Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) is associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma metastasis and poor prognosis

Laboratory biomarkers of an effective antitumor immune response. Clinical significance

The modern checkpoint inhibitors block the programmed death-1 receptor and its ligand, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 on tumor cells and lymphocytes, that induces cytotoxic reactions. Nowadays, there are no approved clinical and laboratory predictor markers of immune therapy efficacy, which would allow a more personalized approach to patient selection and treatment. The aim of this review is to analyze possible biomarkers of efficacy for treatment with checkpoint inhibitors according to the pathogenic mechanisms of drug action. The review revealed possible predictive biomarkers, that could be classified to 3 groups: biomarkers of high mutagenic potential of the tumor, biomarkers of high activity of adaptive immunity, biomarkers of low activity of the tumor microenvironment. The determination of the described markers before the start of therapy can be used to formulate a treatment regimen, in which the use of various immunomodulatory drugs, inhibitors of proinflammatory cytokines, angiogenic molecules, and probiotics can be considered.

Prognostic role of secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine in patients with solid tumors

OBJECTIVES

To analyze the heterogeneous functions of secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) from different origins and in different tumor microenvironments with the purpose of determining its clinical significance. Methods: The PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane, Web of Science and Embase databases were utilized. Studies that focused on the effects of SPARC expression on solid tumor progression and clinical implications were used. The different outcomes including overall survival and disease-free survival were analyzed to evaluate their relations with tumor- and stroma-derived SPARC expression. Results: A total of 26 studies including 5,939 patients were enrolled in the present meta-analysis. Tumor-derived SPARC overexpression was significantly related with poor overall survival (hazard ratio: 1.478; 95% CI: 1.143-1.910; p=0.003), and a similar tendency was also observed in disease-free survival (hazard ratio: 1.476; 95% CI: 0.993-2.195; p=0.054). However, the hazard ratios for overall survival and disease-free survival did not present a statistical trend in stromal SPARC overexpression. Tumor type subgroup analysis revealed marked heterogeneity among outcomes. In pancreatic cancer, SPARC overexpression in the stroma was significantly associated with poorer overall survival and disease-free survival. In colorectal cancer, SPARC overexpression in the stroma was associated with better disease-free survival. Conclusion: For the majority of solid tumors, SPARC in cancer cells may be an unfavorable indicator for long-term survival for patients. As for stromal expression, SPARC indicates a poorer prognosis in pancreatic cancer, but a better disease-free survival in colorectal cancer. Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine might be a potential biomarker for solid tumor prognosis.

Association of SPARC gene polymorphisms rs3210714 and rs7719521 with VEGF expression and utility of Nottingham Prognostic Index scoring in breast cancer in a sample of Egyptian women

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. To our knowledge, there is no single study conducted on the role of secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) gene polymorphism in breast cancer risk or prognosis. The present study aims to investigate the probable role of SPARC genetic polymorphisms in development of breast cancer; their correlation with immunohistochemical expression of VEGF; and their association with breast cancer prognosis in the Egyptian population. The study sample included 238 Egyptian females who were divided into two groups: breast cancer group (118 patients) and healthy control group (120 subjects). SPARC gene single nucleotide polymorphisms rs3210714 and rs7719521 were genotyped. Allelic and genotypic frequencies were determined in both groups and association with ductal breast carcinoma, clinicopathological and prognostic characters were determined. For SPARC rs3210714, a significant difference was observed in the codominant model and both A and G alleles' frequencies between breast cancer patients and control group (P < 0.001). For rs7719521, a significant difference in codominant and dominant models as well as in both A and C alleles' frequencies between breast cancer and control groups (P < 0.001) was observed. A significant relation was found between SPARC rs3210714 and rs7719521, and immunohistochemical expression of VEGF (P = 0.046 and P = 0.027, respectively). SPARC rs7719521 showed a significant association with Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI) (P = 0.032). The present study revealed that SPARC rs3210714 and rs7719521 polymorphisms are associated with breast cancer risk and its prognosis. Therefore, these SNPs may be useful in predicting the increased risk of breast cancer.

