73 research outputs found
Mesenchymal-endothelial nexus in breast cancer spheroids induces vasculogenesis and local invasion in a CAM model
No full textInterplay between non-cancerous cells (immune, fibroblasts, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC), and endothelial cells (EC)) has been identified as vital in driving tumor progression. As studying such interactions in vivo is challenging, ex vivo systems that can recapitulate in vivo scenarios can aid in unraveling the factors impacting tumorigenesis and metastasis. Using the synthetic tumor microenvironment mimics (STEMs)—a spheroid system composed of breast cancer cells (BCC) with defined human MSC and EC fractions, here we show that EC organization into vascular structures is BC phenotype dependent, and independent of ERα expression in epithelial cancer cells, and involves MSC-mediated Notch1 signaling. In a 3D-bioprinted model system to mimic local invasion, MDA STEMs collectively respond to serum gradient and form invading cell clusters. STEMs grown on chick chorioallantoic membrane undergo local invasion to form CAM tumors that can anastomose with host vasculature and bear the typical hallmarks of human BC and this process requires both EC and MSC. This study provides a framework for developing well-defined in vitro systems, including patient-derived xenografts that recapitulate in vivo events, to investigate heterotypic cell interactions in tumors, to identify factors promoting tumor metastasis-related events, and possibly drug screening in the context of personalized medicine
Anatomic versus non‐anatomic liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma—A European multicentre cohort study in cirrhotic and non‐cirrhotic patients
No full textAbstract Background The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is increasing in the western world over the past decades. As liver resection (LR) represents one of the most efficient treatment options, advantages of anatomic (ALR) versus non‐anatomic liver resection (NALR) show a lack of consistent evidence. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate complications and survival rates after both resection types. Methods This is a multicentre cohort study using retrospectively and prospectively collected data. We included all patients undergoing LR for HCC between 2009 and 2020 from three specialised centres in Switzerland and Germany. Complication and survival rates after ALR versus NALR were analysed using uni‐ and multivariate Cox regression models. Results Two hundred and ninety‐eight patients were included. Median follow‐up time was 52.76 months. 164/298 patients (55%) underwent ALR. Significantly more patients with cirrhosis received NALR (n = 94/134; p < 0.001). Complications according to the Clavien Dindo classification were significantly more frequent in the NALR group (p < 0.001). Liver failure occurred in 13% after ALR versus 8% after NALR (p < 0.215). Uni‐ and multivariate cox regression models showed no significant differences between the groups for recurrence free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). Furthermore, cirrhosis had no significant impact on OS and RFS. Conclusion No significant differences on RFS and OS rates could be observed. Post‐operative complications were significantly less frequent in the ALR group while liver specific complications were comparable between both groups. Subgroup analysis showed no significant influence of cirrhosis on the post‐operative outcome of these patients
Abstract 4833: Perfusion-based bioreactor culture of primary cancer tissue maintains tumor microenvironment complexity and allow <i>in-vitro</i> testing of immune blockade therapy
No full textAbstract
In vitro culture of primary cancer tissue is still very limited and the generation of patient derived xenograft determine the loss of human-cancer associated stroma. In this context, the use of 3D in vitro systems based on human tissue may be an innovative system to be exploited for keeping the tumor microenvironment (TME) complexity of the tissue in vitro.
Freshly excised colorectal (CRC) and breast cancer (BrCa) specimens were fragmented and cultured in 3D “sandwich-like format” between porous collagen scaffolds under perfusion flow (U-CUP, Cellec Biotek AG). The maintenance of tumor and immune-infiltrating cells, survival and phenotypic characterization were histologically assessed. In a second step cancer treatment were tested.
U-CUP culture allowed the preservation, viability and expansion of tumor tissue with concomitant stromal and immune cells. Expanding cancer cells were viable after 10 and 21 days (CRC and BrCa, respectively). Administration of anti-ER treatment to Lumina A ER+ BrCa was associated with decreased expansion of cancer tissue into the scaffold after 21 days. The maintenance of immune-infiltrating cells allowed testing of immune blockade therapy. Administration of anti-PDL1 antibody, alone or in combination with anti-CTLA4, to the culture medium was associated with increased expression of markers of immune-activation (i.e. IFNγ) and decreased expression of immunosuppressive cytokine IL10.
