The Levels of Ki-67 Positive are Positively Associated with Lymph Node Metastasis in Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. In this study, we evaluate the potential risk factors for lymph node metastasis in invasive breast cancer patients with axillary dissection. 147 patients were included into this prospective study. The prognostic biomarkers including Ki-67, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2), hormone receptor status, p53, and lymph node involvement were determined by immunohistochemistry. The association between lymph node metastasis and these biomarkers was analyzed. Lymph node metastasis was found in 62 patients out of 147 patients. The high levels of Ki-67 positive (greater than 20 %) were positively correlated with a higher incidence of lymph node metastasis, including the numbers of lymph nodes that contain tumor cells and the lymph node metastatic rate. The high rate of positive lymphovascular invasion (LVI) is associated with lymph node metastasis. However, the levels of Ki-67 positive were not correlated with the positive rate of LVI. There was also no association between lymph node metastasis and other prognostic biomarkers, such as HER-2, estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and p53. In addition, apart from p53, the levels of Ki-67 positive were correlated with other prognostic biomarkers. Our data suggest that Ki-67 positivity has value as a prognostic and predictive biomarker in breast cancer and may be a valuable proliferation marker in routine diagnosis of breast cancer.     

Luminal A型和Luminal B型乳腺癌患者的腋窝淋巴结转移发生率及预后的比较研究

目的:对比Luminal A型和Luminal B型乳腺癌患者的腋窝淋巴结转移发生率及预后情况。方法:回顾性分析我院从2011年5月~2014年12月收治的乳腺癌患者180例作为研究对象。将其按照临床病理类型的差异分成Luminal A型组84例与Luminal B型组96例。比较两组临床病理特征、腋窝淋巴结转移发生率、5年复发率与生存率,比较两组患者超声学特征。结果:Luminal A型组年龄>50岁、肿瘤大小≤2 cm、组织分级Ⅰ级人数占比均高于Luminal B型组(P<0.05)。Luminal A型组腋窝淋巴结转移发生率为13.10%(11/84),显著低于Luminal B型组的39.58%(38/96)(P<0.05)。Luminal A型组和Luminal B型组患者的5年复发转移率对比差异无统计学意义(P>0.05),Luminal A型组5年生存率为86.90%(73/84),高于Luminal B型组的73.96%(71/96)(P<0.05)。Luminal A型组边界清晰、无钙化人数占比均高于Luminal B型组,而Alder为Ⅲ级人数占比低于Luminal B型组(P<0.05)。结论:Luminal A型乳腺癌患者的腋窝淋巴结转移发生率低于Luminal B型乳腺癌患者,且两者的临床病理和超声学特征存在一定的差异,Luminal A型乳腺癌患者的预后优于Luminal B型。     

乳腺癌转移相关基因的筛选与生物信息学分析

乳腺癌是女性最常见的恶性肿瘤,转移与复发是乳腺癌患者死亡的主要原因. 研究与乳腺癌细胞转移相关的分子靶点对预防乳腺癌术后复发、提高疗效有重要意义. 本研究以3组乳腺癌转移相关的基因表达谱数据(GSE2034, GSE2603, GSE12276)为分析材料,采用GeneSpring软件筛选乳腺癌原发瘤与转移瘤芯片数据的差异表达基因,结合生物信息学工具PATHER、STRING、pSTIING和文献挖掘工具iHOP对差异基因及其相互作用关系进行分析. 结果显示,共筛选出乳腺癌转移共同差异基因147个,其中表达上调93个,表达下调54个. 这些差异基因主要涉及细胞周期与增殖、细胞粘附、细胞迁移、血管形成及信号转导等生物通路和生物过程. 差异基因编码蛋白间的相互作用主要集中在14个蛋白,且在更为复杂的网络图谱中仍可见其中9个基因（CXCR4、MMP1、MMP2、MMP3、CTGF、COL1A1、MEF2C、PTGS2及SPARC）在重要的节点位置. 文献挖掘发现,COL1A1基因可能为新发现的乳腺癌转移候选基因,为乳腺癌转移的发病机制提供新的思路,也为转移性乳腺癌的分子诊断和个体化治疗奠定基础.     

