Expression of Transgelin in Triple Negative and Non Triple Negative Breast Cancer: A Differential Study

Introduction: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is defined by the absence of ER expression, PR expression and HER2 amplification. No targeted treatment is available for TNBC and chemotherapy remains the best therapeutic option. However, in the case of recurrence or chemo-resistance, therapeutic options are very limited. TNBC presents a high rate of proliferation and is highly aggressive having low survival rate. As the complexity of this disease is being simplified over time, new targets are also being discovered for the treatment of this disease. Therefore, there is still need for new biomarkers, which would serve for targeted treatment. Transgelin was proposed as a new potential cancer biomarker. Altered expression of Transgelin has been described in a wide range of cancers, often with contradictory results. The aim of the study was to compare Transgelin expression across molecular subtypes of breast cancer, to identify if it can be used as a future molecular targeted protein for TNBC. Material and Methods: Transgelin immunohistochemistry was applied on 60 retrospectively collected paraffin blocks of patients presenting with invasive breast carcinoma (NST) having different molecular subtypes. Blocks were collected between 2015 and 2016 from Pathology department, Medical Research Institute, Egypt. Her2 equivocal cases were excluded from the study. Results: Transgelin expression was positive in 23 cases and negative in 37 cases. There was a statistically significant difference between (Transgelin +) and (Transgelin -) cases being highly expressed in TNBC in comparison to other molecular subtypes. It was also highly expressed in tumors with large size, high grade, positive lymph-vascular invasion status & lymph node metastasis. There was no statistically significant difference between (Transgelin+) and (Transgelin-) as regards age and Her2 status. Conclusions: Transgelin is an aggressive biomarker differentially expressed among the molecular breast cancer subtypes with high expression in TNBC. Transgelin may provide a potential target for future treatment of TNBC.

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Translational relevance of androgen receptor immunohistochemistry scoring systems for data harmonization in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2020.38.15_suppl.1078 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽

pp. 1078-1078

Author(s):

Suhail Sayeed Mufti ◽

Bhanu Prakash Lalkota ◽

Tejaswini BN ◽

Hrishi Varayathu ◽

Vinu Sarathy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Androgen Receptor ◽

Triple Negative Breast Cancer ◽

Triple Negative ◽

Pearson Correlation ◽

Scoring Systems ◽

P Value ◽

Allred Score ◽

Wide Range ◽

Significant Difference

1078 Background: Androgen receptor (AR) expressing triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a sub-set of TNBC with an evolving prognostic and predictive behaviour. AR immunohistochemical threshold for positivity has not been standardized and a wide range of cut-offs have been used across studies ( > 0% to 75%). In this study we explored AR immunohistochemistry thresholds in relation to disease free survival (DFS) and clinical outcomes in non-metastatic TNBC using the Allred and H-Score systems. Increasing interest in AR as a therapeutic target for TNBC and the use of digital tissue image analysis makes it important to standardize AR immunohistochemistry reporting. Methods: 100 FFPE (formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded) tumour blocks were retrieved for non-metastatic TNBCs diagnosed between January 2015 and May 2017 and immunostained using AR441 (IgG1) mouse monoclonal antibody. Clinical follow-up ranged from 59 to 31 months and DFS was calculated. Cut-off scores were explored using Evaluate Cutpoints ( R maxstat package) and X-tile software. The score with maximum split in DFS (based on log-rank statistics and lowest p-value) was chosen as the cut-off. Descriptive and survival statistics was performed. Results: The median age was 51 (SD 11.262; range 28 to 82) years. Using Evaluate Cutpoints ≥3 was found as the threshold for AR by Allred Score. 36% cases were AR positive using Allred score (HR 0.508; CI 0.234 - 1.11; p-value 0.08). Using Evaluate Cutpoints ≥30 was found as the threshold for AR by H-Score (HR 0.624, CI 0.306 - 1.27; p-value 0.19). 35% cases were AR positive using H-Score. X-tile analysis also found the cut-offs as ≥3 and ≥30 for Allred and H-Score respectively (p < 0.05). A significant correlation was seen between the two scoring systems (Pearson Correlation 0.935; p < 0.01). A significantly higher number of grade III TNBCs were AR negative (n = 55/76) compared to grade II (n = 9/24) (p = 0.002). Cut-off for Ki67 was 75 (HR 1.61, CI 0.85-3.04, p-value 0.141) with a significantly higher number of AR negatives in the Ki67≥75 group (21/26; p < 0.05). The overall median DFS was 51.9 months. There was no significant difference in DFS for the AR negative (median: 47.4 months; mean: 39.39 months) and AR positive (Median survival not reached; mean: 41.3 months) groups(p = 0.23). Conclusions: AR immunohistochemistry cut-offs using the Allred (≥3) and H-Score (≥30) are close to the ones used for ER/PR immunohistochemistry as per ASCO/CAP guidelines, making a strong case for universal application of these systems for harmonization of AR data.

