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Bean Gray posted an update 6 months ago
Our previous study demonstrated that lysine demethylase 2A (KDM2A) enhances stemness in breast cancer cells. This demethylase is also highly expressed in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). However, its clinical significance is unclear.
The expression of KDM2A in CAFs was studied using immunohistochemical staining and its association with clinicopathological features and patient’s survival was tested. Overexpression and knockdown strategies were used to investigate KDM2A-regulated genes in fibroblasts. Senescent cells were detected by using β-galactosidase staining. The in vivo tumour-promoting activity of stromal KDM2A was confirmed by animal study.
Increase of stromal KDM2A is associated with advanced tumour stage and poor clinical outcome in breast cancer patients. Ubiquitin inhibitor Cancer-derived cytokines stimulated KDM2A expression in normal fibroblasts and transformed them into CAFs. Upregulation of KDM2A induced p53-dependent senescence in fibroblasts and enhanced the release of cytokines, which reciprocally promoted cancer cell proliferation. Additionally, KDM2A upregulated programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression via transcriptional activation in fibroblasts. Knockdown of KDM2A completely abolished the tumour-promoting activity of CAFs on breast tumour growth in vivo and diminished PD-L1 expression in the stroma of tumour tissues.
Stromal KDM2A plays an oncogenic role in breast cancer and inhibition of KDM2A reduces fibroblast senescence and suppresses tumour growth.
Stromal KDM2A plays an oncogenic role in breast cancer and inhibition of KDM2A reduces fibroblast senescence and suppresses tumour growth.
Cancer progression is governed by evolutionary dynamics in both the tumour population and its host. Since cancers die with the host, each new population of cancer cells must reinvent strategies to overcome the host’s heritable defences. In contrast, host species evolve defence strategies over generations if tumour development limits procreation.
We investigate this “evolutionary arms race” through intentional breeding of immunodeficient SCID and immunocompetent Black/6 mice to evolve increased tumour suppression. Over 10 generations, we injected Lewis lung mouse carcinoma cells and selectively bred the two individuals with the slowest tumour growth at day 11. Their male progeny were hosts in the subsequent round.
The evolved SCID mice suppressed tumour growth through biomechanical restriction from increased mesenchymal proliferation, and the evolved Black/6 mice suppressed tumour growth by increasing immune-mediated killing of cancer cells. However, transcriptomic changes of multicellular tissue organisation and function genes allowed LL/2-Luc-M38 cells to adapt through increased matrix remodelling in SCID mice, and reduced angiogenesis, increased energy utilisation and accelerated proliferation in Black/6 mice.
Host species can rapidly evolve both immunologic and non-immunologic tumour defences. However, cancer cell plasticity allows effective phenotypic and population-based counter strategies.
Host species can rapidly evolve both immunologic and non-immunologic tumour defences. However, cancer cell plasticity allows effective phenotypic and population-based counter strategies.
Expensive cancer treatment calls for alternative ways such as drug repurposing to develop effective drugs. The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of post-diagnostic use of cholera vaccine on survival outcome in breast cancer patients.
Cancer diagnosis and cholera vaccination were obtained by linkage of several Swedish national registries. One vaccinated patient was matched with maximum two unvaccinated individuals based on demographic, clinical and socioeconomic factors. We performed proportional Cox regression model to analyse the differences in overall and disease-specific survivals between the matched patients.
In total, 617 patients received cholera vaccine after breast cancer diagnosis. The median (interquartile range) time from diagnosis to vaccination was 30 (15-51) months and from vaccination to the end of follow-up it was 62 (47-85) months. Among them, 603 patients were matched with 1194 unvaccinated patients. Vaccinated patients showed favourable overall survival (hazard ratio (HR) 0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.37-0.79) and disease-specific survival (HR 0.53, 95% CI 0.33-0.84), compared to their unvaccinated counterpart. The results were still significant in multiple sensitivity analyses.
Post-diagnostic use of cholera vaccine is associated with a favourable survival rate in breast cancer patients; this provides evidence for repurposing it against breast cancer.
Post-diagnostic use of cholera vaccine is associated with a favourable survival rate in breast cancer patients; this provides evidence for repurposing it against breast cancer.Brain metastases are a major cause of melanoma-related mortality and morbidity. We undertook whole-exome sequencing of 50 tumours from patients undergoing surgical resection of brain metastases presenting as the first site of visceral disease spread and validated our findings in an independent dataset of 18 patients. Brain metastases had a similar driver mutational landscape to cutaneous melanomas in TCGA. However, KRAS was the most significantly enriched driver gene, with 4/50 (8%) of brain metastases harbouring non-synonymous mutations. Hotspot KRAS mutations were mutually exclusive from BRAFV600, NRAS and HRAS mutations and were associated with a reduced overall survival from the resection of brain metastases (HR 10.01, p = 0.001). Mutations in KRAS were clonal and concordant with extracranial disease, suggesting that these mutations are likely present within the primary. Our analyses suggest that KRAS mutations could help identify patients with primary melanoma at higher risk of brain metastases who may benefit from more intensive, protracted surveillance.Metastatic dissemination occurs very early in the malignant progression of a cancer but the clinical manifestation of metastases often takes years. In recent decades, 5-year survival of patients with many solid cancers has increased due to earlier detection, local disease control and adjuvant therapies. As a consequence, we are confronted with an increase in late relapses as more antiproliferative cancer therapies prolong disease courses, raising questions about how cancer cells survive, evolve or stop growing and finally expand during periods of clinical latency. I argue here that the understanding of early metastasis formation, particularly of the currently invisible phase of metastatic colonization, will be essential for the next stage in adjuvant therapy development that reliably prevents metachronous metastasis.