Diagnostic role of circulating extracellular matrix-related proteins in non-small cell lung cancer

Background

Interactions between cancer cells and the surrounding microenvironment are crucial determinants of cancer progression. During this process, bi-directional communication among tumor cells and cancer associated fibroblasts (CAF) regulate extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition and remodeling. As a result of this dynamic process, soluble ECM proteins can be released into the bloodstream and may represent novel circulating biomarkers useful for cancer diagnosis. The aim of the present study was to measure the levels of three circulating ECM related proteins (COL11A1, COL10A1 and SPARC) in plasma samples of lung cancer patients and in healthy heavy-smokers controls and test whether such measurements have diagnostic or prognostic value.

Methods

Gene expression profiling of lung fibroblasts isolated from paired normal and cancer tissue of NSCLC patients was performed by gene expression microarrays. The prioritization of the candidates for the study of circulating proteins in plasma was based on the most differentially expressed genes in cancer associated fibroblasts. Soluble ECM proteins were assessed by western blot in the conditioned medium of lung fibroblasts and by ELISA assays in plasma samples.

Results

Plasma samples from lung cancer patients and healthy heavy-smokers controls were tested for levels of COL11A1 and COL10A1 (n = 57 each) and SPARC (n = 90 each). Higher plasma levels of COL10A1 were detected in patients (p ≤ 0.001), a difference that was driven specifically by females (p < 0.001). No difference in COL11A1 levels between patients and controls was found. SPARC levels were also higher in plasma patients than controls (p < 0.001) with good performance in discriminating the two groups (AUC = 0.744). No significant association was observed between plasma proteins levels and clinicopathological features or survival.

Conclusion

Soluble factors related to proficient tumor-stroma cross-talk are detectable in plasma of primary lung cancer patients and may represent a valuable complementary diagnostic tool to discriminate lung cancer patients from healthy heavy-smokers individuals as shown for the SPARC protein.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12885-018-4772-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

B-Myb Mediates Proliferation and Migration of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer via Suppressing IGFBP3

B-Myb has been shown to play an important oncogenic role in several types of human cancers, including non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We previously found that B-Myb is aberrantly upregulated in NSCLC, and overexpression of B-Myb can significantly promote NSCLC cell growth and motility. In the present study, we have further investigated the therapeutic potential of B-Myb in NSCLC. Kaplan–Meier and Cox proportional hazards analysis indicated that high expression of B-Myb is significantly associated with poor prognosis in NSCLC patients. A loss-of-function study demonstrated that depletion of B-Myb resulted in significant inhibition of cell growth and delayed cell cycle progression in NSCLC cells. Notably, B-Myb depletion also decreased NSCLC cell migration and invasion ability as well as colony-forming ability. Moreover, an in vivo study demonstrated that B-Myb depletion caused significant inhibition of tumor growth in a NSCLC xenograft nude mouse model. A molecular mechanistic study by RNA-seq analysis revealed that B-Myb depletion led to deregulation of various downstream genes, including insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP3). Overexpression of IGFBP3 suppressed the B-Myb-induced proliferation and migration, whereas knockdown of IGFBP3 significantly rescued the inhibited cell proliferation and motility caused by B-Myb siRNA (small interfering RNA). Expression and luciferase reporter assays revealed that B-Myb could directly suppress the expression of IGFBP3. Taken together, our results suggest that B-Myb functions as a tumor-promoting gene via suppressing IGFBP3 and could serve as a novel therapeutic target in NSCLC.

SPARC expression in gastric cancer predicts poor prognosis: Results from a clinical cohort, pooled analysis and GSEA assay

Background

The prognostic role of Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC) in gastric cancer (GC) remains controversial. We investigated the clinical significance, the survival relevance, and potential function of SPARC in GC with resected samples, online gene set GSE62254, and cell line SGC7901.

Results

High immunostaining of SPARC significantly correlated with tumor differentiation (P = 0.004), and independently predicted shorter overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.446, P = 0.022), based on the current IHC evaluation. The accuracy of the results was further validated with 1000 times bootstrapping and the time-dependent receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curves. The meta-analysis (pooled HR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.01−2.53) confirmed SPARC as the predictor for reduced OS in GC. Moreover, the association between enhanced SPARC expression and Adriamycin (Adr) sensitivity was revealed by GSEA, and then confirmed by comparative cellular experiments, such as the protein level analysis of SGC7901and SGC7901/Adr cell line.

