point to a potential difference in the spatial arrangement of epithelial and immune cells between CP, PDAC and IPMN, that could be of high diagnostic significance. Further validation on a more comprehensive dataset would be warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Santhoshi N Krishnan
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA.
- Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Shariq Mohammed
- Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Arvind Rao
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA.
- Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
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Zhang J, Pan S, Jian C, Hao L, Dong J, Sun Q, Jin H, Han X. Immunostimulatory Properties of Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer: From Immunogenic Modulation Mechanisms to Clinical Practice. Front Immunol 2022; 12:819405. [PMID: 35069604 PMCID: PMC8766762 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.819405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy among females. Chemotherapy drugs remain the cornerstone of treatment of BC and undergo significant shifts over the past 100 years. The advent of immunotherapy presents promising opportunities and constitutes a significant complementary to existing therapeutic strategies for BC. Chemotherapy as a cytotoxic treatment that targets proliferation malignant cells has recently been shown as an effective immune-stimulus in multiple ways. Chemotherapeutic drugs can cause the release of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) from dying tumor cells, which result in long-lasting antitumor immunity by the key process of immunogenic cell death (ICD). Furthermore, Off-target effects of chemotherapy on immune cell subsets mainly involve activation of immune effector cells including natural killer (NK) cells, dendritic cells (DCs), and cytotoxic T cells, and depletion of immunosuppressive cells including Treg cells, M2 macrophages and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Current mini-review summarized recent large clinical trials regarding the combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy in BC and addressed the molecular mechanisms of immunostimulatory properties of chemotherapy in BC. The purpose of our work was to explore the immune-stimulating effects of chemotherapy at the molecular level based on the evidence from clinical trials, which might be a rationale for combinations of chemotherapy and immunotherapy in BC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinguo Zhang
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Shuaikang Pan
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Chen Jian
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Li Hao
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Jie Dong
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Qingqing Sun
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Hongwei Jin
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Xinghua Han
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
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Liu L, Chen C, Tu G, Peng Y, Shen M, Xu Y, Liu S. Pyroptosis-Related lncRNAs for Predicting the Prognosis and Identifying Immune Microenvironment Infiltration in Breast Cancer Lung Metastasis. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:821727. [PMID: 35309942 PMCID: PMC8931340 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.821727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer (BC) is the second leading cause of death among women and is highly heterogeneous. Three pyroptosis (PR) subtypes were identified in patients with BC from the Cancer Genome Atlas Database (TCGA) cohorts using 20 PR-related regulators, which illustrate a strong association between BC prognosis and PR. Lung metastasis commonly occurs in the advanced stages of BC, resulting in a poor quality of life. Eight differentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs were identified using LASSO–Cox analysis between PR-related and BC lung metastasis. Moreover, a BRCA risk-score (RS) model was established using multivariate Cox regression, which correlated with prognosis in TCGA-BRCA. Clinical characteristics, tumor mutation burden, and tumor immune cell infiltration were extensively investigated between high- and low-RS groups. Similarly, a lower RS implied longer overall survival, greater inflammatory cell infiltration, and better immunotherapeutic response to PD-1 blockers. Our findings provide a foundation for future studies targeting PR and confirme that RS could predict the prognosis of patients with BC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Liu
- Department of Endocrine and Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Yu-Zhong, China
| | - Chenxi Chen
- Department of Geriatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Yu-Zhong, China
| | - Gang Tu
- Department of Endocrine and Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Yu-Zhong, China
| | - Yang Peng
- Department of Endocrine and Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Yu-Zhong, China
| | - Meiying Shen
- Department of Endocrine and Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Yu-Zhong, China
| | - Yingkun Xu
- Department of Endocrine and Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Yu-Zhong, China
| | - Shengchun Liu
- Department of Endocrine and Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Yu-Zhong, China
- *Correspondence: Shengchun Liu,
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Hu K, Yao L, Xu Z, Yan Y, Li J. Prognostic Value and Therapeutic Potential of CBX Family Members in Ovarian Cancer. