The Effect of HER2 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms on Cervical Cancer Susceptibility and Survival in a Chinese Population

Digital PCR quantification of ultrahigh ERBB2 copy number identifies poor breast cancer survival after trastuzumab

HER2/ERBB2 evaluation is necessary for treatment decision-making in breast cancer (BC), however current methods have limitations and considerable variability exists. DNA copy number (CN) evaluation by droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) has complementary advantages for HER2/ERBB2 diagnostics. In this study, we developed a single-reaction multiplex ddPCR assay for determination of ERBB2 CN in reference to two control regions, CEP17 and a copy-number-stable region of chr. 2p13.1, validated CN estimations to clinical in situ hybridization (ISH) HER2 status, and investigated the association of ERBB2 CN with clinical outcomes. 909 primary BC tissues were evaluated and the area under the curve for concordance to HER2 status was 0.93 and 0.96 for ERBB2 CN using either CEP17 or 2p13.1 as reference, respectively. The accuracy of ddPCR ERBB2 CN was 93.7% and 94.1% in the training and validation groups, respectively. Positive and negative predictive value for the classic HER2 amplification and non-amplification groups was 97.2% and 94.8%, respectively. An identified biological "ultrahigh" ERBB2 ddPCR CN group had significantly worse survival within patients treated with adjuvant trastuzumab for both recurrence-free survival (hazard ratio, HR: 3.3; 95% CI 1.1-9.6; p = 0.031, multivariable Cox regression) and overall survival (HR: 3.6; 95% CI 1.1-12.6; p = 0.041). For validation using RNA-seq data as a surrogate, in a population-based SCAN-B cohort (NCT02306096) of 682 consecutive patients receiving adjuvant trastuzumab, the ultrahigh-ERBB2 mRNA group had significantly worse survival. Multiplex ddPCR is useful for ERBB2 CN estimation and ultrahigh ERBB2 may be a predictive factor for decreased long-term survival after trastuzumab treatment.

Association of HER1 and HER2 Gene Variants in the Predisposition of Colorectal Cancer

Background

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major health concern worldwide. A series of sequential accumulation of genetic and epigenetic changes are responsible for the initiation and progression of diseases via the normal > adenoma > carcinoma sequence. Genetic variants in crucial cancer-causing genes are known to mediate the risk of cancer.

Objective

In this case-control study, we examined single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in HER1 (rs763317 and rs3752651) and HER2 (rs1136201 and rs1058808) genes to assess their role in the susceptibility of CRC in a Saudi population.

Methods

TaqMan allelic discrimination assay was utilized to identify the genotypes in 163 normal and 143 CRC patients.

Results

In the overall analysis, the rs3752651 and rs1136201 were significantly associated with the risk of CRC. Although none of the examined SNPs had any impact on the age at which CRC was diagnosed, interestingly, three SNPs showed a significant association based on gender. The rs3752651 conferred significant protection only in men, whereas rs1136201 diminished the risk and rs1058808 considerably increased the susceptibility of CRC only in women.

Conclusions

Our result suggests that these SNPs in HER1 and HER2 after validation in larger cohorts of different ethnicities may be utilized as genetic screening markers for predicting colorectal cancer predisposition.

Correlation between SNPs of PIK3CA, ERBB2 3'UTR, and their interactions with environmental factors and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer

OBJECTIVE

To study the correlation between SNPs at phosphatidylinositol-4, 5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha (PIK3CA) rs9838117 site, erb-b2 receptor tyrosine kinase 2 (ERBB2) rs1058808 site, and their interactions with environmental factors and the epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) risk.

METHODS

Sanger sequencing was used to analyze the genotypes of PIK3CA rs9838117 and ERBB2 rs1058808 site in 587 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Multi-factor dimensionality reduction (MDR) was applied to analyze the interaction between PIK3CA rs9838117 and ERBB2 rs1058808 site and the clinical data.

RESULTS

The risk of EOC in T allele carriers at PIK3CA rs9838117 was 1.95 times (95%CI: 1.55-2.46, P<0.01) that of G allele carriers. The risk of EOC in G allele carriers at ERBB2 rs1058808 was as 0.64 times (95%CI: 0.54-0.75, P <0.01) as the risk for C allele carriers. In the interaction model between clinical data, PIK3CA rs9838117 site and ERBB2 rs1058808 SNP site, EOC risk in high-risk combination was 3.10 times (95%CI: 1.49-6.46, P <0.01) that of low-risk combination.

CONCLUSION

The SNPs at PIK3CA rs9838117 and ERBB2 rs1058808 loci were associated with the risk of EOC.

High expression of fibroblast activation protein (FAP) predicts poor outcome in high-grade serous ovarian cancer

BACKGROUND

High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is a fatal form of ovarian cancer. Previous studies indicated some potential biomarkers for clinical evaluation of HGSOC prognosis. However, there is a lack of systematic analysis of different expression genes (DEGs) to screen and detect significant biomarkers of HGSOC.

METHODS

TCGA database was conducted to analyze relevant genes expression in HGSOC. Outcomes of candidate genes expression, including overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), were calculated by Cox regression analysis for hazard rates (HR). Histopathological investigation of the identified genes was carried out in 151 Chinese HGSOC patients to validate gene expression in different stages of HGSOC.

RESULTS

Of all 57,331 genes that were analyzed, FAP was identified as the only novel gene that significantly contributed to both OS and PFS of HGSOC. In addition, FAP had a consistent expression profile between carcinoma-paracarcinoma and early-advanced stages of HGSOC. Immunological tests in paraffin section also confirmed that up-regulation of FAP was present in advanced stage HGSOC patients. Prediction of FAP network association suggested that FN1 could be a potential downstream gene which further influenced HGSOC survival.

CONCLUSIONS

High-level expression of FAP was associated with poor prognosis of HGSOC via FN1 pathway.

CASC15 polymorphisms are correlated with cervical cancer susceptibility in Chinese women

Background

Cervical cancer is a frequent, common cancer in women, and causes high cancer‐related deaths among women in our world. Accumulating studies provided an important evidence for long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) polymorphisms in the susceptibility of various cancer. Here, we recruited 494 cervical cancer cases and 504 unrelated controls to assess the relationship between CASC15 (OMIM# 616610) polymorphisms and cervical cancer susceptibility.

Methods

Agena MassARRAY platform was conducted to genotype CASC15 polymorphisms. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were analyzed through logistic regression to adjust for confounding factors, such as age and gender.

Results

Our study suggested that rs12212674 (NC_000006.12:g.22086845T>A) “A” allele was significantly associated with an increased risk of cervical cancer (OR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.01–1.69, p = .041). The result was demonstrated in the log‐additive model (OR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.02–1.72, p = .037). After age stratification, we also found that the “TT” genotype of rs4712653 (NC_000006.11:g.22125964T>C) in CASC15 was interaction with a higher cervical cancer risk in subjects aged ≤51 years in the co‐dominant model (OR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.02–4.25, p = .044) and the recessive model (OR = 2.11, 95% CI = 1.05–4.24, p = .036). Whereas no significant correlation was found among other SNPs of CASC15 polymorphisms and the risk of cervical cancer. MDR analysis illustrated that the interaction between rs7740084 (NC_000006.11:g.21727531G>A), rs1555529 (NC_000006.11:g.21691704A>G), and rs12212674 had a certain effect on the progress of cervical cancer.

Conclusion

Our results revealed a potential interaction between CASC15 polymorphisms and cervical cancer susceptibility. The results provided important insights into CASC15 function in the development of cervical cancer.