scholarly journals Estrogen Receptor Positive Breast Cancer with High Expression of Androgen Receptor has Less Cytolytic Activity and Worse Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy but Better Survival

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 2655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maiko Okano ◽  
Masanori Oshi ◽  
Ali Linsk Butash ◽  
Mariko Asaoka ◽  
Eriko Katsuta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
T Cells ◽  
Estrogen Receptor ◽  
Androgen Receptor ◽  
Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes ◽  
Cytolytic Activity ◽  
Er Positive ◽  
Infiltrating Lymphocytes ◽  
Response To Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy ◽  
Positive Breast Cancer

Estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer (BC), the most abundant BC subtype, is notorious for poor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). The androgen receptor (AR) was reported to support estradiol-mediated ER activity in an in vitro system. Recently, ER-positive BC with fewer tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) was shown to have a better prognosis, opposite to the trend seen with ER-negative BC. We hypothesized that ER-positive BC with high expression of AR will have fewer TILs and an inferior response to NAC, but with a better prognosis. In both TCGA and METABRIC cohorts, AR expression was significantly higher in ER-positive BCs compared to ER-negatives (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively) and it correlated with ER expression (R = 0.630, R = 0.509, respectively). In ER-positive tumors, AR high tumors enriched UV response down (NES = 2.01, p < 0.001), and AR low tumors enriched DNA repair (NES = −2.02, p < 0.001). AR high tumors were significantly associated with procancer regulatory T-cells, and AR low tumors were associated with anticancer immune cells, such as CD4, CD8, and Gamma-Delta T-cells and memory B-cells in ER-positive BC (p < 0.01). Further, cytolytic activity was significantly lower in AR high BC in both cohorts. Finally, AR high tumors had a significantly lower rate of attaining pathological complete response to NAC (GSE22358), but better survival. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that high AR has fewer tumor infiltrating lymphocytes as well as cytolytic activity and an inferior response to NAC, but better survival in ER-positive BC.

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in androgen receptor-positive, triple-negative breast cancer.

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (5_suppl) ◽  
pp. 5-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Antonio Leon-Ferre ◽  
Mei-Yin Polley ◽  
Heshan Liu ◽  
Victoria Cafourek ◽  
Judy Caroline Boughey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Androgen Receptor ◽  
Triple Negative Breast Cancer ◽  
Triple Negative ◽  
Breast Cancer Subtype ◽  
Metastatic Breast ◽  
Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes ◽  
Surgical Specimen ◽  
Er Positive ◽  
Infiltrating Lymphocytes

5 Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an immunogenic breast cancer subtype, with a greater percentage of tumors containing tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) compared to non-TNBC. TILs are prognostic for recurrence and predictive for chemotherapy benefit in TNBC, but not in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive tumors. A subset of TNBC expresses the androgen receptor (AR), and resembles ER-positive breast cancer in terms of demographics (older age) and clinical course (later recurrences that tend to involve bone). However, little is known regarding the association between TILs and AR expression in TNBC. Methods: From a cohort of 9982 women with surgically-treated non-metastatic breast cancer, patients who met criteria for TNBC (ER/PR < 1% and HER2-negative) by centralized-pathology review were included as previously published [Leon-Ferre et al, Breast Cancer Res Treat 2017]. Stromal TILs in these tumors were quantified on full-face hematoxylin and eosin sections from the surgical specimen, following the 2014 TIL Working Group recommendations [Salgado et al, Ann Oncol 2014]. The expression of AR [EPR1535(2), Abcam] was scored as a continuous variable (1% increments), and categorized as absent (0%), low (1-25% ), low-moderate (26-50%) moderate (51-75%) and high (> 75%) and correlated with TIL density. Results: 605 patients met criteria for TNBC. The median age was 56 years. Most tumors were T1-2 (95%), N0-1 (86%), and high grade (88%). The median stromal TIL content was 20% (0-90%). Tumor tissue was available for AR staining in 509/605 patients. 165 (32%) tumors expressed AR as follows: low: 12%, low-moderate: 7%, moderate: 5%, and high: 8%. Apocrine tumors (n = 30) expressed AR most frequently (86%) and at higher levels (AR high: 50%). For all 509 tumors, the median stromal TIL content according to AR expression was AR absent: 20%, AR low: 20%, AR low-moderate: 15%, AR high: 10%. AR and stromal TILs (both as continuous variables) demonstrated a weak inverse correlation (correlation coefficient -0.1064, p = 0.017). Conclusions: AR expression in TNBC is associated with lower levels of stromal TILs. Additional data correlating the AR, stromal TILs and outcomes in this cohort will be presented at the meeting.