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:832354. [PMID: 35155439 PMCID: PMC8829121 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.832354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Ovarian cancer (OV) is one of the common malignant tumors and has a poor prognosis. Chromobox (CBX) family proteins are critical components of epigenetic regulation complexes that repress target genes transcriptionally via chromatin modification. Some studies have investigated the function specifications among several CBXs members in multiple cancer types, however, little is known about the functions and prognostic roles of distinct CBXs family proteins in ovarian cancer. Methods: In this study, several bioinformatics databases and in vitro experiments were used to analyze the expression profiles, prognostic values, and therapeutic potential of the CBXs family (CBX1-8) in ovarian cancer. Results: It was found that higher expression of CBX3/8 and lower expression of CBX1/6/7 were detected in OV tissues. CBX2/4/5/8 were significantly correlated with individual cancer stages of OV. The expression of CBX1/2/3 were all significantly associated with worse overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) for OV patients, whereas the expression of other five CBXs members showed either irrelevant (CBX5 and CBX8) or inconsistent (CBX4, CBX6, and CBX7) results for both OS and PFS in OV. These results showed that only CBX3 had consistent results in expression and prognosis. Further cell experiments also showed that CBX3 promoted the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells. CBX3 was highly expressed in chemoresistant OV tissues. These results indicated that CBX3 was the most likely prognostic indicator and new therapeutic target in OV. Furthermore, gene enrichment analysis suggests that the CBXs family was primarily involved in mast cell activation and mast cell mediated immunity. Individual CBXs members were associated with varying degrees of the infiltration of immune cells, especially B cells. Finally, a high genetic alteration rate of CBXs family (39%) was observed in OV. The low methylation status of CBX3/8 in OV may be associated with their high expression levels. Conclusions: Taken together, these findings exhibited the pivotal value of CBXs family members (especially CBX3) in the prognosis and chemoresistance of ovarian cancer. Our results may provide new insight to explore new prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for ovarian cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kuan Hu
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Lei Yao
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Zhijie Xu
- Department of Pathology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Yuanliang Yan
- Department of Pharmacy, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
- *Correspondence: Juanni Li, ; Yuanliang Yan,
| | - Juanni Li
- Department of Pathology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
- *Correspondence: Juanni Li, ; Yuanliang Yan,
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36
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Pernas S, Guerriero JL, Naumenko S, Goel S, Regan MM, Hu J, Harrison BT, Lynce F, Lin NU, Partridge A, Morikawa A, Hutchinson J, Mittendorf EA, Sokolov A, Overmoyer B. Early on-treatment transcriptional profiling as a tool for improving pathological response prediction in HER2-positive inflammatory breast cancer. Ther Adv Med Oncol 2022; 14:17588359221113269. [PMID: 35923923 PMCID: PMC9340890 DOI: 10.1177/17588359221113269] [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: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare and understudied disease, with 40% of cases presenting with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive subtype. The goals of this study were to (i) assess the pathologic complete response (pCR) rate of short-term neoadjuvant dual-HER2-blockade and paclitaxel, (ii) contrast baseline and on-treatment transcriptional profiles of IBC tumor biopsies associated with pCR, and (iii) identify biological pathways that may explain the effect of neoadjuvant therapy on tumor response. Patients and Methods A single-arm phase II trial of neoadjuvant trastuzumab (H), pertuzumab (P), and paclitaxel for 16 weeks was completed among patients with newly diagnosed HER2-positive IBC. Fresh-frozen tumor biopsies were obtained pretreatment (D1) and 8 days later (D8), following a single dose of HP, prior to adding paclitaxel. We performed RNA-sequencing on D1 and D8 tumor biopsies, identified genes associated with pCR using differential gene expression analysis, identified pathways associated with pCR using gene set enrichment and gene expression deconvolution methods, and compared the pCR predictive value of principal components derived from gene expression profiles by calculating and area under the curve for D1 and D8 subsets. Results Twenty-three participants were enrolled, of whom 21 completed surgery following neoadjuvant therapy. Paired longitudinal fresh-frozen tumor samples (D1 and D8) were obtained from all patients. Among the 21 patients who underwent surgery, the pCR and the 4-year disease-free survival were 48% (90% CI 0.29-0.67) and 90% (95% CI 66-97%), respectively. The transcriptional profile of D8 biopsies was found to be more predictive of pCR (AUC = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.7993-1) than the D1 biopsies (AUC = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.5905-0.9822). Conclusions In patients with HER2-positive IBC treated with neoadjuvant HP and paclitaxel for 16 weeks, gene expression patterns of tumor biopsies measured 1 week after treatment initiation not only offered different biological information but importantly served as a better predictor of pCR than baseline transcriptional analysis. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01796197 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01796197); registered on February 21, 2013.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Pernas
- Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers, Inflammatory Breast Cancer Program, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jennifer L Guerriero
- Breast Tumor Immunology Laboratory, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sergey Naumenko
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Shom Goel
- Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers, Inflammatory Breast Cancer Program, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Meredith M Regan
- Division of Biostatistics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jiani Hu
- Division of Biostatistics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Beth T Harrison
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Filipa Lynce
- Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers, Inflammatory Breast Cancer Program, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nancy U Lin
- Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers, Inflammatory Breast Cancer Program, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ann Partridge
- Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers, Inflammatory Breast Cancer Program, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Aki Morikawa
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - John Hutchinson
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Mittendorf
- Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers, Inflammatory Breast Cancer Program, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Artem Sokolov
- Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Avenue, Armenise Building Rm. 137, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Beth Overmoyer
- Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers, Inflammatory Breast Cancer Program, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
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Floroni E, Ceauşu AR, Cosoroabă RM, Niculescu Talpoş IC, Popovici RA, Gaje NP, Raica M. Mast cell density in the primary tumor predicts lymph node metastases in patients with breast cancer. ROMANIAN JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY AND EMBRYOLOGY = REVUE ROUMAINE DE MORPHOLOGIE ET EMBRYOLOGIE 2022; 63:129-135. [PMID: 36074676 PMCID: PMC9593109 DOI: 10.47162/rjme.63.1.13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Breast cancer (BrCa) is the most frequent neoplastic disease in female, with high morbidity and mortality. Most of the researches were focused on tumor cells concerning their natural evolution, molecular profile, and potential response to therapy. Few and uncertain data are available about the tumor microenvironment and its impact on the progression of the disease. Mast cells (MCs) associated to BrCa have been reported many years ago, but their real and specific role in the biology of this disease remained elusive. In the current study, we have investigated the predictive role of MCs from the primary tumor on lymph node metastasis on patients stratified based on the molecular classification. We investigated 156 patients with BrCa, stratified as luminal A, luminal B, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) type, basal-like, and unclassified. MCs were identified with anti-MC tryptase antibody in a double immunohistochemical reaction combined with anti-cluster of differentiation 34 (CD34) antibody. Mast cell density (MCD) was calculated based on the hot-spot method, on three fields with maximum density of MCs in each case. The final result was the arithmetic media that was compared with the molecular profile and lymph node metastases. We found no significant correlation between MCD and the molecular profile of the primary tumor, but we noticed a strong correlation between intratumor MCD and lymph node metastases, regardless of the molecular type.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erwin Floroni
- Department of Microscopic Morphology/Histology, Angiogenesis Research Center Timişoara, Victor Babeş University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timişoara, Romania
| | - Amalia Raluca Ceauşu
- Department of Microscopic Morphology/Histology, Angiogenesis Research Center Timişoara, Victor Babeş University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timişoara, Romania
| | - Raluca Mioara Cosoroabă
- Discipline of Management, Legislation and Communication in Dental Medicine, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Victor Babeş University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timişoara, Romania
| | - Ioana Cristina Niculescu Talpoş
- Discipline of Ergonomics and Oral Diagnosis, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Victor Babeş University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timişoara, Romania
| | - Ramona Amina Popovici
- Discipline of Management, Legislation and Communication in Dental Medicine, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Victor Babeş University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timişoara, Romania
| | - Nela Puşa Gaje
- Department of Microscopic Morphology/Histology, Angiogenesis Research Center Timişoara, Victor Babeş University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timişoara, Romania
| | - Marius Raica
- Department of Microscopic Morphology/Histology, Angiogenesis Research Center Timişoara, Victor Babeş University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timişoara, Romania
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Wu J, Zhu Y, Luo M, Li L. Comprehensive Analysis of Pyroptosis-Related Genes and Tumor Microenvironment Infiltration Characterization in Breast Cancer. Front Immunol 2021; 12:748221. [PMID: 34659246 PMCID: PMC8515898 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.748221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/15/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Immunotherapy has emerged as a significant strategy to treat numerous tumors. The positive response to immunotherapy depends on the dynamic interaction between tumor cells and infiltrating lymphocytes in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Pyroptosis, inflammation-induced cell death, is intricately associated with several tumors. However, the relationship between pyroptosis and clinical prognosis, immune cell infiltration, and immunotherapy effect is unclear in breast cancer (BRCA). Methods We comprehensively evaluated 33 pyroptosis-related genes and systematically assessed the relationship between pyroptosis and tumor progression, prognosis, and immune cell infiltration. The PyroptosisScore was used to quantify the pyroptosis pattern of a single tumor patient. We then assessed their values for predicting prognoses and therapeutic responses in BRCA. Results Three different modes of PyroptosisClusters were determined. The characteristics of TME cell infiltration in these three PyroptosisClusters were highly consistent with three immunophenotypes of tumors, including immune-excluded, immune-inflamed, and immune-desert phenotypes. Comprehensive bioinformatics analysis revealed that patients with a low PyroptosisScore had higher immune checkpoint expression, higher immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) scores, increased immune microenvironment infiltration, and were more sensitive to immunotherapy than those with a high PyroptosisScore. Conclusions Our findings revealed the crucial role of pyroptosis in maintaining the diversity and complexity of TME. Pyroptosis is closely related to tumor progression, tumor prognosis, and immunotherapy response. Evaluating the PyroptosisScore of a single tumor can assist in understanding the characteristics of TME infiltration and lead to the development of more effective immunotherapy strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- JianBin Wu
- Department of Breast, Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Yuanyuan Zhu
- The First School of Clinical Medicine (Dongzhimen Hospital) , Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - MingMin Luo