Materials and Methods

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) method was used to detect SPARC expression in 137 GC cases. Meta-analysis was performed based on 5 studies published in English on PubMed up to March 2016. GSEA was performed using online data set GSE62254 and GC-related functional gene sets derived from molecular signatures database (MSigDB). Western Blot was carried out to compare protein-level differences between gastric carcinoma SGC7901 cell line and Adr resistant SGC7901/Adr cell line. MTT assay was done to confirm the induction of SPARC on Adr sensitivity

Conclusions

Increased SPARC expression in GC led to a worse clinical outcome of patients and might induce Adr sensitivity of GC cells.

High secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine expression in peritumoral fibroblasts predicts better prognosis in patients with resectable gastric cancer

Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein that may serve an important role in epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Recent studies have demonstrated that SPARC status is a prognostic indicator in various cancer types; however, its value remains unclear in gastric cancer (GC). In the present study, the localization and prognostic impact of SPARC expression were evaluated in patients with GC. Immunohistochemical analysis of SPARC expression was performed in 117 surgically resected GC specimens, and the localization of SPARC positive cells, as well as the rassociation between SPARC expression and clinicopathological characteristics were evaluated. High SPARC expression was observed in 47 cases; the glycoprotein was localized in the peritumoral fibroblasts, but was rarely observed in the cytoplasm of cancer cells. Heterogeneity of SPARC expression was observed in 52 cases. High stromal SPARC expression was identified to be an independent predictor of more favorable prognosis (overall survival and recurrence free survival) in all patients (P<0.001). On subgroup analysis, this association remained significant in patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy, but not in patients who did not (P<0.001). Stromal SPARC expression predicts better prognosis in GC patients who underwent curative resection; this appears to be associated with improved response to chemotherapy.

Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC) Enhances Cell Proliferation, Migration, and Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition, and SPARC Expression is Associated with Tumor Grade in Head and Neck Cancer

Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) is a secreted protein which is involved in various biological processes. SPARC expression is associated with tumor metastasis and poor prognosis in several types of cancer. However, the SPARC-induced signaling pathway was not fully understood in head and neck cancer. In this study, our results showed that SPARC treatment promoted cell proliferation and migration in head and neck cancer cell lines FaDu and Detroit 562. In addition, SPARC induced expression of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) regulators, including Slug, Snail, and Twist in Detroit 562. The results of phospho-kinase array analysis showed that SPARC treatment increased phosphorylation of some molecules including protein kinase B (PKB/AKT), ribosomal S6 kinase (RSK), and extracellular signal–regulated kinases (ERK). The expression of SPARC-induced EMT regulator Slug was suppressed by AKT inhibitor, but not ERK and RSK inhibitors. The SPARC expression in grade IV tumor samples is higher when compared to that in grade I–III tumor samples. Our results suggest that SPARC treatment enhances the EMT signaling pathway via activation of AKT, and exogenous SPARC and tumor expressing SPARC might be associated with tumor progression in head and neck cancers.

Significance of stromal-1 and stromal-2 signatures and biologic prognostic model in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Objective

: Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) is a heterogeneous group of tumors with different biological and clinical characteristics that have diverse clinical outcomes and response to therapy. Stromal-1 signature of tumor microenvironment of DLBCL represents extracellular matrix deposition and histiocytic infiltrate, whereas stromal-2 represents angiogenesis that could affect tumor progression.

Methods

: The aim of the present study is to assess the significance of stromal-1 signature using SPARC-1 and stromal-2 signature using CD31 expression and then finally to construct biologic prognostic model (BPM) in 60 cases of DLBCL via immunohistochemistry.

Results

: Microvessel density (P<0.05) and SPARC percentage of expression (P<0.001) were higher in DLBCL, including germinal and nongerminal cases, compared with reactive follicular hyperplasia. High microvessel density was significantly associated with splenic involvement (P=0.008), high mitotic count (P=0.045), and presence of capsular invasion (P=0.035). Percentage of SPARC expression was significantly associated with splenic involvement (P=0.03). Constructing BPM showed that 42 cases (70%) were of low biologic score (0–1) and 18 cases (30%) were of high biologic score (2–3). Low BPM cases showed less probability for splenic involvement (P=0.04) and a higher rate of complete response to therapy compared with high score cases (P=0.08).