scholarly journals Tamoxifen resistance alters sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil in a subset of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0252822
Author(s):  
Takayuki Watanabe ◽  
Takaaki Oba ◽  
Keiji Tanimoto ◽  
Tomohiro Shibata ◽  
Shinobu Kamijo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
T Cells ◽  
Estrogen Receptor ◽  
Endocrine Therapy ◽  
Chemotherapeutic Agents ◽  
Breast Cancers ◽  
Mcf7 Cells ◽  
Er Positive ◽  
Tamoxifen Resistant ◽  
Positive Breast Cancer

Sequential treatment with endocrine or chemotherapy is generally used in the treatment of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive recurrent breast cancer. To date, few studies have investigated the effect of long-term endocrine therapy on the response to subsequent chemotherapy in ER-positive breast cancer. We examined whether a preceding endocrine therapy affects the sensitivity to subsequent chemotherapy in ER-positive breast cancer cells. Three ER-positive breast cancer cell lines (T47D, MCF7, BT474) and tamoxifen-resistant sublines (T47D/T, MCF7/T, BT474/T) were analyzed for sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil, paclitaxel, and doxorubicin. The mRNA levels of factors related to drug sensitivity were analyzed by RT-PCR. MCF7/T cells became more sensitive to 5-fluorouracil than wild-type (wt)-MCF7 cells. In addition, the apoptosis induced by 5-fluorouracil was significantly increased in MCF7/T cells. However, no difference in sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents was observed in T47D/T and BT474/T cells compared with their wt cells. Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPYD) mRNA expression was significantly decreased in MCF7/T cells compared with wt-MCF7 cells. The expression of DPYD mRNA was restored with 5-azacytidine treatment in MCF7/T cells. In addition, DPYD 3′-UTR luciferase activity was significantly reduced in MCF7/T cells. These data indicated that the expression of DPYD mRNA was repressed by methylation of the DPYD promoter region and post-transcriptional regulation by miRNA in MCF7/T cells. In the mouse xenograft model, capecitabine significantly reduced the tumor volume in MCF7/T compared with MCF7. The results of this study indicate that endocrine therapy could alter the sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents in a subset of breast cancers, and 5-fluorouracil may be effective in tamoxifen-resistant breast cancers.

scholarly journals OR05-06 The Androgen Receptor Is a Tumour Suppressor in Estrogen Receptor Positive Breast Cancer

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa E Hickey ◽  
Luke Selth ◽  
Kee Ming Chia ◽  
Heloisa Milioli ◽  
Daniel Roden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Estrogen Receptor ◽  
Androgen Receptor ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Cancer Cell ◽  
Therapeutic Strategy ◽  
Tumour Suppressor ◽  
Er Positive ◽  
Positive Breast Cancer

Abstract There is strong interest in targeting the androgen receptor (AR) in estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer, but widespread confusion exits as to what therapeutic strategy - agonism or antagonism - is appropriate. Current understanding of AR predominantly stems from the field of prostate cancer, where AR is the key oncogenic driver and therapeutic target. An ensuing assumption is that AR promotes malignancy in breast cancer and should be therapeutically antagonised. However, compelling pre-clinical data to support this assumption is lacking. Since estrogen stimulates and androgen inhibits the development of normal breast tissue, we hypothesized that AR acts as a tumour suppressor in the breast and that AR agonism is the appropriate therapeutic strategy for ER-driven breast cancer. We tested this hypothesis using a large suite of cell line and patient-derived explant (PDE) and xenograft (PDX) models of breast cancer, including those that were resistant to current therapies and those harbouring genomic anomalies of ESR1 associated with treatment-resistant disease. Across the diverse models we found compelling evidence that AR agonism, but not antagonism, potently and durably inhibited tumour growth. A signature of AR activity derived from the xenograft models positively predicted disease survival in multiple large clinical cohorts of ER+ breast cancer, out-performing other breast cancer-specific prognostic signatures. We also show that an AR agonist can be combined with current ER target therapies such as Tamoxifen or a CDK4/6 inhibitor to maximize growth inhibition. Mechanistically, agonist-bound AR opposed ER signalling by repositioning ER and the co-activator p300 in the chromatin landscape, resulting in down-regulation of cell cycle genes. Introduction of an AR DNA binding mutant had no effect on ER signalling or estrogen-stimulated growth in breast cancer cells. As part of this study, we have generated consensus AR cistromes representing ER+ breast cancer cell lines and ER+ tumours that provide a new understanding of AR activity and clearly show differences to those associated with prostate cancer cell lines and tumours. In conclusion, our data provides a compelling biological rationale for AR agonism as a therapeutic strategy in multiple, clinically relevant contexts of ER-positive breast cancer. These findings should dispel widespread confusion over the role of AR in ER-driven breast cancer, an issue that currently hinders progress in leveraging modern AR-targeted therapies (e.g. selective androgen receptor modulators) that lack the undesirable side-effects of androgens for clinical benefit.