- Reproductive Medicine Center, Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Lei Li
- Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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Mehtani D, Puri N. Steering Mast Cells or Their Mediators as a Prospective Novel Therapeutic Approach for the Treatment of Hematological Malignancies. Front Oncol 2021; 11:731323. [PMID: 34631562 PMCID: PMC8497976 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.731323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Tumor cells require signaling and close interaction with their microenvironment for their survival and proliferation. In the recent years, Mast cells have earned a greater importance for their presence and role in cancers. It is known that mast cells are attracted towards tumor microenvironment by secreted soluble chemotactic factors. Mast cells seem to exert a pro-tumorigenic role in hematological malignancies with a few exceptions where they showed anti-cancerous role. This dual role of mast cells in tumor growth and survival may be dependent on the intrinsic characteristics of the particular tumor, differences in tumor microenvironment according to tumor type, and the interactions and heterogeneity of mediators released by mast cells in the tumor microenvironment. In many studies, Mast cells and their mediators have been shown to affect tumor survival and growth, prognosis, inflammation, tumor vascularization and angiogenesis. Modulating mast cell accumulation, viability, activity and mediator release patterns may thus be important in controlling these malignancies. In this review, we emphasize on the role of mast cells in lymphoid malignancies and discuss strategies for targeting and steering mast cells or their mediators as a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of these malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Niti Puri
- Cellular and Molecular Immunology Lab, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
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Differential effects of CD20+ B cells and PD-L1+ immune cells on pathologic complete response and outcome: comparison between inflammatory breast cancer and locally advanced breast cancer patients. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2021; 190:477-489. [PMID: 34542773 DOI: 10.1007/s10549-021-06391-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study evaluated epidemiologic and immune factors associated with pathologic complete response (pCR), breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) and disease-free survival (DFS) outcomes in inflammatory (IBC) and locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) patients. METHODS Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and CD20+ B-cell frequencies (CD20+), and PD-L1 expression on tumor (PD-L1+carcinoma cells) and immune (PD-L1+TILs) cells were analyzed by immunohistochemistry along with clinicopathologic factors as modifiers of pCR and outcomes in 221 IBC and 162 LABC patients. Analysis included Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS IBC and LABC display similar levels of TILs, CD20+, and combined CD20+ and PD-L1+TILs (CD20+PD-L1+TILs), while LABC contained more PD-L1+TILs and PD-L1+ carcinoma cells. Absence of lymphovascular involvement, high TILs, PD-L1+ carcinoma cells, and combined CD20+ and PD-L1+ carcinoma cells correlated with pCR in IBC and LABC patients. High PD-L1+TILs correlated with pCR only in LABC; less lymph node involvement at diagnosis, CD20+ and CD20+PD-L1+TILs correlated with pCR only in IBC (P < 0.04, all comparisons). Achievement of pCR in IBC and LABC patients correlated with BCSS and DFS (P < 0.02). In multivariate analyses, pCR remained an independent prognostic factor of improved DFS in IBC and LABC patients, but of BCSS in only LABC. CD20+PD-L1+TILs remained an independent prognostic factor of improved DFS and BCSS only in IBC. CONCLUSION CD20+PD-L1+TILs are an independent prognostic biomarker of improved outcomes in IBC, but not LABC. Selecting IBC patients by CD20 and PD-L1 status could stratify patients and potentially identify those in whom activating CD20 agents and anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy could be explored.
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Cao K, Zhang G, Zhang X, Yang M, Wang Y, He M, Lu J, Liu H. Stromal infiltrating mast cells identify immunoevasive subtype high-grade serous ovarian cancer with poor prognosis and inferior immunotherapeutic response. Oncoimmunology 2021; 10:1969075. [PMID: 34527431 PMCID: PMC8437532 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2021.1969075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Tumor infiltrating mast cells (TIMs), with pro- or anti-tumorigenic role in different types of malignancies, have been implicated in resistance to anti-PD1 therapy. Here, we aimed to identify the relevance of TIMs with the prognosis, immune contexture, and immunotherapy in high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC). Tissue microarrays containing 197 HGSOC patients were assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) for detecting the expression of mast cell tryptase and other immune markers. Kaplan-Meier curve, log-rank test, and Cox regression model were applied to perform survival analysis. Single-cell RNA-seq analysis and flow cytometric analysis were selected to characterize TIMs. Furthermore, short-term HGSOC organoids were employed to validate the effect of TIMs on anti-PD1 therapy. Abundance of stromal TIMs (sTIMs) predicted dismal prognosis and linked to immunoevasive subtype of HGSOC, characterized by increased infiltration of pro-tumor cells (Treg cells, M2-polarized macrophages, and neutrophils) and impaired anti-tumor immune functions. Intensive inter-cell interactions between TIMs and other immune cells were identified, suggesting potential cross-talks to foster an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Organoids derived from sTIMs-low patients were associated with increased response to anti-PD-1 treatment other than the presence of high sTIMs infiltration. A nomogram, constructed by combining FIGO stage, sTIMs, and PD-L1, with an area under the curve (AUC) for predicting 5-year overall survival of 0.771 was better than that of FIGO staging system of 0.619. sTIMs/PD-L1-based classifier has potential clinical application in predicting prognosis of patients with HGSOC. sTIMs-high tumors correlate with immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) and possess potential insensitivity to immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kankan Cao
