scholarly journals Immune Microenvironment-Related Genes Contribute to Clinical Prognosis in Patients with Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Author(s):  
Dandan Feng ◽  
Jie Gao ◽  
Tianshu Yang ◽  
Yanli Ren ◽  
Wei Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background:Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a high-risk breast cancer subtype, which accounts for 15% to 20% of all breast cancers and generally has a poor prognosis. TNBC patients have high recurrence post-surgery and high risk of metastasis to other organs. The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays important roles in the carcinogenesis, development, and metastasis of tumors. Methods: This study aimed to investigate the effects of immune and stromal cell-related genes on TNBC prognosis. The ESTIMATE algorithm was used to calculate the immune/stromal scores of TNBC samples from the GEO database. The samples were divided into high- and low- score groups and the differential expression genes were identified using the limma package within R. Functional enrichment and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analyses revealed that these genes are primarily involved in immune responses. Results:Survival analysis in both GSE21653 and KM-plotter website showed that 36 genes were significantly related to disease-free survival (DFS) of TNBC. Another survival analysis by R package survival in GSE58812 indicated that 14 genes of 36 were greatly interrelated to DFS of TNBC. Moreover, the expression levels of some of these genes were verified through immunohistochemical staining and RT-qPCR. Finally, four genes importantly associated with TNBC prognosis were identified with Cox-LASSO analysis. Time-dependent receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis displayed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.95 for one-year survival rate, indicating the four genes performed very well for prognosis prediction. Conclusions:In conclusion, we identified four genes, including BIRC3, CD8A, GNLY and TRIM22, that are possibly associated with the TME and are potential prognostic and therapeutic markers of TNBC.

Author(s):  
Jindong Xie ◽  
Yutian Zou ◽  
Feng Ye ◽  
Wanzhen Zhao ◽  
Xinhua Xie ◽  
...  

Regarded as the most invasive subtype, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks the expression of estrogen receptors (ERs), progesterone receptors (PRs), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) proteins. Platelets have recently been shown to be associated with metastasis of malignant tumors. Nevertheless, the status of platelet-related genes in TNBC and their correlation with patient prognosis remain unknown. In this study, the expression and variation levels of platelet-related genes were identified and patients with TNBC were divided into three subtypes. We collected cohorts from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. By applying the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression method, we constructed a seven-gene signature which classified the two cohorts of patients with TNBC into low- or high-risk groups. Patients in the high-risk group were more likely to have lower survival rates than those in the low-risk group. The risk score, incorporated with the clinical features, was confirmed as an independent factor for predicting the overall survival (OS) time. Functional enrichment analyses revealed the involvement of a variety of vital biological processes and classical cancer-related pathways that could be important to the ultimate prognosis of TNBC. We then built a nomogram that performed well. Moreover, we tested the model in other cohorts and obtained positive outcomes. In conclusion, platelet-related genes were closely related to TNBC, and this novel signature could serve as a tool for the assessment of clinical prognosis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 541-541
Author(s):  
Xue Wang ◽  
Peng Yuan ◽  
Feng Du ◽  
Lina Cui ◽  
Fangchao Zheng ◽  
...  

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.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiduo Liu ◽  
Linxin Teng ◽  
Shiyi Fu ◽  
Guiyang Wang ◽  
Zhengjun Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly heterogeneous subtype of breast cancer, showing aggressive clinical behaviors and poor outcomes. It urgently needs new therapeutic strategies to improve the prognosis of TNBC. Bioinformatics analyses have been widely used to identify potential biomarkers for facilitating TNBC diagnosis and management. Methods We identified potential biomarkers and analyzed their diagnostic and prognostic values using bioinformatics approaches. Including differential expression gene (DEG) analysis, Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, functional enrichment analysis, Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) network construction, survival analysis, multivariate Cox regression analysis, and Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF). Results A total of 105 DEGs were identified between TNBC and other breast cancer subtypes, which were regarded as heterogeneous-related genes. Subsequently, the KEGG enrichment analysis showed that these genes were significantly enriched in ‘cell cycle’ and ‘oocyte meiosis’ related pathways. Four (FAM83B, KITLG, CFD and RBM24) of 105 genes were identified as prognostic signatures in the disease-free interval (DFI) of TNBC patients, as for progression-free interval (PFI), five genes (FAM83B, EXO1, S100B, TYMS and CFD) were obtained. Time-dependent ROC analysis indicated that the multivariate Cox regression models, which were constructed based on these genes, had great predictive performances. Finally, the survival analysis of TNBC subtypes (mesenchymal stem-like [MSL] and mesenchymal [MES]) suggested that FAM83B significantly affected the prognosis of patients. Conclusions The multivariate Cox regression models constructed from four heterogeneous-related genes (FAM83B, KITLG, RBM24 and S100B) showed great prediction performance for TNBC patients’ prognostic. Moreover, FAM83B was an important prognostic feature in several TNBC subtypes (MSL and MES). Our findings provided new biomarkers to facilitate the targeted therapies of TNBC and TNBC subtypes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maitri Kalra ◽  
Yan Tong ◽  
David R. Jones ◽  
Tom Walsh ◽  
Michael A. Danso ◽  
...  

