Circadian rhythm and concentration of melatonin in breast cancer patients

Author(s):  
Hanan Ahabrach ◽  
Nisrin El Mlili ◽  
Mohammed Errami ◽  
Omar Cauli

Background: Melatonin is a biomarker of the central circadian clock and its chronobiotic actions entraining circadian rhythms to the light-dark cycle are well known. Reduction in melatonin levels and altered circadian rhythms have been associated with a high risk of breast cancer. Melatonin has also shown to display anti-proliferative effects on breast cancer growth and proliferation. Evaluation of melatonin circadian rhythm alterations in patients bearing breast cancer may have interesting prognostic and therapeutic applications. Objective: To review studies evaluating the circadian rhythm of melatonin in breast cancer patients. The effects of surgery and chemotherapy on melatonin secretion were also reviewed. Methods: Electronic databases including PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus were searched from their inception to May 2020, using the keywords "Melatonin", "Circadian rhythm" and "Breast cancer". Result: Patients with breast cancer maintain a circadian rhythm of melatonin secretion with relatively high levels during the night, and low levels during the day however a reduction of nocturnal melatonin peak and decreased amplitude of melatonin circadian rhythms in these patients have been also reported. Melatonin levels can influence estrogen receptor concentrations in hormone-dependent estrogen-positive breast cancer. Chemotherapy alters melatonin levels, and breast surgery tends to alter melatonin secretion at first day post-operation. Melatonin levels correlate with clinical and psychological symptoms of breast cancer, such as sleep quality and depression severity. Conclusion: Circadian rhythm and the concentration of melatonin in blood are altered in patients with breast cancers and it can modify not only sleep-wake cycle and thus patients’ quality of life but due to melatonin’s antioxidant effects is can modulated the effect of therapies. Due to the heterogonous protocols used to assess melatonin and variable environmental factors during sampling, further studies need to control such variables in order to tailor clinical trial based on melatonin rhythm adjustment and/or supplementation in breast cancer patients.

2020 ◽  
pp. 000313482098487
Author(s):  
Melinda Wang ◽  
Julian Huang ◽  
Anees B. Chagpar

Background Patient and tumor characteristics often coincide with obesity, potentially affecting treatment decision-making in obese breast cancer patients. Independent of all of these factors, however, it is unclear whether obesity itself impacts the decision to offer patients undergoing mastectomy breast reconstruction, postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT), or neoadjuvant chemotherapy. We sought to determine whether implicit bias against obese breast cancer patients undergoing mastectomy plays a role in their treatment. Methods Medical records of breast cancer patients undergoing mastectomy from January 2010 to April 2018 from a single institution were retrospectively reviewed, separated into obese (BMI ≥30) and nonobese (BMI <30) categories, and compared using nonparametric statistical analyses. Results Of 972 patients, 291 (31.2%) were obese. Obese patients were more likely to have node-positive, triple-negative breast cancers ( P = .026) and were also more likely to have other comorbidities such as a history of smoking ( P = .026), hypertension ( P < .001), and diabetes ( P < .001). Receipt of immediate reconstruction and contralateral prophylactic mastectomy did not vary between obese and nonobese patients. While obese patients were more likely to undergo neoadjuvant chemotherapy (26.5% vs. 18.1%, P = .004) and PMRT (33.0% vs. 23.4%, P = .003), this did not remain significant when controlling for comorbidities and clinicopathologic confounders. Conclusion Obese patients present with more aggressive tumors and often have concomitant comorbidities. Independent of these factors, however, differences in the treatment of patients undergoing mastectomy do not seem to be affected by an implicit bias against obese patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e12557-e12557
Author(s):  
Zachary Spigelman ◽  
Jo-Ellen Murphy

