Project description:Background MicroRNA expression is frequently dysregulated in cancer and it could be used potentially as a disease classifier and a prognostic tool in cancer. It has been reported that the cancer associated specific microRNAs were stably detected in blood. The objective of this study was to discover a panel of circulating microRNAs as potential ER+/HER2- breast cancer biomarkers. Methods We compared levels of circulating microRNAs in blood samples from 11 ER+/HER2- advanced breast cancer patients with age-matched 5 control subjects by using microarray-based expression profiling. We validated the level of microRNAs by real-time quantitative polymerase cycle reaction (RT-qPCR) in 40 control subjects, 180 early breast cancer patients (EBC), and 52 metastatic breast cancer patients (MBC). Then, we assessed the association between the levels of microRNA and clinical outcomes of ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer. Background MicroRNA expression is frequently dysregulated in cancer and it could be used potentially as a disease classifier and a prognostic tool in cancer. It has been reported that the cancer associated specific microRNAs were stably detected in blood. The objective of this study was to discover a panel of circulating microRNAs as potential ER+/HER2- breast cancer biomarkers. Methods We compared levels of circulating microRNAs in blood samples from 11 ER+/HER2- advanced breast cancer patients with age-matched 5 control subjects by using microarray-based expression profiling. We validated the level of microRNAs by real-time quantitative polymerase cycle reaction (RT-qPCR) in 40 control subjects, 180 early breast cancer patients (EBC), and 52 metastatic breast cancer patients (MBC). Then, we assessed the association between the levels of microRNA and clinical outcomes of ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer. Controls: 5 cases; ER +/HER2- breast cancer patients : 11 cases
Project description:Gene expression data of HER2+ breast tumor samples Increasing evidence indicates that a subset of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer may achieve significant clinical benefit with anti-HER2 targeted therapy without chemotherapy. Thus, identification of biomarkers of long-term benefit from anti-HER2 agents is needed, especially in the metastatic setting. In the HERLAP study (NCT00842998), patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer were randomized to trastuzumab or lapatinib as first-line therapy. Patients showing radiological signs of tumor regression after 8 weeks of treatment were allowed to continue on single agent anti-HER2 therapy until disease progression. Chemotherapy was added to anti-HER-2 therapy in patients failing to achieve tumor regression at the 8-week evaluation and those progressing at any time. Expression analysis of 105 selected genes was performed from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded in 17 primary tumor samples. The research-based PAM50 intrinsic subtypes were also identified. The association of the expression of each biomarker with clinical outcome endpoints was evaluated. Nineteen patients were enrolled. In 4 patients (21.1%) we observed disease control lasting longer than 12 months with single agent anti-HER2 therapy (range 14.9-38.8 months). High expression of 17q12-21 amplicon genes HER2 and GRB7, and the PAM50 HER2-enriched intrinsic profile, were found significantly associated with 8-week overall response rate and with the duration of disease control during single agent anti-HER2 therapy. Conversely, high expression of luminal-related genes such as PGR, MDM2 or PIK3CA, or the PAM50 luminal intrinsic profile, was found associated with reduced benefit from single agent anti-HER2 therapy. Conclusions: Our data indicate that gene expression-based biomarkers can identify patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer that benefit substantially from single agent chemo-free anti-HER2 targeted therapy. In the study presented here, a well-defined cohort of 21 breast cancer cases from the HERLAP trial, was used to acquire expression profiles of a total of 105 unique genes
Project description:Background MicroRNA expression is frequently dysregulated in cancer and it could be used potentially as a disease classifier and a prognostic tool in cancer. It has been reported that the cancer associated specific microRNAs were stably detected in blood. The objective of this study was to discover a panel of circulating microRNAs as potential ER+/HER2- breast cancer biomarkers. Methods We compared levels of circulating microRNAs in blood samples from 11 ER+/HER2- advanced breast cancer patients with age-matched 5 control subjects by using microarray-based expression profiling. We validated the level of microRNAs by real-time quantitative polymerase cycle reaction (RT-qPCR) in 40 control subjects, 180 early breast cancer patients (EBC), and 52 metastatic breast cancer patients (MBC). Then, we assessed the association between the levels of microRNA and clinical outcomes of ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer. Background MicroRNA expression is frequently dysregulated in cancer and it could be used potentially as a disease classifier and a prognostic tool in cancer. It has been reported that the cancer associated specific microRNAs were stably detected in blood. The objective of this study was to discover a panel of circulating microRNAs as potential ER+/HER2- breast cancer biomarkers. Methods We compared levels of circulating microRNAs in blood samples from 11 ER+/HER2- advanced breast cancer patients with age-matched 5 control subjects by using microarray-based expression profiling. We validated the level of microRNAs by real-time quantitative polymerase cycle reaction (RT-qPCR) in 40 control subjects, 180 early breast cancer patients (EBC), and 52 metastatic breast cancer patients (MBC). Then, we assessed the association between the levels of microRNA and clinical outcomes of ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer.