Conclusions

: The DLBCL microenvironment could modulate tumor progression behavior since angiogenesis and SPARC positive stromal cells promote dissemination by association with spleen involvement and capsular invasion. Biologic prognostic models, including modified BPM, which considered cell origin of DLBCL and stromal signature pathways, could determine DLBCL progression and response to therapy.

Phase I/II dose-finding study of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab®-Paclitaxel) plus Cisplatin as Treatment for Metastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

This phase I/II study aimed to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab (®)-paclitaxel) plus cisplatin as treatment for metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

METHODS

Patients were enrolled into 1 of 3 dose cohorts, each with 21-day treatment cycles: 1) intravenous (IV) nab-paclitaxel 260 mg/m(2) on day 1; 2) IV nab-paclitaxel 140 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8; 3) IV nab-paclitaxel 100 mg/m(2) on days 1, 8, and 15. All patients received IV cisplatin 75 mg/m(2) on day 1. Treatment continued for 4-6 cycles, or until progression or unacceptable toxicity. If more than one-third of the patients in a cohort experienced a dose-limiting toxicity (DLT), the dose used in the previous cohort would be designated the MTD. Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) expression was detected by immunohistochemistry staining.

RESULTS

Sixty-nine patients were enrolled, of whom 64 and 67 were eligible for efficacy and safety analysis, respectively. Two DLTs occurred in cohort 1 (grade 4 febrile neutropenia, grade 3 myalgia), none occurred in cohort 2, and 2 occurred in cohort 3 (both grade 3 fatigue). The MTD was not reached. Partial responses were achieved by 42 patients, 15 had stable disease, and 7 had progressive disease, giving an overall response rate of 66 %. Median progression-free survival was 9 months (95 % CI, 6-12 months). Grade ≥ 3 adverse events were mainly hematologic. There was no significant difference between the 3 cohorts with respect to efficacy or safety. Biomarker analyses indicated that stromal, rather than tumoral, SPARC may predict the response to nab-paclitaxel in NPC.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that nab-paclitaxel plus cisplatin is a highly active regimen with moderate toxicity for the treatment of metastatic NPC, which warrants further investigation in a phase III study.

TRIAL REGISTRATIONS

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT01735409 . The trial was registered on November 20th, 2012.

Cadmium as a possible cause of bladder cancer: a review of accumulated evidence

Bladder cancer is a significant disease, the rates of which have increased over the few last years. However, its etiology remains as yet undefined. Cadmium, a widespread environmental carcinogen that has received considerable interest, presents evidence as a possible cause of bladder cancer. A literature review was conducted from the years 1984-2013 to study the accumulated evidence for cadmium as a possible cause of bladder cancer, including routes of cadmium exposure, accumulation, toxicity, carcinogenicity, and evidence from epidemiological and experimental studies. Special reference is devoted to cadmium nephrotoxicity, which illustrates how cadmium exerts its effects on the transitional epithelium of the urinary tract. Mechanisms of carcinogenesis are discussed. The effects of cadmium on gene expression in urothelial cells exposed to cadmium are also addressed. Despite different methodologies, several epidemiologic and nephrotoxicity studies of cadmium indicate that occupational exposure to cadmium is associated with increased risk of bladder cancer and provide additional evidence that cadmium is a potential toxic element in urothelial cells. In vitro studies provide further evidence that cadmium is involved in urothelial carcinogenesis. Animal studies encounter several problems such as morphology differences between species. Among the complex mechanisms of cadmium carcinogenesis, gene expression deregulation is the subject of recent studies on bladder cadmium-induced carcinogenesis. Further research, however, will be required to promise a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying cadmium carcinogenesis and to establish the precise role of cadmium in this important malignancy.

Prognostic impact of tumoral and/or peri-tumoral stromal SPARC expressions after surgery in patients with biliary tract cancer

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

SPARC (secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine) is a matricellular glycoprotein that modulates interactions between tumoral cells and the peri-tumoralstroma. SPARC induces proliferation and invasion in vitro, and is a poor prognostic factor in several gastrointestinal cancers. Herein, we evaluated the prognostic value of tumoral and stromal SPARC expression in patients with biliary tract cancer (BTC) after surgery.