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Endocrine Related Diseases, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Guodong Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Endocrine Related Diseases, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiangyun Zhang
- Department of Gynecology, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Moran Yang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Endocrine Related Diseases, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yiying Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Endocrine Related Diseases, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Mengdi He
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Endocrine Related Diseases, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jiaqi Lu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Endocrine Related Diseases, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Department of Gynecology, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Haiou Liu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Endocrine Related Diseases, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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42
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Ribatti D, Annese T, Tamma R. Controversial role of mast cells in breast cancer tumor progression and angiogenesis. Clin Breast Cancer 2021; 21:486-491. [PMID: 34580034 DOI: 10.1016/j.clbc.2021.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Breast cancer is a neoplastic disease and is a cause of cancer-related mortality for women. Among cellular and molecular regulators of the microenvironment, mast cells and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), are correlated with tumor progression and prognosis in breast cancer. Clinical and experimental studies on breast cancer have revealed a marked correlation between increased angiogenesis, metastasization, and poorer prognosis. After a brief introduction on angiogenesis evidence and angiogenic factors role in different breast cancer subtypes, in this article, we have discerned the relationship between mast cell infiltration, angiogenesis, and tumor progression in human breast cancer with particular reference to the dual role of mast cells, in terms of both pro- or anti-tumoral activity and poor or good biomarker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Domenico Ribatti
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari Medical School, Bari, Italy.
| | - Tiziana Annese
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari Medical School, Bari, Italy
| | - Roberto Tamma
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari Medical School, Bari, Italy
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43
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Bertucci F, Boudin L, Finetti P, Van Berckelaer C, Van Dam P, Dirix L, Viens P, Gonçalves A, Ueno NT, Van Laere S, Birnbaum D, Mamessier E. Immune landscape of inflammatory breast cancer suggests vulnerability to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Oncoimmunology 2021; 10:1929724. [PMID: 34104544 PMCID: PMC8158040 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2021.1929724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background. Anti-PD1/PDL1 immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) showed promising results in breast cancer, and exploration of additional actionable immune checkpoints is ongoing. Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is an aggressive form of disease, the immune tumor microenvironment (TME) of which is poorly known. We aimed at providing the first comprehensive immune portrait of IBCs. Methods. From the gene expression profiles of 137 IBC and 252 non-IBC clinical samples, we measured the fractions of 22 immune cell types, expression of signatures associated with tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) and with the response to ICIs (T cell-inflamed signature: TIS) and of 18 genes coding for major actionable immune checkpoints. The IBC/non-IBC comparison was adjusted upon the clinicopathological variables. Results. The immune profiles of IBCs were heterogeneous. CIBERSORT analysis showed profiles rich in macrophages, CD8+ and CD4 + T-cells, with remarkable similarity with melanoma TME. The comparison with non-IBCs showed significant enrichment in M1 macrophages, γδ T-cells, and memory B-cells. IBCs showed higher expression of TLS and TIS signatures. The TIS signature displayed values in IBCs close to those observed in other cancers sensitive to ICIs. Two-thirds of actionable immune genes (HAVCR2/TIM3, CD27, CD70, CTLA4, ICOS, IDO1, LAG3, PDCD1, TNFRSF9, PVRIG, CD274/PDL1, and TIGIT) were overexpressed in IBCs as compared to normal breast and two-thirds were overexpressed in IBCs versus non-IBCs, with very frequent co-overexpression. For most of them, the overexpression was associated with better pathological response to chemotherapy. Conclusion. Our results suggest the potential higher vulnerability of IBC to ICIs. Clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- François Bertucci
- Predictive Oncology Laboratory, "Equipe Labellisée Ligue Contre Le Cancer", Centre De Recherche En Cancérologie De Marseille (CRCM), Institut Paoli-Calmettes, INSERM UMR1068, CNRS UMR725, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.,Department of Medical Oncology, CRCM, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France
| | - Laurys Boudin
- Predictive Oncology Laboratory, "Equipe Labellisée Ligue Contre Le Cancer", Centre De Recherche En Cancérologie De Marseille (CRCM), Institut Paoli-Calmettes, INSERM UMR1068, CNRS UMR725, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France
| | - Pascal Finetti
- Predictive Oncology Laboratory, "Equipe Labellisée Ligue Contre Le Cancer", Centre De Recherche En Cancérologie De Marseille (CRCM), Institut Paoli-Calmettes, INSERM UMR1068, CNRS UMR725, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France
| | - Christophe Van Berckelaer
- Center for Oncological Research (CORE), Integrated Personalized and Precision Oncology Network (IPPON), University of Antwerp, Antwerp Belgium
| | - Peter Van Dam
- Center for Oncological Research (CORE), Integrated Personalized and Precision Oncology Network (IPPON), University of Antwerp, Antwerp Belgium
| | - Luc Dirix
- Translational Cancer Research Unit, GZA Hospitals & CORE, MIPRO, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,Department of Oncological Research, Oncology Center, GZA Hospitals Sint-Augustinus, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Patrice Viens