scholarly journals Tumor microenvironment in triple-negative breast cancer: the correlation of tumor-associated macrophages and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Kuroda ◽  
T. Jamiyan ◽  
R. Yamaguchi ◽  
A. Kakumoto ◽  
A. Abe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
T Cells ◽  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
Triple Negative Breast Cancer ◽  
Triple Negative ◽  
Cytotoxic T Cells ◽  
Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes ◽  
Tumor Associated Macrophages ◽  
Free Survival ◽  
Infiltrating Lymphocytes

Abstract Purpose Immune cells such as cytotoxic T cells, helper T cells, B cells or tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) contribute to the anti-tumor response or pro-tumorigenic effect in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). The interrelation of TAMs, T and B tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in TNBC has not been fully elucidated. Methods We evaluated the association of tumor-associated macrophages, T and B TILs in TNBC. Results TNBCs with a high CD68+, CD163+ TAMs and low CD4+, CD8+, CD20+ TILs had a significantly shorter relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) than those with low CD68+, CD163+ TAMs and high CD4+, CD8+, CD20+ TILs. TNBCs with high CD68+ TAMs/low CD8+ TILs showed a significantly shorter RFS and OS and a significantly poorer prognosis than those with high CD68+ TAMs/high CD8+ TILs, low CD68+ TAMs/high CD8+ TILs, and low CD68+/low CD8+. TNBCs with high CD163+ TAMs/low CD8+, low CD20 + TILs showed a significantly shorter RFS and OS and a significantly poorer prognosis than those with high CD163+ TAMs/high CD8+ TILs and high CD163+ TAMs /high CD20+ TILs. Conclusions Our study suggests that TAMs further create an optimal tumor microenvironment (TME) for growth and invasion of cancer cells when evasion of immunoreactions due to T and B TILs occurs. In TNBCs, all these events combine to affect prognosis. The process of TME is highly complex in TNBCs and for an improved understanding, larger validation studies are necessary to confirm these findings.

The androgen receptor is a tumor suppressor in estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 310-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa E. Hickey ◽  
Luke A. Selth ◽  
Kee Ming Chia ◽  
Geraldine Laven-Law ◽  
Heloisa H. Milioli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Estrogen Receptor ◽  
Androgen Receptor ◽  
Tumor Suppressor ◽  
Estrogen Receptor Positive ◽  
Positive Breast Cancer

scholarly journals Relationship Between Plasma Estradiol Levels and Estrogen-Responsive Gene Expression in Estrogen Receptor–Positive Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal Women

2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 1161-1167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita K. Dunbier ◽  
Helen Anderson ◽  
Zara Ghazoui ◽  
Elizabeth J. Folkerd ◽  
Roger A'Hern ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Gene Expression ◽  
Estrogen Receptor ◽  
Postmenopausal Women ◽  
Multivariable Analysis ◽  
Independent Set ◽  
Breast Cancers ◽  
Plasma Estradiol ◽  
Er Positive ◽  
Positive Breast Cancer

Purpose To determine whether plasma estradiol (E2) levels are related to gene expression in estrogen receptor (ER)–positive breast cancers in postmenopausal women. Materials and Methods Genome-wide RNA profiles were obtained from pretreatment core-cut tumor biopsies from 104 postmenopausal patients with primary ER-positive breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant anastrozole. Pretreatment plasma E2 levels were determined by highly sensitive radioimmunoassay. Genes were identified for which expression was correlated with pretreatment plasma E2 levels. Validation was performed in an independent set of 73 ER-positive breast cancers. Results The expression of many known estrogen-responsive genes and gene sets was highly significantly associated with plasma E2 levels (eg, TFF1/pS2, GREB1, PDZK1 and PGR; P < .005). Plasma E2 explained 27% of the average expression of these four average estrogen-responsive genes (ie, AvERG; r = 0.51; P < .0001), and a standardized mean of plasma E2 levels and ER transcript levels explained 37% (r, 0.61). These observations were validated in an independent set of 73 ER-positive tumors. Exploratory analysis suggested that addition of the nuclear coregulators in a multivariable analysis with ER and E2 levels might additionally improve the relationship with the AvERG. Plasma E2 and the standardized mean of E2 and ER were both significantly correlated with 2-week Ki67, a surrogate marker of clinical outcome (r = −0.179; P = .05; and r = −0.389; P = .0005, respectively). Conclusion Plasma E2 levels are significantly associated with gene expression of ER-positive breast cancers and should be considered in future genomic studies of ER-positive breast cancer. The AvERG is a new experimental tool for the study of putative estrogenic stimuli of breast cancer.

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