e12557 Background: Biologic lateralization broadly impacts breast cancer. Malignancies originating in the left breast compared to the right breast tend to be more frequent, larger and of poorer prognosis. Left breast tumors respond differently to HER2-neu signaling and have lateralized Ki67 expression. In a prior study a right-left asymmetry in the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) of breast cancers was identified (ASCO 2018, e13094). As a follow-up, retrospective analysis of results from comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) of right and left side breast cancer specimens was performed to determine a potential genomic etiology for the observed NLR lateralization. Methods: Tumors from 43 consecutive breast cancer patients underwent analysis for all classes of genomic alterations by hybrid capture-based CGP (Foundation Medicine). The CGP results from the 25 left- and 18 right-sided breast cancer samples were analyzed along with the histologic grade and status of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2 expression. Results: In this cohort of advanced breast cancer patients (stage 3-4), no statistically significant differences in lateralization were identified based on patient age, tumor stage, or frequency of ER or Her2 expression (Table). A predominance of PR positivity (p=0.14 chi square analysis) and amplifications in the ERBB2 (p=0.37) and RAD21 (p=0.08) genes were detected in right side tumors. Conclusions: Together with the prior study, trends in asymmetry based on genomic, pathologic, and immunohistologic differences have been detected in breast cancers, including an increased incidence of ERBB2 and RAD21 amplification in right-side breast tumors in this cohort. The predominance of lower PR positivity in the left breast tumors may be due to preferential hypermethylation, consistent with reports that it mediates biologic lateralization changes, downregulates PR expression, and alters amplification rates. Epigenetic methylation, may contribute to asymmetric breast cancer biology and have implications for therapeutic strategy. Further study is warranted.[Table: see text]


Cells ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 259
Author(s):  
Madhuchhanda Kundu ◽  
Sumita Raha ◽  
Avik Roy ◽  
Kalipada Pahan

Although some therapies are available for regular breast cancers, there are very few options for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Here, we demonstrated that serum level of IL-12p40 monomer (p40) was much higher in breast cancer patients than healthy controls. On the other hand, levels of IL-12, IL-23 and p40 homodimer (p402) were lower in serum of breast cancer patients as compared to healthy controls. Similarly, human TNBC cells produced greater level of p40 than p402. The level of p40 was also larger than p402 in serum of a patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse model. Accordingly, neutralization of p40 by p40 mAb induced death of human TNBC cells and tumor shrinkage in PDX mice. While investigating the mechanism, we found that neutralization of p40 led to upregulation of human CD4+IFNγ+ and CD8+IFNγ+ T cell populations, thereby increasing the level of human IFNγ and decreasing the level of human IL-10 in PDX mice. Finally, we demonstrated the infiltration of human cytotoxic T cells, switching of tumor-associated macrophage M2 (TAM2) to TAM1 and suppression of transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) in tumor tissues of p40 mAb-treated PDX mice. Our studies identify a possible new immunotherapy for TNBC in which p40 mAb inhibits tumor growth in PDX mice.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e15092-e15092
Author(s):  
Zhonghua Tao ◽  
Xichun Hu ◽  
Wen-Ming Cao ◽  
Jianxia Liu ◽  
Ting Li ◽  
...  

e15092 Background: Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are a class of tyrosine kinases that regulate cell-to-cell communication and control a variety of complex biological functions. Dysregulation of RTK signaling partly due to chromosomal rearrangements leads to novel tyrosine kinase fusion oncoproteins which are possibly driver alterations to cancers. Targeting some RTK fusions with specific tyrosine kinases inhibitors (TKIs) is an effective therapeutic strategy across a spectrum of RTK fusion-related cancers. However, there is still a paucity of extensive RTK fusion investigations in breast cancer. We aimed to characterize RTK fusions in Chinese breast cancer patients. Methods: An in-house sequencing database of 1440 Chinese breast cancer patients using a 520-gene NGS sequencing panel was thoroughly reviewed. RTK fusion was defined as an in-frame fusion with the tyrosine kinase domain of the RTK completely retained with the only exception of ERBB2 fusion which was not counted due to its unclear significance. Concomitant mutations and TMB were also analyzed and calculated. Patients’ clinical characteristics were retrieved from case records. Results: 27 RTK fusion-positive breast cancers (12 tissues + 15 plasmas) were identified, patients had a median age of 52 years. Triple-negative breast cancer subtype comprised 37% with luminal and HER2 positive subtypes being 40.8% and 22.2%, respectively. 77.8% of patients were at stage IV and 22.2% at stage I-III. Ten were treatment naïve. RTK fusions occurred in 2% of breast cancers in our database, compared with the prevalence of 0.6% and 1.3% in MSKCC and TCGA, respectively. In the subset of stage IV patients, our database showed a significantly higher RTK fusion frequency than that in MSKCC (3.2% vs. 0.6%, p = 0.013). FGFR2 fusions were seen most commonly (n = 7), followed by RET (n = 4), ROS1 (n = 3), NTRK3 (n = 3), BRAF (n = 2), and NTRK1 (n = 2). Other RTK fusions including ALK, EGFR, FGFR1, FGFR3, MET, and NTRK2 were identified in one patient each. Of note, the normalized abundance of RTK fusion (fusion AF/max AF) correlated negatively with TMB (r = -0.48, p = 0.017). Patients with TMB < 4 (Muts/Mb) displayed a higher fusion abundance than those with TMB ≥ 4 (Muts/Mb) (p = 0.018), suggesting a higher likelihood of subclonal nature for RTK fusions in TMB-high patients. Moreover, CREBBP mutation only co-occurred with FGFR2 fusion (p = 0.012), while NTRK3 fusion and TP53 mutation were mutually exclusive (p = 0.019). Conclusions: This is the first study comprehensively delineating the prevalence and spectrum of RTK fusions in Chinese breast cancers. Further study is ongoing to identify the enriched subpopulation which may benefit from RTK fusion inhibitors.


Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yueh-Chun Lee ◽  
Wen-Ling Wang ◽  
Wei-Chao Chang ◽  
Yu-Hao Huang ◽  
Guan-Ci Hong ◽  
...  

Breast cancer is the most common cancer for women in Taiwan and post-lumpectomy radiotherapy is one of the therapeutic strategies for this malignancy. Although the 10-year overall survival of breast cancer patients is greatly improved by radiotherapy, the locoregional recurrence is around 10% and triple negative breast cancers (TNBCs) are at a high risk for relapse. The aim of this paper is to understand the mechanisms of radioresistance in breast cancers which may facilitate the development of new treatments in sensitizing breast cancer toward radiation therapy. Tribbles homolog 3 (TRIB3) is a pseudokinase protein and known to function as a protein scaffold within cells. It has been reported that higher TRIB3 expression is a poor prognostic factor in breast cancer patients with radiotherapy. In this study, we investigate the involvement of TRIB3 in the radiation response of TNBC cells. We first found that the expression of TRIB3 and the activation of Notch1, as well as Notch1 target genes, increased in two radioresistant TNBC cells. Knockdown of TRIB3 in radioresistant MDA-MB-231 TNBC cells decreased Notch1 activation, as well as the CD24-CD44+ cancer stem cell population, and sensitized cells toward radiation treatment. The inhibitory effects of TRIB3 knockdown in self-renewal or radioresistance could be reversed by forced expression of the Notch intracellular domain. We also observed an inhibition in cell growth and accumulated cells in the G0/G1 phase in radioresistant MDA-MB-231 cells after knockdown of TRIB3. With immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry analysis, we found that, BCL2-associated transcription factor 1 (BCLAF1), BCL2 interacting protein 1 (BNIP1), or DEAD-box helicase 5 (DDX5) were the possible TRIB3 interacting proteins and immunoprecipitation data also confirmed that these proteins interacted with TRIB3 in radioresistant MDA-MB-231 cells. In conclusion, the expression of TRIB3 in radioresistant TNBC cells participated in Notch1 activation and targeted TRIB3 expression may be a strategy to sensitize TNBC cells toward radiation therapy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rohini K. Bhatia ◽  
Mohan Narasimhamurthy ◽  
Yehoda M. Martei ◽  
Pooja Prabhakar ◽  
Jeré Hutson ◽  
...  

Abstract Background To characterize the clinico-pathological features including estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and Her-2/neu (HER2) expression in breast cancers in Botswana, and to compare them by HIV status. Methods This was a retrospective study using data from the National Health Laboratory and Diagnofirm Medical Laboratory in Gaborone from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2015. Clinico-pathological details of patients were abstracted from electronic medical records. Results A total of 384 unique breast cancer reports met our inclusion criteria. Of the patients with known HIV status, 42.7% (50/117) were HIV-infected. Median age at the time of breast cancer diagnosis was 54 years (IQR 44–66 years). HIV-infected individuals were more likely to be diagnosed before age 50 years compared to HIV-uninfected individuals (68.2% vs 23.8%, p < 0.001). The majority of patients (68.6%, 35/51) presented with stage III at diagnosis. Stage IV disease was not presented because of the lack of data in pathology records surveyed, and additionally these patients may not present to clinic if the disease is advanced. Overall, 68.9% (151/219) of tumors were ER+ or PR+ and 16.0% (35/219) were HER2+. ER+ or PR+ or both, and HER2- was the most prevalent profile (62.6%, 132/211), followed by triple negative (ER−/PR−/HER2-, 21.3%, 45/211), ER+ or PR+ or both, and HER2+, (9.0%, 19/211) and ER−/PR−/HER2+ (7.1%, 15/211). There was no significant difference in receptor status noted between HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected individuals. Conclusions Majority of breast cancer patients in Botswana present with advanced disease (stage III) at diagnosis and hormone receptor positive disease. HIV-infected breast cancer patients tended to present at a younger age compared to HIV-uninfected patients. HIV status does not appear to be associated with the distribution of receptor status in breast cancers in Botswana.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pearman D. Parker ◽  
Sue P. Heiney ◽  
Daniela B. Friedman ◽  
Tisha M. Felder ◽  
Robin Dawson Estrada ◽  
...  