- Department of Medical Oncology, CRCM, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France
| | - Anthony Gonçalves
- Predictive Oncology Laboratory, "Equipe Labellisée Ligue Contre Le Cancer", Centre De Recherche En Cancérologie De Marseille (CRCM), Institut Paoli-Calmettes, INSERM UMR1068, CNRS UMR725, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.,Department of Medical Oncology, CRCM, Institut Paoli-Calmettes, Marseille, France
| | - Naoto T Ueno
- Breast Medical Oncology, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Steven Van Laere
- Center for Oncological Research (CORE), Integrated Personalized and Precision Oncology Network (IPPON), University of Antwerp, Antwerp Belgium.,Translational Cancer Research Unit, GZA Hospitals & CORE, MIPRO, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Daniel Birnbaum
- Predictive Oncology Laboratory, "Equipe Labellisée Ligue Contre Le Cancer", Centre De Recherche En Cancérologie De Marseille (CRCM), Institut Paoli-Calmettes, INSERM UMR1068, CNRS UMR725, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France
| | - Emilie Mamessier
- Predictive Oncology Laboratory, "Equipe Labellisée Ligue Contre Le Cancer", Centre De Recherche En Cancérologie De Marseille (CRCM), Institut Paoli-Calmettes, INSERM UMR1068, CNRS UMR725, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France
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Progress for Immunotherapy in Inflammatory Breast Cancer and Emerging Barriers to Therapeutic Efficacy. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13112543. [PMID: 34067257 PMCID: PMC8196819 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13112543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Revised: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Despite recent advances in the treatment of other breast cancer subtypes, inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) remains a significant clinical challenge, with an overall 5-year survival rate of 39%. Though immunotherapy has shown remarkable efficacy in other difficult-to-treat cancers, such approaches have yet to show substantial therapeutic efficacy in IBC. Here, we summarize the known immune composition of IBC tumors, as well as past and present efforts to advance immunotherapy in the treatment of IBC. Abstract Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare and aggressive subtype of breast cancer that carries a particularly poor prognosis. Despite the efficacy of immunotherapy in other difficult to treat forms of breast cancer, progress for immunotherapy in IBC has been difficult. Though immunotherapy has been under clinical investigation in IBC since the 1970s, few approaches have shown significant therapeutic efficacy, and no immunotherapy regimens are currently used in the treatment of IBC. Here, we provide a comprehensive summary of what is known about the immune composition of IBC tumors, clinical and basic science evidence describing the role for immune checkpoints such as PD-L1 in IBC pathobiology, as well as past and present attempts to advance ICIs in the treatment of IBC.
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45
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Lichterman JN, Reddy SM. Mast Cells: A New Frontier for Cancer Immunotherapy. Cells 2021; 10:cells10061270. [PMID: 34063789 PMCID: PMC8223777 DOI: 10.3390/cells10061270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Mast cells are unique tissue-resident immune cells of the myeloid lineage that have long been implicated in the pathogenesis of allergic and autoimmune disorders. More recently, mast cells have been recognized as key orchestrators of anti-tumor immunity, modulators of the cancer stroma, and have also been implicated in cancer cell intrinsic properties. As such, mast cells are an underrecognized but very promising target for cancer immunotherapy. In this review, we discuss the role of mast cells in shaping cancer and its microenvironment, the interaction between mast cells and cancer therapies, and strategies to target mast cells to improve cancer outcomes. Specifically, we address (1) decreasing cell numbers through c-KIT inhibition, (2) modulating mast cell activation and phenotype (through mast cell stabilizers, FcεR1 signaling pathway activators/inhibitors, antibodies targeting inhibitory receptors and ligands, toll like receptor agonists), and (3) altering secreted mast cell mediators and their downstream effects. Finally, we discuss the importance of translational research using patient samples to advance the field of mast cell targeting to optimally improve patient outcomes. As we aim to expand the successes of existing cancer immunotherapies, focused clinical and translational studies targeting mast cells in different cancer contexts are now warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jake N. Lichterman
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA;
| | - Sangeetha M. Reddy
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA;
- Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-214-648-4180
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46
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Mast Cells and Skin and Breast Cancers: A Complicated and Microenvironment-Dependent Role. Cells 2021; 10:cells10050986. [PMID: 33922465 PMCID: PMC8146516 DOI: 10.3390/cells10050986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Revised: 04/18/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Mast cells are important sentinel cells in host defense against infection and major effector cells in allergic disease. The role of these cells in cancer settings has been widely debated. The diverse range of mast cell functions in both immunity and tissue remodeling events, such as angiogenesis, provides multiple opportunities for mast cells to modify the tumor microenvironment. In this review, we consider both skin and breast cancer settings to address the controversy surrounding the importance of mast cells in the host response to tumors. We specifically address the key mediators produced by mast cells which impact tumor development. The role of environmental challenges in modifying mast cell responses and opportunities to modify mast cell responses to enhance anti-tumor immunity are also considered. While the mast cell's role in many cancer contexts is complicated and poorly understood, the activities of these tissue resident and radioresistant cells can provide important opportunities to enhance anti-cancer responses and limit cancer development.