Project description:Gene expression data of HER2+ breast tumor samples Increasing evidence indicates that a subset of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer may achieve significant clinical benefit with anti-HER2 targeted therapy without chemotherapy. Thus, identification of biomarkers of long-term benefit from anti-HER2 agents is needed, especially in the metastatic setting. In the HERLAP study (NCT00842998), patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer were randomized to trastuzumab or lapatinib as first-line therapy. Patients showing radiological signs of tumor regression after 8 weeks of treatment were allowed to continue on single agent anti-HER2 therapy until disease progression. Chemotherapy was added to anti-HER-2 therapy in patients failing to achieve tumor regression at the 8-week evaluation and those progressing at any time. Expression analysis of 105 selected genes was performed from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded in 17 primary tumor samples. The research-based PAM50 intrinsic subtypes were also identified. The association of the expression of each biomarker with clinical outcome endpoints was evaluated. Nineteen patients were enrolled. In 4 patients (21.1%) we observed disease control lasting longer than 12 months with single agent anti-HER2 therapy (range 14.9-38.8 months). High expression of 17q12-21 amplicon genes HER2 and GRB7, and the PAM50 HER2-enriched intrinsic profile, were found significantly associated with 8-week overall response rate and with the duration of disease control during single agent anti-HER2 therapy. Conversely, high expression of luminal-related genes such as PGR, MDM2 or PIK3CA, or the PAM50 luminal intrinsic profile, was found associated with reduced benefit from single agent anti-HER2 therapy. Conclusions: Our data indicate that gene expression-based biomarkers can identify patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer that benefit substantially from single agent chemo-free anti-HER2 targeted therapy.
Project description:Serum microRNAs profiles of HER2 positive advanced breast cancer patients and their treatment response after the trastuzumab/pertuzumab/taxane therapy
Project description:Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a crucial role in metastasis, which is the leading cause of death in breast cancer patients. We show that Cdc42 GTPase-activating protein (CdGAP) promotes tumor formation and metastasis to lungs in the HER2-positive (HER2+) murine breast cancer model. CdGAP facilitates intravasation, extravasation, and growth at metastatic sites. CdGAP depletion in HER2+ murine primary tumors mediates crosstalk with a Dlc1-RhoA pathway and is associated with a transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-induced EMT transcriptional signature. To further delineate the molecular mechanisms underlying the pro-migratory role of CdGAP in breast cancer cells, we searched for CdGAP interactors by performing a proteomic analysis using HEK293 cells overexpressing GFP-CdGAP. We found that CdGAP interacts with the adaptor Talin to modulate focal adhesion dynamics and integrin activation. Moreover, HER2+ breast cancer patients with high CdGAP mRNA expression combined with a high TGF-β-EMT signature are more likely to present lymph node invasion. Our results suggest CdGAP as a candidate therapeutic target for HER2+ metastatic breast cancer by inhibiting TGF-β and Integrin/Talin signaling pathways.
Project description:Some HER2 positive breast cancer patients are refractory to trastuzumab therapy. MicroRNAs have been used to predict therapeutic effects for various cancers, and our study suggests that the serum-based miRNA signature can effectively distinguish HER2+ MBC patients who are sensitive to trastuzumab from those are resistant.
Project description:Background: Breast cancer is a heterogeneous neoplasm. Distinct subtypes of breast cancer have been defined, suggesting the existence of molecular differences contributing to their clinical outcomes. However, the molecular differences between HER2 positive and negative breast cancer tumors remain unclear. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify a gene expression profile for breast tumors based on HER2 status. Material and methods: The HER2 status was determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in 54 breast tumor samples. Using Affymetrix microarray data from these breast tumors, we established the expression profiling of breast cancer based on HER2 IHC and FISH results. To validate microarray experiment data, real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR was performed. Results: We found significant differences between the HER2-positive and HER2-negative breast tumor samples, which included overexpression of HER2, as well as other genes located on 17q12, and genes functionally related to migration. Conclusion: Our study shows the potential of integrated genomics profiling to shed light on the molecular knowledge of HER2-positive breast tumors. The tumor samples under study correspond to 54 primary breast carcinomas. They included 15 cases with a HER2 IHC3+ score with HER2 gene amplification, 13 cases with IHC2+ score with amplification and 13 without HER2 gene amplification, and 13 cases IHC0/1+ score without HER2 gene amplification. 12 samples of breast normal tissues from breast cancer patients were also included as a reference. Neither overexpression nor amplification of HER2 was observed.
Project description:CdGAP/ARHGAP31 is a molecular target of TGFb-mediated EMT and required for Her2-positive breast cancer growth and metastasis Metastasis is the leading cause of death in breast cancer patients. The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has a crucial role in metastasis and is highly critical for tumor cell dissemination. CdGAP/ARHGAP31 is highly expressed in breast cancer tissues and is associated with poor clinical outcome in breast cancer patients. CdGAP cooperates in a GAP-independent manner with the transcriptional repressor Zeb2 to function as a critical modulator of breast cancer through repression of E-cadherin transcription. In this study, we used a murine model of Her2+ breast cancer to investigate further the role of CdGAP in breast tumorigenesis. We found that CdGAP was essential for tumor formation and metastasis to the lungs in the Her2+ mouse breast cancer model. We determined that CdGAP is required for intravasation and growth at the metastatic sites. By using global gene expression approaches, we found that CdGAP depletion in Her2+ primary tumors was associated with an EMT signature, including a decreased expression of the metastatic factor claudin-2 and an increase in E-cadherin expression. In Her2+ breast cancer cells, CdGAP expression is positively regulated by the TGFb canonical pathway in a smad-dependent manner and regulates cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and adhesion. CdGAP was found to interact with the focal adhesion protein Talin and regulates focal adhesion dynamics in breast cancer cells. Collectively, CdGAP appears as a potential anti-metastatic target for the treatment of Her2+ breast cancer.
Project description:Lymph node status is a crucial predictor for the overall survival of invasive breast cancer. However, lymph node involvement is only detected in about half of HER2 positive patients. Currently, there are no biomarkers available for distinguishing small size HER2-positive breast cancers with different lymph node statuses. Thus, in the present study, we applied label-free quantitative proteomic strategy to construct plasma proteomic profiles of ten patients with small size HER2-positive breast cancers (5 patients with lymph node metastasis versus 5 patients with lymph node metastasis).