乳腺癌细胞迁移的调节与转移

细胞迁移是乳腺癌侵袭和转移中的关键步骤之一.癌细胞在迁移过程中主要受到Rho GTPases的调节,发生肌动蛋白骨架重组,获得定向迁移的能力;高迁移能力的癌细胞通过与胞外基质成分相互作用,为迁移创造合适的微环境;最后迁移的癌细胞在靶器官的趋化作用下在特定部位驻足生长,这些环节共同作用导致乳腺癌转移.研究细胞迁移复杂的分子机制将为控制乳腺癌转移提供新的策略.     

Semaphorin 4D Promotes Skeletal Metastasis in Breast Cancer

Bone density is controlled by interactions between osteoclasts, which resorb bone, and osteoblasts, which deposit it. The semaphorins and their receptors, the plexins, originally shown to function in the immune system and to provide chemotactic cues for axon guidance, are now known to play a role in this process as well. Emerging data have identified Semaphorin 4D (Sema4D) as a product of osteoclasts acting through its receptor Plexin-B1 on osteoblasts to inhibit their function, tipping the balance of bone homeostasis in favor of resorption. Breast cancers and other epithelial malignancies overexpress Sema4D, so we theorized that tumor cells could be exploiting this pathway to establish lytic skeletal metastases. Here, we use measurements of osteoblast and osteoclast differentiation and function in vitro and a mouse model of skeletal metastasis to demonstrate that both soluble Sema4D and protein produced by the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 inhibits differentiation of MC3T3 cells, an osteoblast cell line, and their ability to form mineralized tissues, while Sema4D-mediated induction of IL-8 and LIX/CXCL5, the murine homologue of IL-8, increases osteoclast numbers and activity. We also observe a decrease in the number of bone metastases in mice injected with MDA-MB-231 cells when Sema4D is silenced by RNA interference. These results are significant because treatments directed at suppression of skeletal metastases in bone-homing malignancies usually work by arresting bone remodeling, potentially leading to skeletal fragility, a significant problem in patient management. Targeting Sema4D in these cancers would not affect bone remodeling and therefore could elicit an improved therapeutic result without the debilitating side effects.     

Identification and Validation of Oncologic miRNA Biomarkers for Luminal A-like Breast Cancer

Introduction

Breast cancer is a common disease with distinct tumor subtypes phenotypically characterized by ER and HER2/neu receptor status. MiRNAs play regulatory roles in tumor initiation and progression, and altered miRNA expression has been demonstrated in a variety of cancer states presenting the potential for exploitation as cancer biomarkers. Blood provides an excellent medium for biomarker discovery. This study investigated systemic miRNAs differentially expressed in Luminal A-like (ER+PR+HER2/neu-) breast cancer and their effectiveness as oncologic biomarkers in the clinical setting.

Methods

Blood samples were prospectively collected from patients with Luminal A-like breast cancer (n = 54) and controls (n = 56). RNA was extracted, reverse transcribed and subjected to microarray analysis (n = 10 Luminal A-like; n = 10 Control). Differentially expressed miRNAs were identified by artificial neural network (ANN) data-mining algorithms. Expression of specific miRNAs was validated by RQ-PCR (n = 44 Luminal A; n = 46 Control) and potential relationships between circulating miRNA levels and clinicopathological features of breast cancer were investigated.

Results

Microarray analysis identified 76 differentially expressed miRNAs. ANN revealed 10 miRNAs for further analysis (miR-19b, miR-29a, miR-93, miR-181a, miR-182, miR-223, miR-301a, miR-423-5p, miR-486-5 and miR-652). The biomarker potential of 4 miRNAs (miR-29a, miR-181a, miR-223 and miR-652) was confirmed by RQ-PCR, with significantly reduced expression in blood of women with Luminal A-like breast tumors compared to healthy controls (p = 0.001, 0.004, 0.009 and 0.004 respectively). Binary logistic regression confirmed that combination of 3 of these miRNAs (miR-29a, miR-181a and miR-652) could reliably differentiate between cancers and controls with an AUC of 0.80.

Conclusion

This study provides insight into the underlying molecular portrait of Luminal A-like breast cancer subtype. From an initial 76 miRNAs, 4 were validated with altered expression in the blood of women with Luminal A-like breast cancer. The expression profiles of these 3 miRNAs, in combination with mammography, has potential to facilitate accurate subtype-specific breast tumor detection.     

