Cancer Biomarkers - Volume 10, issue 2

Article Type: Editorial

DOI: 10.3233/CBM-2012-0244

Citation: Cancer Biomarkers, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 61-62, 2012

Authors: Xu, Jianping | He, Jiaying | Yang, Huiyi | Luo, Xiaodi | Liang, Zhangmin | Chen, Jiaxin | Cai, Zhiping | Xu, Jiasen | Ren-Heidenreich, Lifen

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The prevalence of EGFR, KRAS, BRAF and PIK3CA somatic mutations in 861 randomly selected Chinese patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was assayed by the SurPlex®-xTAG70plex platform and analyzed. The results showed that the occurrence rates were 41.0, 8.0, 0.7 and 3.7%, respectively. The mutation rates significantly correlated with gender, histology and smoking history. The EGFR exon 19, 20 and 21 mutations were higher in females compared to males (p< 0.001, exon 19 and 21; p=0.018, exon 20), higher in adenocarcinomas compared to other forms of lung cancers (p< 0.001, exon 19 and 21; p=0.035, exon 20), and higher …in non-smokers compared to smokers (p< 0.001, exon 19 and 21; p=0.029, exon 20). Conversely, the KRAS mutations were higher in males compared to females (p=0.004), higher in adenocarcinomas compared to other forms of lung cancers (p< 0.001), and higher in smokers compared to non-smokers (p< 0.001). The PIK3CA mutation rate was lower in adenocarcinomas compared to other forms of lung cancers (p=0.003). Show more

Keywords: EGFR signaling pathway, somatic mutations, non-small cell lung cancers, biomarker, Chinese patients, liquidchip

DOI: 10.3233/CBM-2012-0233

Citation: Cancer Biomarkers, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 63-69, 2012

Authors: Zheng, Yuanyuan | Cui, Long | Sun, Weiliang | Zhou, Hui | Yuan, Xianbin | Huo, Ming | Chen, Jie | Lou, Yanru | Guo, Junming

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) has received great attention. MicroRNA-21 (miR-21) plays crucial roles in carcinogenesis and is considered as one of the most studied oncomiRNAs. We determined if miR-21 could be used a marker for the detection of CTCs in gastric cancer patients. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 53 preoperative patients with gastric cancer and 20 healthy volunteers. Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the level of miR-21. Receiver operator characteristic curves (ROC) were constructed. Patients with gastric cancer display a significantly higher level of miR-21 in peripheral blood than those from controls. …The miR-21 level was associated with the tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage, tumor size and tissue categories. The area under ROC curve was up to 0.853 ± 0.086. This study highlights the potential of the detection of miR-21 in peripheral blood as a novel tool for monitoring CTCs in gastric cancer patients. Show more

Keywords: Gastric cancer, microRNA-21, gene diagnosis, circulating tumor cells

DOI: 10.3233/CBM-2011-0231

Citation: Cancer Biomarkers, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 71-77, 2012

Authors: Paratore, Sabrina | Banna, Giuseppe Luigi | D'Arrigo, Maria | Saita, Salvatore | Iemmolo, Rosario | Lucenti, Letizia | Bellia, Domenico | Lipari, Helga | Buscarino, Calogero | Cunsolo, Rosario | Cavallaro, Sebastiano

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Synchronous or metachronous brain metastases (BMs) occur in about 33% of patients affected by non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To date, no reliable biological marker is able to identify patients who will develop BMs. In the present study, using a quantitative double-labeling immunofluorescence analysis, we evaluated the expression of chemokine CXCL12 and its receptor, CXCR4, in primary NSCLC histological specimens of patients with and without BMs. The immunoreactivity of CXCL12 and CXCR4 was significantly higher in NSCLC samples of patients with BMs. We performed Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis in order to define optimal cut-off values for CXCL12 and CXCR4 immunoreactivity …that could discriminate between NSCLC patients without and with BMs. ROC curves showed a good diagnostic accuracy and adequate predictive power for both CXCL12 and CXCR4. These findings suggest a possible role for the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis in the metastatic evolution of NSCLC, and its potential use as prognostic markers and drug targets. Show more

Keywords: Brain metastases, chemokines, CXCL12, CXCR4, immunohistochemistry, lung cancer, marker, metastasis, prognosis

DOI: 10.3233/CBM-2011-0232

Citation: Cancer Biomarkers, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 79-89, 2012

Authors: McCall, Pamela | Catlow, Jamie | McArdle, Peter A | McMillan, Donald C | Edwards, Joanne