METHODS

We examined immunohistochemical patterns of SPARC expression in 110 resected BTC specimens and evaluated the prognostic value using prospectively collected data.

RESULTS

SPARC was expressed in tumoral cells in 46 samples (42%) and inperi-tumoralstromain 65 samples (59%). Tumoral SPARC expression was not related to major patient characteristics. Stromal SPARC expression was related to lymph node metastasis, stage, margin status, and tumor location. Overall survival at 5 years after surgery was 34.2%. Stromal SPARC (P < 0.001) and tumoral SPARC (P = 0.048) were associated with poor prognosis. Multivariate analysis revealed invasion into lymphatic system, residual tumor, and stromal SPARC as independent prognostic factors. The hazard ratio for patients with positive stromal SPARC was 3.20 (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

SPARC expression inperi-tumoralstroma predicts a poor prognosis for patients with BTC after surgery.

Identification of colonic fibroblast secretomes reveals secretory factors regulating colon cancer cell proliferation

Stromal microenvironment influences tumor cell proliferation and migration. Fibroblasts represent the most abundant stromal constituents. Here, we established two pairs of normal fibroblast (NF) and cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) cultures from colorectal adenocarcinoma tissues and the normal counterparts. The NFs and CAFs were stained positive for typical fibroblast markers and inhibited colon cancer (CC) cell proliferation in in vitro cocultures and in xenograft mouse models. The fibroblast conditioned media were analyzed using LC-MS and 227 proteins were identified at a false discovery rate of 1.3%, including 131 putative secretory and 20 plasma membrane proteins. These proteins were enriched for functional categories of extracellular matrix, adhesion, cell motion, inflammatory response, redox homeostasis and peptidase inhibitor. Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine, transgelin, follistatin-related protein 1 (FSTL1) and decorin was abundant in the fibroblast secretome as confirmed by Western blot. Silencing of FSTL1 and transgelin in colonic fibroblast cell line CCD-18Co induced an accelerated proliferation of CC cells in cocultures. Exogenous FSTL1 attenuates CC cell proliferation in a negative fashion. FSTL1 was upregulated in CC patient plasma and cancerous tissues but had no implication in prognosis. Our results provided novel insights into the molecular signatures and modulatory role of CC associated fibroblasts.

BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE

In this study, a label-free LC-MS was performed to analyze the secretomes of two paired primary fibroblasts, which were isolated from fresh surgical specimen of colorectal adenocarcinoma and adjacent normal colonic tissues and exhibited negative modulatory activity for colon cancer cell growth in in vitro cocultures and in vivo xenograph mouse models. Follistatin-related protein 1 was further revealed to be one of the stroma-derived factors of potential suppression role for colon cancer cell proliferation. Our results provide novel insights into the molecular signatures and the modulatory role of colon cancer associated fibroblasts, and establish a valuable resource for the development of therapeutic agents or novel clinic biomarker.

Molecular mechanisms underlying the divergent roles of SPARC in human carcinogenesis

Communication between the cell and its surrounding environment, consisting of proteinaceous (non-living material) and extracellular matrix (ECM), is important for biophysiological and chemical signaling. This signaling results in a range of cellular activities, including cell division, adhesion, differentiation, invasion, migration and angiogenesis. The ECM non-structural secretory glycoprotein called secreted protein, acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC), plays a significant role in altering cancer cell activity and the tumor's microenvironment (TME). However, the role of SPARC in cancer research has been the subject of controversy. This review mainly focuses on recent advances in understanding the contradictory nature of SPARC in relation to ECM assembly, cancer cell proliferation, adhesion, migration, apoptosis and tumor growth.