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47
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Liao WC, Yen HR, Chen CH, Chu YH, Song YC, Tseng TJ, Liu CH. CHPF promotes malignancy of breast cancer cells by modifying syndecan-4 and the tumor microenvironment. Am J Cancer Res 2021; 11:812-826. [PMID: 33791155 PMCID: PMC7994168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women worldwide. Several studies have indicated that abnormal chondroitin sulfate (CS) chains accumulate in breast cancer tissues; however, the functions and dysregulation of CS synthases are largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that chondroitin polymerising factor (CHPF) is frequently upregulated in breast cancer tissues and that its high expression is positively associated with tumor metastasis, high stages, and short survival time. CHPF modulates CS formation in breast cancer cells. Additionally, we found that CHPF promotes tumor growth and metastasis accompanied by an increase in G-CSF levels and the number of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in tumor tissue. We revealed that tumor cell-derived G-CSF is co-localised with CS on the cell surface. Interestingly, our study is the first to identify that syndecan-4 (SDC4) is modified by CHPF and that it is involved in CHPF-mediated phenotypes. Moreover, breast cancer patients with high expression of both SDC4 and CHPF had worse overall survival compared to other subsets, which implied the synergistic effects of these two genes. In summary, our results indicated that the upregulation of CHPF in breast cancer contributes to the malignant behaviour of cancer cells, thereby providing novel insights on the significance of CHPF-modified SDC4 in breast cancer pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Chieh Liao
- Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical UniversityTaichung, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Education, Chung Shan Medical University HospitalTaichung, Taiwan
| | - Hung-Rong Yen
- School of Chinese Medicine, China Medical UniversityTaichung, Taiwan
- Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University HospitalTaichung, Taiwan
- Chinese Medicine Research Center, China Medical UniversityTaichung, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Hua Chen
- Molecular Medicine Research Center, Chang Gung UniversityTaiwan
| | - Yin-Hung Chu
- Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical UniversityTaichung, Taiwan
| | - Ying-Chyi Song
- School of Chinese Medicine, China Medical UniversityTaichung, Taiwan
- Chinese Medicine Research Center, China Medical UniversityTaichung, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical UniversityTaichung, Taiwan
| | - To-Jung Tseng
- Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical UniversityTaichung, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Education, Chung Shan Medical University HospitalTaichung, Taiwan
| | - Chiung-Hui Liu
- Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical UniversityTaichung, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Education, Chung Shan Medical University HospitalTaichung, Taiwan
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Germain C, Kaplon H, Dieu-Nosjean MC. [Rethinking the place of B lymphocyte and tertiary lymphoid structures in oncoimmunotherapy]. Med Sci (Paris) 2021; 37:130-133. [PMID: 33591255 DOI: 10.1051/medsci/2020276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Hélène Kaplon
- Translational medicine department, Institut de recherches internationales Servier, 92150 Suresnes, France
| | - Marie-Caroline Dieu-Nosjean
- Laboratoire Microenvironnement immunitaire et immunothérapie, UMRS 1135 Sorbonne Université, Inserm U1135, Centre d'immunologie et des maladies infectieuses (CIMI-Paris), Faculté de médecine Sorbonne Université, 91 boulevard de l'Hôpital, 75013 Paris, France
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49
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Dai WB, Xu J, Yu B, Chen L, Chen Y, Zhan J. Correlation of Stiffness of Prostate Cancer Measured by Shear Wave Elastography with Grade Group: A Preliminary Study. ULTRASOUND IN MEDICINE & BIOLOGY 2021; 47:288-295. [PMID: 33234327 DOI: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2020.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Revised: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The aim of study was to explore the correlation between shear wave elastography (SWE) and grade group (GG) of prostate cancer (PCa). This retrospective study involved prostate-specific antigen elevated patients with elevated prostate-specific antigen levels who underwent SWE before transrectal ultrasound-guided needle biopsy. A total of 49 PCa lesions were reviewed after radical prostatectomy; 3-7 regions of interest were placed within the cancerous area on axial view compared with the tumor foci outlined on the slides by pathologist. The maximum SWE value was measured, quantitative SWE parameters (Emax, Emean, Emin and standard deviation [SD]) were recorded and correlated with GG and then parameters were compared between indolent (≤2) and aggressive (≥3) GGs. The diagnostic value of each parameter was compared with the receiver operating characteristic curve. Forty-nine PCa foci were divided into two groups on the basis of their GGs. All SWE parameters exhibited a significant linear trend with GG. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 0.816 for Emax; with a cutoff point of 84 kPa, sensitivity and specificity were 81.3% and 82.4% to differentiate low and high GGs in PCa. The AUC was 0.776 for Emean; with a cutoff point of 71 kPa, sensitivity and specificity were 78.1% and 76.5%. For Emin, the AUC was 0.739; with a cutoff point of 60 kPa, sensitivity and specificity were 68.8% and 70.6%. For SD, the AUC was 0.681; with a cutoff point of 8.3 kPa, sensitivity and specificity were 46.9% and 94.1%. There were no significant differences between the four SWE parameters (p < 0.05 for all). SWE features were correlated with GGs, and this correlation may have excellent diagnostic performance in predicting high GG in PCa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Bin Dai