Background: Chemotherapy is commonly used in combination with other treatments for breast cancer. However, low adherence to chemotherapy is a growing concern, particularly among breast cancer patients. Side effects such as nausea and vomiting, fatigue, and arthralgia can contribute to reduced adherence. Other factors such as provider communication and limited insurance coverage can affect adherence. Studies have shown that as much as 28% of patients with breast cancer did not continue with their prescribed dose of chemotherapy. Research suggests that chemotherapy education materials can be critical to addressing problems with non-adherence, and may include written materials, verbal instruction, and multimedia programs. Despite this wide variety, the effectiveness and benefit of chemotherapy education hinges on the patients’ health literacy.  Breast cancer patients with low health literacy may be unclear about chemotherapy or face difficulty adhering to treatment if they do not understand the information provided to them. Thus, this scoping review summarizes the existing research on how health literacy principles are incorporated into breast cancer chemotherapy education materials.Methods: Using a combination of keywords (e.g. chemotherapy, education) and Medical subject headings (MeSH) terms (e.g., drug therapy, antineoplastic agents), we searched five databases (1977-2017): CINAHL, PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science.Results: Eight of 4,624 articles met the inclusion criteria. Five articles incorporated health literacy principles (e.g., plain language, maintaining an active voice, using white space) into the development of written materials. Few articles used a theoretical framework to guide education material development (n = 3). Of the three articles that described pilot-testing of educational materials, two used post-tests only and one used a pre/post-test design.Conclusions: Findings indicated that limited research exists regarding the use of health literacy principles in chemotherapy education materials. Much of the development of chemotherapy education is not grounded in theory and the application of health literacy principles is limited. Implementing health literacy principles may improve overall comprehension of education thereby increasing adherence.


2017 ◽  
Vol 168 (2) ◽  
pp. 483-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wentao Li ◽  
Carol Chi-Hei Kwok ◽  
Dominic Chun-Wan Chan ◽  
Feng Wang ◽  
Lap Ah Tse