Preserving malignant, interstitial and immunocompetent cells comprised in surgically excised tumor specimens might allow a direct evaluation of the effects of various treatments on the complex TME. This engineered in vitro model could allow animal-free testing and it could be extended as a platform allowing the testing of innovative approaches for the treatment of human malignancies. Our findings shed the light on a promising system for selecting personalized treatment based on a patient’s tumor specific microenvironment.
Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting.
Citation Format: Manuele Giuseppe Muraro, Simone Muenst, Celeste Manfredonia, Valentina Mele, Silvio Daester, Alexandar Tzankov, Luigi Terracciano, Walter Weber, Giulio C. Spagnoli, Giandomenica Iezzi, Ivan Martin, Savas D. Soysal. Perfusion-based bioreactor culture of primary cancer tissue maintains tumor microenvironment complexity and allow in-vitro testing of immune blockade therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4833. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-4833</jats:p
Genetic Alterations in Benign Breast Biopsies of Subsequent Breast Cancer Patients.
No full textBackground: Fibrocystic changes are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Genetic alterations have been found in fibrocystic changes with or without epithelial changes, suggesting that critical oncogenic events are occurring at an early stage. Methods: We investigated a unique collective of 17 breast cancer patients who, prior to the diagnosis of invasive breast cancer, underwent open surgical biopsy showing fibrocystic changes of the breast. The time span between biopsy for fibrocystic changes and invasive carcinoma ranged from 1 to 11 years (average 5.3 years). Ten (58.8%) of the patients had an ipsilateral invasive carcinoma, and 7 (41.2%) of the patients developed an invasive carcinoma of the contralateral breast. Massive parallel sequencing targeting genes frequently mutated in breast cancer was performed on the fibrocystic breast tissue as well as the ensuing cancer tissue. Results: In 9 cases, somatic mutations were found in the tumor tissue, the most prevalent being PIK3CA mutations (n = 4), followed by TP53 mutations (n = 2). None of these mutations were present in the previously removed mastopathy tissue. In one of the cases, an ERBB3 E928G mutation was present in the mastopathy as well as in the tumor tissue, with the variant allele frequency in the mastopathy being <0.1%. In two patients, we found two mutations (MAP3K1 L380fs and PIK3CA I391M, respectively) present in the mastopathy as well as in the subsequent breast cancer. These two mutations, however, could also be due to fixation artifacts. Conclusion: Since no significant somatic mutations in the fibrocystic breast tissue, and only doubtful shared mutations between benign and associated cancer tissue were detected, it remains unclear why women with fibrocystic breast disease have a statistically significant increased risk of breast cancer. Further analyses, maybe on the level of gene expression, could help to clarify the role of these benign alterations in the development of breast cancer and help to identify women at greater risk of developing subsequent invasive cancer
Distribution of PD-1+ lymphocytes in reactive lymphadenopathies
No full textProgrammed death-1 (PD-1) is physiologically expressed by germinal center (GC)-associated helper T cells. It has been proposed that an increase in PD-1+ cells outside GC could indicate pattern I angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL)
The PD-1/PD-L1 pathway: biological background and clinical relevance of an emerging treatment target in immunotherapy
No full textIncreased programmed death-1+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in classical Hodgkin lymphoma substantiate reduced overall survival
No full textProgrammed death-1 (PD-1), a protein that is physiologically expressed by germinal center-associated helper T cells, has an inhibitory function on T-cell activity. The distribution of PD-1+ lymphocytes in the microenvironment of Hodgkin lymphoma is not random and can serve as a diagnostic marker. We measured the number of PD-1+ lymphocytes in Hodgkin lymphoma and correlated it with the remaining background lymphocyte populations and known biological and clinical key data on a tissue microarray platform encompassing 280 cases of classical Hodgkin lymphoma and 3 cases of nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma. Prognostic cutoff scores were determined by receiver operating curve analysis. The number of PD-1+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in 189 evaluable cases was median of 27 and mean of 269 cells/mm(2), being higher in lymphocyte-rich classical Hodgkin lymphoma and lower in the mixed cellularity variant. Rimming of tumor cells by PD-1+ cells was observed in all cases of nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma but only in 1% of classical Hodgkin lymphomas, particularly in lymphocyte-rich and -mixed cellularity variants. Thus, the presence of PD-1+ rosettes around neoplastic cells is typical but not exclusive for nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma because it may be encountered in classical Hodgkin lymphoma. The PD-1+ cell amount was lower in classical Hodgkin lymphoma cases with 9p24 gains (PD-1 ligand 2 locus) and in cases with higher numbers of FOXP3+ regulatory T cells. An increased amount of PD-1+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes above the prognostic cutoff score (23 cells/mm(2)) was a stage-independent negative prognostic factor of overall survival as opposed to the number of FOXP3+ regulatory T cells. Along with the latter, PD-1+ cells might represent important lymphoma/host microenvironment modulators
Identification of Somatic Mutations in Thirty-year-old Serum Cell-free DNA From Patients With Breast Cancer: A Feasibility Study.