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Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Clinical Characteristics and Influence of Molecular Subtypes on Treatment Response

Tumori Journal ◽

10.1177/03008916211012341 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 107 (1_suppl) ◽

pp. 12-12

Author(s):

D Aissaoui ◽

M Bohli ◽

R Ben Amor ◽

J Yahyaoui ◽

A Hamdoun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Treatment Response ◽

Inflammatory Breast Cancer ◽

Hormone Receptor ◽

Triple Negative ◽

Molecular Subtypes ◽

Luminal A ◽

Her2 Positive ◽

Luminal B ◽

Significant Difference

Introduction: Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) is a rare and very aggressive breast cancer with poor prognosis. The prevalence is different from a country to another. In Tunisia, it is about 5 to 7% of breast cancer. The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiological and histopathological features of patients with inflammatory breast cancer and to evaluate the treatment response according to the molecular subtypes. Methods: This retrospective review identified 31 patients with no metastatic IBC treated in our radiotherapy department between December 2019 and November 2020. IBC was confirmed using the clinical criteria. Baseline clinic-pathological and treatment information was retrieved from medical records. Statistical analysis was performed with IBM SPSS V.20. Results: Median age was 51.3 years [27-68]. 48% of tumors were grade 3. The average tumor size was 36mm [10-90]. The histological type was ductal carcinoma in 97%. Vascular invasion was noted in 24 patients (77%). Thirty patients were classified as stage IIIB and one patient was IIIC. 74% were hormone receptor positive and 45% were HER2 positive. Luminal B was the predominant subtype (52%) followed by Her2 positive (32%), Luminal A (23%), and triple negative (3%) All patients had chemotherapy: neoadjuvant for 26 patients (84%) and adjuvant for 5 patients (16%). Nine patients (29%) had tumor pathological complete response (pCR). Partial response was observed in 18 patients (58%). Lymph node pCR was noted in 16% of cases (n=5). Endocrine therapy and trastuzumab were given to 76% and 45% of patients, respectively. The influence of the molecular subtype was not statistically significant on the response to neoadjuvant treatment. The highest rate of pCR were 43% for Her2positive, then 27%, 21% and 9% for Luminal B, Luminal A and Triple negative, respectively (p=0.2). Conclusion: Our study showed a high percentage of hormone receptor and Her2+ (74% and 45% respectively) in IBC. Luminal B was the most frequent subtype. Anthracycline-based chemotherapy and trastuzumab improved the pCR rate: 44% for Her2positive. Triple negative showed poorer pCR than other breast cancer subtype without a significant difference. A larger study is warranted to confirm our findings.

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Syndecan-1 Promotes Angiogenesis in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer through the Prognostically Relevant Tissue Factor Pathway and Additional Angiogenic Routes

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers13102318 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (10) ◽

pp. 2318

Author(s):

Eyyad Nassar ◽

Nourhan Hassan ◽

Eslam A. El-Ghonaimy ◽

Hebatallah Hassan ◽

Mahmoud Salah Abdullah ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Tissue Factor ◽