Blood ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 104 (11) ◽  
pp. 3001-3001
Author(s):  
Vicent M. Guillem ◽  
Mar Tormo ◽  
Jose Angel Martinez-Climent ◽  
Ana Lluch ◽  
Isabel Benet ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction: Polymorphisms in certain genes involved on chemo/radio therapy response, as genes involved on DNA synthesis and repair, oxidative stress and drug detoxification, could be related to increased risk of develop t-AML. Objectives: To identified SNPs on genes that could be involved on putative risk of developing t-AML. To analyse the influence of relevant polymorphisms between groups of patients depending of the intensity and the type of treatment received. Material and Methods: Twelve polymorphisms located on genes from drug detoxification pathways (NOQ1, GSTP1), DNA repair (XPC[3], XRCC1[2], NBS1, ERCC5 and XRCC3) and DNA synthesis (MTHFR[2]) were studied. The analysis was carried out by restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP). The analysed groups were A) 29 patients with t- AML: 19 haematological malignancies (A1) and 10 breast cancers (A2); B) control group, composed by 38 patients treated of a primary cancer with chemo/radio therapy ± autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) which after a period of ten years have not developed a t-AML: 26 haematological malignancies (B1) and 12 breast cancers (B2); C) 50 healthy individuals. Results: Five SNPs were found to be relevant, as is shown in the table. The two SNPs on MTHFR gene (667C/T y 1298A/C) displayed remarkably different allele frequencies between the groups of breast cancer patients (with and without t-AML), while no significant differences were observed when those primary cancer were haematological. XRCC1 displayed a low frequency of A in t-AML patients with haematological cancer when are treated with ASCT, compared with those not ASCT treated. This difference is also relevant when all group of patients with hematological malignancies are analysed (A1+B1+ASCT vs no ASCT) (p=0.014). Differences on allele frequencies in SNPs of ERCC5 and NBS1 genes between t-AML and non t-AML patients we observed only when haematological neoplasia patients are ASCT treated. Relevant SNPs found in t-AML SNPs/Groups (n) A2 (10) B2 (12) p C (50) MTHFR 667 75 20 0,0006 45 MTHFR 1298 5 50 0,0011 35 A1+ASCT (10) A1-ASCT (9) p C (50) XRCC1E10 20 55 0,029 34 A1+ASCT (10) B1+ASCT (14) p C (50) ERCC5 E15 50 14 0,020 24 NBS1E5 45 17 0,084 45 Conclusions: The SNPs on MTHFR gene seem to be related on gene predisposition to t-AML only on breast cancer patients. In haematological malignancies, XRCC1 E10 genotype seems be related with survival in ASCT treated patients and risk of developing t-AML for those patients treated with lower intensity. The SNPs on ERCC5 and NBS1 genes seem to be involved on t-AML predisposition in ASCT treated patients. Thus, while XRCC1, NBS1 and ERCC5 SNPs are related with the development of t-AML on those patients with previous haematological malignancies (treated mainly with alkylating agents), MTHFR SNPs are related with t-AML on those patients with previous breast cancer (treated mainly with topoisomerase II inhibitors), suggesting that the relevance of each SNP depends on differences on type of chemotherapy, intensity and the metabolic route in which they are involved. Supported by FIS G03/008 project.


2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e11630-e11630
Author(s):  
N. Gercovich ◽  
E. Gil Deza ◽  
M. Russo ◽  
C. Garcia Gerardi ◽  
C. Diaz ◽  
...  

e11630 Introduction: Male breast cancer is very rare, representing only between 0.7% and 1% of all breast cancers, and only half of them are early stage cases. Objective: The present study has been designed with the aim of studying retrospectively the clinical onset and evolution of male invasive breast cancer patients (stages I and II) treated at IOHM between 1997 and 2008. Methods: The records of 3,000 breast cancer cases followed between 1997 and 2008 were searched, looking for male stage I and II breast cancer patients. A database was designed following the recommendations of the Directors of Surgical Pathology of the USA. The information registered encompassed: adjuvant treatments, recurrence date and date of final consultation or death. Results: Twelve pts were identified. Mean age (range)= 66 yo (50–89 yo). Tumoral type= Invasive Ductal Carcinoma 12 pt. Tumoral subtype= NOS 9 pt (75%) Apocrine 2 pt (17%) Micropapillar 1 pt (8%). Nottingham´s grade= Grade 2: 8 pt, Grade 3: 3 pt, N/A=1 pt. Stage= I= 6 pt, II=6 pt. ER (Positve= 9 pt, Negative=1 pt, N/A= 2 pt). PR (Positve= 8 pt, Negative= 2 pt, N/A=2 pt). Her2neu (0+= 3 pt, 1+= 3 pt, 2+= 2 pt, N/A= 4 pt). Surgery= Mastectomy= 11 pt, Lumpectomy 1= pt. Radiotherapy=5 pt. Adjuvance= No=2 pt, Hormonotherapy (HT)= 3 pt, Chemotherapy (CHT) = 3 pt, CHT+HT= 4 pt. Recurrence= Yes= 2 pt, No= 10 pt. Survival: Dead= 1 pt, Alive =11 pt. Mean Time To Progression= Stage I =66 months, Stage II =42 months. Global survival: Stage I =66 months, Stage II =52 months. Conclusions: 1. Twelve stage I and II male breast cancer patients were identified out of 3000 (0.4%) breast cancer cases diagnosed and followed in the past 10 years at the IOHM. 2. Mastectomy was the surgical procedure in 11 of the 12 cases 3. Ten pt underwent adjuvant treatment. 4. With a mean follow up time of 60 months, all stage I patients are alive and there were no recurrences. Two of the 6 stage II pts progressed and one died. No significant financial relationships to disclose.


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