- Department of Urology Surgery, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jun Xu
- Department of Urology Surgery, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Bo Yu
- Department of Pathology, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Lin Chen
- Department of Ultrasound, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yue Chen
- Department of Ultrasound, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jia Zhan
- Department of Ultrasound, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
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50
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Somasundaram R, Connelly T, Choi R, Choi H, Samarkina A, Li L, Gregorio E, Chen Y, Thakur R, Abdel-Mohsen M, Beqiri M, Kiernan M, Perego M, Wang F, Xiao M, Brafford P, Yang X, Xu X, Secreto A, Danet-Desnoyers G, Traum D, Kaestner KH, Huang AC, Hristova D, Wang J, Fukunaga-Kalabis M, Krepler C, Ping-Chen F, Zhou X, Gutierrez A, Rebecca VW, Vonteddu P, Dotiwala F, Bala S, Majumdar S, Dweep H, Wickramasinghe J, Kossenkov AV, Reyes-Arbujas J, Santiago K, Nguyen T, Griss J, Keeney F, Hayden J, Gavin BJ, Weiner D, Montaner LJ, Liu Q, Peiffer L, Becker J, Burton EM, Davies MA, Tetzlaff MT, Muthumani K, Wargo JA, Gabrilovich D, Herlyn M. Tumor-infiltrating mast cells are associated with resistance to anti-PD-1 therapy. Nat Commun 2021; 12:346. [PMID: 33436641 PMCID: PMC7804257 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20600-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 12/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Anti-PD-1 therapy is used as a front-line treatment for many cancers, but mechanistic insight into this therapy resistance is still lacking. Here we generate a humanized (Hu)-mouse melanoma model by injecting fetal liver-derived CD34+ cells and implanting autologous thymus in immune-deficient NOD-scid IL2Rγnull (NSG) mice. Reconstituted Hu-mice are challenged with HLA-matched melanomas and treated with anti-PD-1, which results in restricted tumor growth but not complete regression. Tumor RNA-seq, multiplexed imaging and immunohistology staining show high expression of chemokines, as well as recruitment of FOXP3+ Treg and mast cells, in selective tumor regions. Reduced HLA-class I expression and CD8+/Granz B+ T cells homeostasis are observed in tumor regions where FOXP3+ Treg and mast cells co-localize, with such features associated with resistance to anti-PD-1 treatment. Combining anti-PD-1 with sunitinib or imatinib results in the depletion of mast cells and complete regression of tumors. Our results thus implicate mast cell depletion for improving the efficacy of anti-PD-1 therapy. Immune checkpoint therapies (ICT) are promising for treating various cancers, but response rates vary. Here the authors show, in mouse models, that tumor-infiltrating mast cells colocalize with regulatory T cells, coincide with local reduction of MHC-I and CD8 T cells, and is associated with resistance to ICT, which can be reversed by c-kit inhibitor treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Robin Choi
- The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | | | - Ling Li
- The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | | | - Rohit Thakur
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Fang Wang
- The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Min Xiao
- The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | - Xue Yang
- The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Xiaowei Xu
- Department of Pathology and Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Anthony Secreto
- Department of Medicine, Stem Cell and Xenograft Core, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Gwenn Danet-Desnoyers
- Department of Medicine, Stem Cell and Xenograft Core, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Daniel Traum
- Department of Genetics and Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Klaus H Kaestner
- Department of Genetics and Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Alexander C Huang
- Department of Pathology and Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Johannes Griss
- Division of Immunology, Allergy and Infectious Diseases (DIAID), Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Qin Liu
- The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | | | - Elizabeth M Burton
- Department of Surgical Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Michael A Davies
- Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Michael T Tetzlaff
- Department of Pathology and Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Kar Muthumani
- The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,GeneOne Life Science Inc., Fort Washington, PA, USA
| | - Jennifer A Wargo
- Department of Surgical Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
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