Cell Lines ◽

Triple Negative Breast Cancer ◽

Triple Negative ◽

Network Formation ◽

Umbilical Vein ◽

Poor Survival ◽

Altered Expression ◽

Basal Breast Cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by increased angiogenesis, metastasis, and poor survival. Dysregulation of the cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan and signaling co-receptor Syndecan-1 is linked to poor prognosis. To study its role in angiogenesis, we silenced Syndecan-1 in TNBC cell lines using a 3D human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) co-culture system. Syndecan-1 siRNA depletion in SUM-149, MDA-MB-468, and MDA-MB-231 cells decreased HUVEC tubule network formation. Angiogenesis array revealed reduced VEGF-A and tissue factor (TF) in the Syndecan-1-silenced secretome. qPCR independently confirmed altered expression of F3, F7, F2R/PAR1, F2RL1/PAR2, VEGF-A, EDN1, IGFBP1, and IGFBP2 in SUM-149, MDA-MB-231, and MDA-MB-468 cells. ELISA revealed reduced secreted endothelin-1 (SUM-149, MDA-MB-468) and TF (all cell lines) upon Syndecan-1 depletion, while TF pathway inhibitor treatment impaired angiogenesis. Survival analysis of 3951 patients demonstrated that high expression of F3 and F7 are associated with better relapse-free survival, whereas poor survival was observed in TNBC and p53 mutant basal breast cancer (F3) and in ER-negative and HER2-positive breast cancer (F2R, F2RL1). STRING protein network analysis revealed associations of Syndecan-1 with VEGF-A and IGFBP1, further associated with the TF and ET-1 pathways. Our study suggests that TNBC Syndecan-1 regulates angiogenesis via the TF and additional angiogenic pathways and marks its constituents as novel prognostic markers and therapeutic targets.

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PD-L1 expression and TOP3A mutation as prognostic factors for adjuvant chemotherapy in triple negative breast cancer.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2021.39.15_suppl.541 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽

pp. 541-541

Author(s):

Xue Wang ◽

Peng Yuan ◽

Feng Du ◽

Lina Cui ◽

Fangchao Zheng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Adjuvant Chemotherapy ◽

Triple Negative Breast Cancer ◽

Triple Negative ◽

Disease Free Survival ◽

Genetic Alterations ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Pathway Enrichment Analysis ◽

Genetic Characteristics ◽

Significant Difference

541 Background: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly aggressive subtype of breast cancer that is markedly heterogeneous and lacks specific targets. The aim of this study is to explore potential predictors and therapeutic targets based on clinical and genetic characteristics. Methods: 138 patients with triple-negative breast cancer after surgical treatment were 1:1 randomly assigned to the paclitaxel combined with carboplatin (TCb) group or the epirubicin combined with cyclophosphamide sequential paclitaxel (EC-T) adjuvant chemotherapy group. PD-L1 was retrospectively analyzed by surgically resected specimens, and 733 cancer-related genes were detected by NGS. Pathway enrichment analysis was performed using DAVID for functional enrichment genetic alterations. Cox regression models and Kaplan-Meier were used to evaluate disease-free survival (DFS). Results: In this study, there was no significant difference in DFS between the TCb and EC-T groups. 31 (22.5%) of 138 TNBC patients were positive for PD-L1 expression, including 15 (10.9%) patients positive for PD-L1 in tumor cells (TCs) and 29 (21.0%) patients positive for PD-L1 in tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TICs). Patients with positive PD-L1 expression, either in TCs or TICs, achieved better DFS [HR=0.13 (95% CI: 0.02-0.93), p=0.016], the difference was also shown in the EC-T group [HR=0 (95% CI: 0- inf), p=0.037], but not in the TCb group [HR=0 (95% CI: 0.04-2.1), p=0.189]. In addition, we identified 7 patients with mutations in DNA topoisomerase IIIα(TOP3A), a homologous recombination (HR)-related gene, and patients with mutations in this gene had worse DFS than those without mutations [HR=4]. However, there was no statistically significant association between BRCA mutation and response to either therapeutic regimens. Conclusions: In this TNBC patient population, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and NGS analyses identified potential prognostic markers. PD-L1 positive and TOP3A mutation were significantly associated with early triple-negative breast cancer prognosis.

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A versatile theranostic nanodevice based on an orthogonal bioconjugation strategy for efficient targeted treatment and monitoring of triple negative breast cancer

Nanomedicine Nanotechnology Biology and Medicine ◽

10.1016/j.nano.2019.102120 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 24 ◽

pp. 102120 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

María Victoria Cano-Cortes ◽

Saúl Abenhamar Navarro-Marchal ◽

María Paz Ruiz-Blas ◽

Juan José Diaz-Mochon ◽

Juan Antonio Marchal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Triple Negative Breast Cancer ◽

Triple Negative ◽

Targeted Treatment

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Clinicopathological, Treatment and Event-Free Survival Characteristics in a Moroccan Population of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Basic and Clinical Research ◽

10.1177/1178223420906428 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 ◽

pp. 117822342090642

Author(s):