No full textINTRODUCTION
The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) extraction and circulating tumor DNA sequencing in 30-year-old serum samples.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We evaluated serum samples from 52 patients with breast cancer, which were collected between 1983 and 1991, with correlating clinicopathologic data. cfDNA was extracted by using the QIAamp Circulating Nucleic Acid Extraction Kit (Qiagen). Of these 52 cfDNA samples, 10 were randomly selected and sequenced with the Oncomine Breast cfDNA Assay (A31183). In a second step, high-depth targeted sequencing of 15 additional cfDNA samples was performed using a custom Ampliseq Ion Torrent panel targeting breast cancer-related genes.
RESULTS
cfDNA extraction was successful in 52 (100%) of 52 patients with a total concentration of 0.2 to 54 ng/uL. A total of 24 cancer-specific mutations were found in 22 (88%) of the 25 samples undergoing sequencing. Of the 52 patients, 32 (62%) had died from breast cancer after a median follow-up of 7.9 years (interquartile range, 3.7-15.5 years).
CONCLUSION
The present study shows that current next generation sequencing technology is sufficiently robust and specific to analyze 30-year-old serum. Therefore, longitudinal studies can be designed with storage of serum samples over many years, thereby obviating the need for timely and continuous cfDNA extraction and sequencing. The samples can be pooled and processed at once with the most modern technology available at the end of the study, when accumulation of events allows correlation of clinical outcomes with adequate power
Frequency, phenotype, and genotype of minute gastrointestinal stromal tumors in the stomach : an autopsy study
No full textGastrointestinal stromal tumors are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the human digestive tract. Up to 85% of these tumors show somatic gain-of-function mutation of the receptor tyrosine kinase c-KIT gene. A recent study has shown a high frequency (22.5%) of minute gastrointestinal stromal tumors in stomachs examined during routine autopsies. The aims of our study were to confirm the previously reported incidence of gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors in routine autopsies and to investigate their molecular alterations. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors were collected prospectively from 578 autopsies over an 18-month period. After recording the size and location of each lesion, representative tissue samples were processed for hematoxylin and eosin staining and immunohistochemically stained for CD117 and CD34. Microdissected DNA from all identified gastrointestinal stromal tumors was studied for c-KIT and platelet-derived growth factor receptor ? mutations. We identified 17 gastrointestinal stromal tumors in 578 consecutive autopsies (2.9%) located in the gastric body (47%) and fundus (47%). One tumor location was not recorded. All tumors were immunohistochemically positive for CD117 and CD34. DNA analysis showed c-KIT mutations in 11 cases. One platelet-derived growth factor receptor ? mutation was found. The incidence of gastric minute gastrointestinal stromal tumors (2.9%) is higher than the reported clinical incidence. All are benign tumors, and most, including minute tumors, contain c-KIT mutations. This finding highlights the fact that c-KIT mutations are an early event in the evolution of gastrointestinal stromal tumors but are not sufficient per se for clinically relevant disease
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