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Prostate cancer (Pca) is the most common form of cancer affecting men, despite recent advances in PCa treatments, one third of patients diagnosed each year succumb to this disease. The inflammatory response has been implicated in prostate cancer progression. The pro-inflammatory transcription factor, NFκB/p65 has been implicated in PCa progression. Few studies have examined the involvement of NFκB and inflammatory signalling in PCa. Immunohistochemistry was employed to investigate the expression of NFκB/p65, C-reactive protein and Ki67 in 61 clinical samples. Tumours expressing high levels of p65 (p=0.004), CRP (p=0.011) and Ki67 (p=0.0003) had a shorter disease specific …survival. Upon combining p65 and CRP status it was observed that those tumours with low expression of both proteins had a median survival of 11 years compared to 3.9 years for those with tumours with high expression of both (p=0.005). CRP expression was significantly higher in the 21 patients who died of their disease and on multivariate analysis CRP expression retained independent significance (p=0.005). This study suggests CRP and NFκB may function collectively to drive prostate cancer progression in a subset of patients. Tumoral CRP is a significant independent predictor of cancer specific survival. The relationship between tumour CRP and signalling pathways warrants further investigation in a larger cohort. Show more

Keywords: C-reactive protein, p65, inflammation, prostate cancer

DOI: 10.3233/CBM-2012-0236

Citation: Cancer Biomarkers, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 91-99, 2012

Authors: Chung, Kyukwang | Nishiyama, Noritoshi | Yamano, Shotaro | Komatsu, Hiroaki | Hanada, Shoji | Wei, Min | Wanibuchi, Hideki | Suehiro, Shigefumi | Kakehashi, Anna

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: In the present study, the human orthologue of the secreted Xenopus laevis anterior gradient 2 (AGR2) protein was evaluated as a potential serum biomarker of lung adenocarcinoma. AGR2 protein levels were preoperatively measured in the serum of 111 primary lung adenocarcinoma patients and in 46 non-cancer controls with subsequent calculation of sensitivity and specificity in comparison with serum CEA levels. Correlations with clinicopathological variables were also assessed and survival analyses were performed according to the Kaplan-Meier method and differences determined with the log-rank test. The mean serum AGR2 level of lung adenocarcinoma patients in each stage, even Stage I, was …significantly higher than in non-cancer controls (P < 0.001 for all stages, Mann-Whitney U test). The sensitivity was 65.8% (52.9% for stage IA), even higher than that of CEA, which was 45.0% (29.4% for stage IA), and the specificity was 87.0% according to the ROC curve (AUC=0.858). Positive serum AGR2 expression was significantly associated with the incidence of recurrence after surgery (P=0.025) and with a poor prognosis (P=0.037 for overall survival and P=0.004 for disease-free survival). Preoperative serum AGR2 might become a clinically useful biomarker for early detection, prediction of recurrence and prognosis with lung adenocarcinomas. Show more

Keywords: AGR2, lung adenocarcinoma, serum biomarker, early detection, prognosis

DOI: 10.3233/CBM-2012-0234

Citation: Cancer Biomarkers, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 101-107, 2012

Authors: Niu, Hai Tao | Yang, Chuan Min | Chen, Bo | Dong, Qian

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Aims: To facilitate biomarker discovery and improve cancer biology research of superficial bladder transitional cell carcinoma (SBTCC). Materials and methods: Laser capture microdissection and two-dimensional liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was used to identified the proteome expression profile of purified normal urothelial cells (cancer cells)/normal stromal cells (cancer stromal cells). Based on the expression profile, biomarker discovery and the mechanisms of multi-step carcinogenesis were discussed. Results: 775/792 proteins commonly appeared in 4 paired cancer/normal tissue. 339 differential proteins located at the well-known biological KEGG pathways and defined as potential biomarkers. 53/31 proteins specific repeat expression in …cancer tissue/normal tissue and thought to play important role in tumor–stroma interactions. Conclusion: Proteins origin from cancer or stromal cells have the same probability to be a biomarker. The significant altered pathways mainly include metabolic pathways, spliceosome, endocytosis, oxidative phosphorylation, etc. Most of the specific repeat expression proteins act important role in cancer biology. Show more

Keywords: Superficial bladder cancer, stroma, biomarker, pathway

DOI: 10.3233/CBM-2012-0235

Citation: Cancer Biomarkers, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 109-116, 2012