Fatima Zahra Mouh ◽

Meriem Slaoui ◽

Rachid Razine ◽

Mohammed EL Mzibri ◽

Mariam Amrani

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Retrospective Study ◽

Survival Rate ◽

Triple Negative Breast Cancer ◽

Triple Negative ◽

Menopausal Status ◽

Age At Menarche ◽

Event Free Survival ◽

Free Survival ◽

Significant Difference

Introduction: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a group of breast carcinoma characterized by the lack of expression of estrogen and progesterone hormone receptors (ER, PgR) and HER2. This form is also characterized by its aggressiveness, a low survival rate, and the absence of targeted therapies. This study was planned to evaluate the clinical features, treatment, and prognosis characteristics of TNBC in a population of Moroccan patients. Methods: In this retrospective study, a total of 905 patients diagnosed with breast cancer at the National Institute of Oncology in Rabat, Morocco, have been included. Based on molecular subtype, patients were divided into 2 categories: TNBC and non-TNBC patients. Data were recorded from patients’ medical files and analyzed using SPSS 13.0 software (IBM). Results: Overall, 17% of the patients had TNBC. At diagnosis, the median age of TNBC cases was 47 years, with extreme ages of 40 and 55 years. The median follow-up time was 30 months (10-53 months) and the 3-year survival rate was 76%. No significant difference was observed among the patients in terms of age at diagnosis, age at menarche, age at the time of first birth, nulliparity, oral contraception, and family history of breast cancer. Menopausal status and the number of pregnancy were significantly higher in the non-TNBC group. The percentage of grade 3 (G3) tumors was higher in the TNBC group ( P < .001). Using neoadjuvant, adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy, a net benefit in the event-free survival was registered for the 2 groups. Conclusions: This retrospective study was very informative and showed that women with TNBC had a less favorable prognosis than non-TNBC cases. Clinical data demonstrated that risk factors including age, premenopausal status, parity, hormonal contraceptive use, advanced disease, and a high histologic grade were independently associated with TNBC. However, large tumors and high Scarff-Bloom and Richardson grade prevail in TNBC cases with a higher incidence of lymph node metastases.

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High Expression of Trophoblast Cell Surface Antigen 2 in Triple-negative Breast Cancer Identifies a Novel Therapeutic Target

American Journal of Clinical Pathology ◽

10.1093/ajcp/aqz113.001 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 152 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S37-S37

Author(s):

Elias Makhoul ◽

Farnaz Dadmanesh

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cell Surface ◽

Triple Negative Breast Cancer ◽

Triple Negative ◽

Molecular Subtypes ◽

Pairwise Comparison ◽

Control Group ◽

Bonferroni Correction ◽

Luminal A ◽

Membranous Staining

Abstract Objectives Patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) respond poorly to current therapeutic modalities. The newly FDA-approved drug conjugate, Sacituzumab Govitecan, targeting antitrophoblastic cell surface antigen 2 (Trop-2), offers a new modality to treat these subtypes of breast carcinoma (BC). Our study examines expression of Trop-2 by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in TNBC. Methods Forty cases of TNBC were selected from our files (34 ductal, 4 pleomorphic lobular, 1 metaplastic, and 1 mixed ductal and lobular carcinoma). A control group included 11 luminal A-like, 11 luminal B-like, and 8 HER2-like BC. Immunostaining for Trop-2 was performed on 4-micron-thick tissue sections using goat polyclonal antibody (R&D Systems). Three pathologists individually scored the % and intensity of membranous staining. The % of staining was defined as <10%, 10%-50%, and >50%. The intensity of staining was scored as 3+ (crisp circumferential membranous staining), 2+ (medium membranous staining), 1+ (patchy weak membranous staining), and 0 (no staining). A Kruskal-Wallis H-test and pairwise comparison with Bonferroni correction was performed to compare % and intensity of staining in TNBC to control group. Results TNBC exhibited stronger Trop-2 staining in both intensity and extent when compared to the control. The result was significantly different, χ2 (4) = 17.427, P = .001. A pairwise comparison with Bonferroni correction found significant difference between TNBC (42.55) and luminal A (16.65) (P < .001). There was significant agreement (P < .001) among 3 independent pathologists for assessing % and intensity of staining. Conclusion The extent and intensity of staining for Trop-2 is higher in TNBC than in other molecular subtypes of BC. These findings suggest that patients with TNBC may potentially benefit from this targeted therapy. Furthermore, identification of Trop-2 in other molecular subtypes may expand the therapeutic potential of this new drug. Further studies are needed to determine the efficacy of this marker.

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