AbstractPatients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who have residual disease after neoadjuvant therapy have a high risk of recurrence. We tested the impact of DNA-damaging chemotherapy alone or with PARP inhibition in this high-risk population. Patients with TNBC or deleterious BRCA mutation (TNBC/BRCAmut) who had >2 cm of invasive disease in the breast or persistent lymph node (LN) involvement after neoadjuvant therapy were assigned 1:1 to cisplatin alone or with rucaparib. Germline mutations were identified with BROCA analysis. The primary endpoint was 2-year disease-free survival (DFS) with 80% power to detect an HR 0.5. From Feb 2010 to May 2013, 128 patients were enrolled. Median tumor size at surgery was 1.9 cm (0–11.5 cm) with 1 (0–38) involved LN; median Residual Cancer Burden (RCB) score was 2.6. Six patients had known deleterious BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations at study entry, but BROCA identified deleterious mutations in 22% of patients with available samples. Toxicity was similar in both arms. Despite frequent dose reductions (21% of patients) and delays (43.8% of patients), 73% of patients completed planned cisplatin. Rucaparib exposure was limited with median concentration 275 (82–4694) ng/mL post-infusion on day 3. The addition of rucaparib to cisplatin did not increase 2-year DFS (54.2% cisplatin vs. 64.1% cisplatin + rucaparib; P = 0.29). In the high-risk post preoperative TNBC/BRCAmut setting, the addition of low-dose rucaparib did not improve 2-year DFS or increase the toxicity of cisplatin. Genetic testing was underutilized in this high-risk population.


Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 549
Author(s):  
Amal Qattan ◽  
Taher Al-Tweigeri ◽  
Wafa Alkhayal ◽  
Kausar Suleman ◽  
Asma Tulbah ◽  
...  

Resistance to therapy is a persistent problem that leads to mortality in breast cancer, particularly triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). MiRNAs have become a focus of investigation as tissue-specific regulators of gene networks related to drug resistance. Circulating miRNAs are readily accessible non-invasive potential biomarkers for TNBC diagnosis, prognosis, and drug-response. Our aim was to use systems biology, meta-analysis, and network approaches to delineate the drug resistance pathways and clinical outcomes associated with circulating miRNAs in TNBC patients. MiRNA expression analysis was used to investigate differentially regulated circulating miRNAs in TNBC patients, and integrated pathway regulation, gene ontology, and pharmacogenomic network analyses were used to identify target genes, miRNAs, and drug interaction networks. Herein, we identified significant differentially expressed circulating miRNAs in TNBC patients (miR-19a/b-3p, miR-25-3p, miR-22-3p, miR-210-3p, miR-93-5p, and miR-199a-3p) that regulate several molecular pathways (PAM (PI3K/Akt/mTOR), HIF-1, TNF, FoxO, Wnt, and JAK/STAT, PD-1/PD-L1 pathways and EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance (TKIs)) involved in drug resistance. Through meta-analysis, we demonstrated an association of upregulated miR-93, miR-210, miR-19a, and miR-19b with poor overall survival outcomes in TNBC patients. These results identify miRNA-regulated mechanisms of drug resistance and potential targets for combination with chemotherapy to overcome drug resistance in TNBC. We demonstrate that integrated analysis of multi-dimensional data can unravel mechanisms of drug-resistance related to circulating miRNAs, particularly in TNBC. These circulating miRNAs may be useful as markers of drug response and resistance in the guidance of personalized medicine for TNBC.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie-Yu Zhou ◽  
Kang-Kang Lu ◽  
Wei-Da Fu ◽  
Hao Shi ◽  
Jun-Wei Gu ◽  
...  

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive disease. Nomograms can predict prognosis of patients with TNBC. Methods: A total of 745 eligible TNBC patients were recruited and randomly divided into training and validation groups. Endpoints were disease-free survival and overall survival. Concordance index, area under the curve and calibration curves were used to analyze the predictive accuracy and discriminative ability of nomograms. Results: Based on the training cohort, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, positive lymph nodes, tumor size and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes were used to construct a nomogram for disease-free survival. In addition, age was added to the overall survival nomogram. Conclusion: The current study developed and validated well-calibrated nomograms for predicting disease-free survival and overall survival in patients with TNBC.


2022 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuxiang Lin ◽  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Wenhui Guo ◽  
Lili Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Cytidine nucleotide triphosphate synthase 1 (CTPS1) is a CTP synthase which play critical roles in DNA synthesis. However, its biological regulation and mechanism in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has not been reported yet. Methods The expression of CTPS1 in TNBC tissues was determined by GEO, TCGA databases and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The effect of CTPS1 on TNBC cell proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis and tumorigenesis were explored in vivo and in vitro. In addition, the transcription factor Y-box binding protein 1 (YBX1) was identified by bioinformatics methods, dual luciferase reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation (CHIP) assays. Pearson correlation analysis was utilized to assess the association between YBX1 and CTPS1 expression. Results CTPS1 expression was significantly upregulated in TNBC tissues and cell lines. Higher CTPS1 expression was correlated with a poorer disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in TNBC patients. Silencing of CTPS1 dramatically inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion ability and induced apoptosis of MDA-MB-231 and HCC1937 cells. Xenograft tumor model also indicated that CTPS1 knockdown remarkably reduced tumor growth in mice. Mechanically, YBX1 could bind to the promoter of CTPS1 to promote its transcription. Furthermore, the expression of YBX1 was positively correlated with CTPS1 in TNBC tissues. Rescue experiments confirmed that the enhanced cell proliferation and invasion ability induced by YBX1 overexpression could be reversed by CTPS1 knockdown. Conclusion Our data demonstrate that YBX1/CTPS1 axis plays an important role in the progression of TNBC. CTPS1 might be a promising prognosis biomarker and potential therapeutic target for patients with triple-negative breast cancer.


2013 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 330 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Kalwar ◽  
N Sharma ◽  
A Kapoor ◽  
N Kumar ◽  
Satyanarayan ◽  
...  

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