Doxorubicin Influences the Expression of Glucosylceramide Synthase in Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer

Introduction

Glucosylceramide synthase (GCS) is one enzyme that provides a major route for ceramide clearance. Recent evidence has indicated an important role for GCS in multidrug resistance (MDR) tumors. Doxorubicin (DOX)can modulate the expression of GCS in leukemia and ovary cell lines. However, few studies have investigated their relationship in breast cancer;

Methods

We collected 84 excision biopsies from patients with invasive ductal breast cancer of whom 33 patients had undergone preoperative chemotherapy. Immunohistochemistry was used to analyze the expression of GCS protein and significantly showed that the expression of GCS was higher in the samples from patients treated with preoperative chemotherapy(p = 0.018). In order to investigate the underlying mechanism, breast cancer cell lines were cultured with different concentrations of DOX, and mRNA and protein levels of GCS were then detected;

Results

DOX significantly upregulated the expression of GCS at both the mRNA and protein level in ERα-positive MCF-7 cells.We then block down the Sp1 site of GCS promoter, which inhibited the DOX-mediated increase in GCS expression; and after Erα was inhibited in MCF-7 cells, the up-regulation of GCS by DOX also been inhibited.

Conclusions

In conclusion, our data demonstrated the novel finding that DOX could modulate the expression of GCS through the Sp1 site of GCS promoter in ERα-positive breast cancer cells.     

KIBRA (WWC1) Is a Metastasis Suppressor Gene Affected by Chromosome 5q Loss in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

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中心体蛋白70促进乳腺癌细胞的侵袭和转移

中心体蛋白70（centrosomal protein 70, CEP70）可通过介导内皮细胞的迁移影响血管新生,肿瘤的转移能力与肿瘤细胞的迁移密切相关,CEP70是否影响肿瘤细胞的侵袭转移尚不明确。结合前期淋巴结转移和未发生淋巴结转移原位乳腺癌组织的基因表达芯片的比较结果,本研究通过免疫组化染色,检测CEP70在淋巴结转移和未发生淋巴结转移的原位乳腺癌组织中的表达情况,以及real-time PCR和Western 印迹检测不同乳腺癌细胞系中CEP70的表达,结果提示,淋巴结转移患者的乳腺癌组织中CEP70强阳性的比例明显高于未发生淋巴结转移的乳腺癌组织,同时CEP70在侵袭能力强的乳腺癌细胞中表达较高。利用慢病毒转染构建CEP70稳定下调的MDA-MB-231细胞系,划痕实验以及侵袭转移的结果显示,下调CEP70的表达,可明显抑制MDA-MB-231细胞系的细胞迁移和侵袭能力。上述结果证明,CEP70的表达与乳腺癌的侵袭转移呈正相关,下调CEP70可抑制乳腺癌的侵袭转移,因此CEP70有望成为乳腺癌临床诊断及治疗的新靶点。     

Integrated Genomic and Epigenomic Analysis of Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis

The brain is a common site of metastatic disease in patients with breast cancer, which has few therapeutic options and dismal outcomes. The purpose of our study was to identify common and rare events that underlie breast cancer brain metastasis. We performed deep genomic profiling, which integrated gene copy number, gene expression and DNA methylation datasets on a collection of breast brain metastases. We identified frequent large chromosomal gains in 1q, 5p, 8q, 11q, and 20q and frequent broad-level deletions involving 8p, 17p, 21p and Xq. Frequently amplified and overexpressed genes included ATAD2, BRAF, DERL1, DNMTRB and NEK2A. The ATM, CRYAB and HSPB2 genes were commonly deleted and underexpressed. Knowledge mining revealed enrichment in cell cycle and G2/M transition pathways, which contained AURKA, AURKB and FOXM1. Using the PAM50 breast cancer intrinsic classifier, Luminal B, Her2+/ER negative, and basal-like tumors were identified as the most commonly represented breast cancer subtypes in our brain metastasis cohort. While overall methylation levels were increased in breast cancer brain metastasis, basal-like brain metastases were associated with significantly lower levels of methylation. Integrating DNA methylation data with gene expression revealed defects in cell migration and adhesion due to hypermethylation and downregulation of PENK, EDN3, and ITGAM. Hypomethylation and upregulation of KRT8 likely affects adhesion and permeability. Genomic and epigenomic profiling of breast brain metastasis has provided insight into the somatic events underlying this disease, which have potential in forming the basis of future therapeutic strategies.     