SWATH™- and iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic analyses reveal an overexpression and biological relevance of CD109 in advanced NSCLC

To identify cancer-related proteins, we used isobaric tags in a relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) proteomic approach and SWATH™ quantification approach to analyze the secretome of an isogenic pair of highly metastatic and low metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines. In addition, we compared two groups of pooled serum samples (12 early-stage and 12 late-stage patients) to mine data for candidates screened by iTRAQ-labeled proteomic analysis. A total of 110 proteins and 71 proteins were observed to be significantly differentially expressed in the cell line secretome and NSCLC sera, respectively. Among these proteins, CD109 was found to be highly expressed in both the highly metastatic cell line secretome and the group of late-stage patients. A sandwich ELISA assay also demonstrated an elevation of serum CD109 levels in individual NSCLC patients (n=30) compared with healthy subjects (n=19). Furthermore, CD109 displayed higher expression in lung cancer tissues compared with their matched noncancerous lung tissues (n=72). In addition, the knockdown of CD109 influenced several NSCLC cell bio-functions, for instance, depressing cell growth, affecting cell cycle phases. These phenomena suggest that CD109 plays a critical role in NSCLC progression.

BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE

We simultaneously applied two quantitative proteomic approaches-iTRAQ-labeling and SWATH™-to analyze the secretome of metastatic cell lines, in order to explore the cancer-associated proteins in conditioned media. In this study, our results indicate that CD109 plays a critical role in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progression, and is overexpressed in advanced NSCLC.

ALK gene copy number gain and its clinical significance in hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM: To examine the status and clinical significance of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene alterations in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.

METHODS: A total of 213 cases of HCC were examined by fluorescent in situ hybridization using dual color break-apart ALK probes for the detection of chromosomal translocation and gene copy number gain. HCC tissue microarrays were constructed, and the correlation between the ALK status and clinicopathological variables was assessed by χ² test or Fisher’s exact test. Survival analysis was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier approach with a Log-rank test. Univariate and multivariate analyses of clinical variables were performed using the Cox proportional hazards regression model.

RESULTS: ALK gene translocation was not observed in any of the HCC cases included in the present study. ALK gene copy number gain (ALK/CNG) (≥ 4 copies/cell) was detected in 28 (13.15%) of the 213 HCC patients. The 3-year progression-free-survival (PFS) rate for ALK/CNG-positive HCC patients was significantly poorer than ALK/CNG-negative patients (27.3% vs 42.5%, P = 0.048), especially for patients with advanced stage III/IV (0% vs 33.5%, P = 0.007), and patients with grade III disease (24.8% vs 49.9%, P = 0.023). ALK/CNG-positive HCC patients had a significantly poorer prognosis than ALK/CNG-negative patients in the subgroup that was negative for serum hepatitis B virus DNA, with significantly different 3-year overall survival rates (18.2% vs 63.6%, P = 0.021) and PFS rates (18.2% vs 46.9%, P = 0.019). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis suggested that ALK/CNG prevalence can predict death in HCC (HR = 1.596; 95%CI: 1.008-2.526, P = 0.046).

CONCLUSION: ALK/CNG, but not translocation of ALK, is present in HCC and may be an unfavorable prognostic predictor.

A global view of the oncogenic landscape in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: an integrated analysis at the genetic and expression levels

Previous studies have reported that the tumour cells of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) exhibit recurrent chromosome abnormalities. These genetic changes are broadly assumed to lead to changes in gene expression which are important for the pathogenesis of this tumour. However, this assumption has yet to be formally tested at a global level. Therefore a genome wide analysis of chromosome copy number and gene expression was performed in tumour cells micro-dissected from the same NPC biopsies. Cellular tumour suppressor and tumour-promoting genes (TSG, TPG) and Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)-encoded oncogenes were examined. The EBV-encoded genome maintenance protein EBNA1, along with the putative oncogenes LMP1, LMP2 and BARF1 were expressed in the majority of NPCs that were analysed. Significant downregulation of expression in an average of 76 cellular TSGs per tumour was found, whilst a per-tumour average of 88 significantly upregulated, TPGs occurred. The expression of around 60% of putative TPGs and TSGs was both up-and down-regulated in different types of cancer, suggesting that the simplistic classification of genes as TSGs or TPGs may not be entirely appropriate and that the concept of context-dependent onco-suppressors may be more extensive than previously recognised. No significant enrichment of TPGs within regions of frequent genomic gain was seen but TSGs were significantly enriched within regions of frequent genomic loss. It is suggested that loss of the FHIT gene may be a driver of NPC tumourigenesis. Notwithstanding the association of TSGs with regions of genomic loss, on a gene by gene basis and excepting homozygous deletions and high-level amplification, there is very little correlation between chromosomal copy number aberrations and expression levels of TSGs and TPGs in NPC.