Numb基因在乳腺癌细胞分化中的作用

Numb基因是细胞的命运决定因子,生物学作用广泛.Notch1及BIRC5是其下游的两个主要通路,Notch在乳腺癌的不同发育阶段均呈激活状态,其量决定了细胞的分裂方向;而BIRC5则经由影响细胞的凋亡而影响乳腺癌的临床病理特征.二者与Numb相互作用,共同在乳腺癌的发生、分化、发展的各阶段发挥重要作用,从而影响乳腺癌干细胞分化为不同的乳腺癌临床亚型.明确Numb在乳腺癌干细胞分化中的作用,对探索更为有效的针对不同乳腺癌亚型的治疗方法至关重要.     

The Neurotensin Receptor-1 Pathway Contributes to Human Ductal Breast Cancer Progression

Background

The neurotensin (NTS) and its specific high affinity G protein coupled receptor, the NT1 receptor (NTSR1), are considered to be a good candidate for one of the factors implicated in neoplastic progression. In breast cancer cells, functionally expressed NT1 receptor coordinates a series of transforming functions including cellular migration and invasion.

Methods and Results

we investigated the expression of NTS and NTSR1 in normal human breast tissue and in invasive ductal breast carcinomas (IDCs) by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR. NTS is expressed and up-regulated by estrogen in normal epithelial breast cells. NTS is also found expressed in the ductal and invasive components of IDCs. The high expression of NTSR1 is associated with the SBR grade, the size of the tumor, and the number of metastatic lymph nodes. Furthermore, the NTSR1 high expression is an independent factor of prognosis associated with the death of patients.

Conclusion

these data support the activation of neurotensinergic deleterious pathways in breast cancer progression.     

人乳腺癌MCF-7细胞在放射线处理的SCID小鼠中转移的实验研究

目的建立人乳腺癌MCF-7细胞SCID(Severe combined immunodeficiency,SCID)小鼠转移动物模型。方法采用人乳腺癌细胞株MCF-7细胞悬液,分别接种于5只经放射线处理的SCID小鼠腋背部皮下。记录肿瘤生长情况,处死荷瘤鼠并做病理切片,观察各脏器转移情况。结果接种SCID小鼠后6～10d成瘤,成瘤率为5/5只,潜伏期平均(7.4±1.3)d。接种后5只鼠分别于第60～68天拉颈处死,检测荷瘤,平均直径为(26.6±2.2)mm,平均重量为5.28g。病理学检查,转移脏器有3个部位,出现肺转移的为4/5只、骨转移的为3/5只和淋巴结转移的为1/5只。结论建立了人乳腺癌SCID小鼠转移动物模型,该模型可为肿瘤转移研究提供重要的实验工具。     

CD24 Overexpression Is Associated with Poor Prognosis in Luminal A and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

CD24 is associated with unfavourable prognoses in various cancers, but the prevalence of CD24 expression and its influence on clinical outcome in subtypes of breast cancers remain unclear. CD24 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in 747 breast cancer tissues, and DNA methylation and histone modification status in the promoter region of CD24 were assessed using bisulfite sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. 213 (28.5%) samples exhibited high CD24 expression in the membrane and/or cytoplasm of breast cancer cells, and CD24 overexpression was significantly correlated with the presence of lymph node metastasis and more advanced pathological stage. Patients with CD24-high tumours had significantly shorter patient survival than those with CD24-low tumours. Importantly, multivariate analysis that included tumour size, lymph node metastasis and chemotherapy demonstrated that high CD24 expression is independently associated with poorer survival in luminal A and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtypes. Furthermore, CD24 gene expression was associated with histone acetylation independent of DNA methylation, suggesting its epigenetic regulation in breast cancer. Our results suggest that CD24 overexpression is an independent unfavourable prognostic factor in breast cancer, especially for luminal A and TNBC subtypes, and CD24 may be a promising therapeutic target for specific subtypes of breast cancer.     

微流控芯片在乳腺癌骨转移研究中的应用

乳腺癌骨转移患者死亡率高达70%～80%,目前缺乏有效的治疗药物.微流控芯片技术能够有效模拟骨组织的生化和生物物理微环境,便捷地实现模拟骨微环境中乳腺癌骨转移的研究,这将为探索乳腺癌骨转移的细胞和分子机制、进而进行抗乳腺癌骨转移药物高通量筛选提供有价值的技术方法和平台.本综述简要介绍了乳腺癌骨转移的分子机制和治疗药物研究现状,详细阐述了乳腺癌骨转移的微流控芯片模型,分析了基于微流控芯片技术进行抗乳腺癌骨转移药物高通量筛选的优势和挑战,旨在为乳腺癌骨转移机制研究和药物筛选提供参考.