Janah Vandenhoeck, Isabelle Neefs, Thomas Vanpoucke, Joe Ibrahim, Arvid Suls, Dieter Peeters, Anne Schepers, Alexander Hoischen, Erik Fransen, Marc Peeters, Guy Van Camp, Ken Op de Beeck
{"title":"IMPRESS: Improved methylation profiling using restriction enzymes and smMIP sequencing, combined with a new biomarker panel, creating a multi-cancer detection assay","authors":"Janah Vandenhoeck, Isabelle Neefs, Thomas Vanpoucke, Joe Ibrahim, Arvid Suls, Dieter Peeters, Anne Schepers, Alexander Hoischen, Erik Fransen, Marc Peeters, Guy Van Camp, Ken Op de Beeck","doi":"10.1038/s41416-024-02809-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41416-024-02809-1","url":null,"abstract":"Despite the worldwide progress in cancer diagnostics, more sensitive diagnostic biomarkers are needed. The methylome has been extensively investigated in the last decades, but a low-cost, bisulfite-free detection method for multiplex analysis is still lacking. We developed a methylation detection technique called IMPRESS, which combines methylation-sensitive restriction enzymes and single-molecule Molecular Inversion Probes. We used this technique for the development of a multi-cancer detection assay for eight of the most lethal cancer types worldwide. We selected 1791 CpG sites that can distinguish tumor from normal tissue based on DNA methylation. These sites were analysed with IMPRESS in 35 blood, 111 tumor and 114 normal samples. Finally, a classifier model was built. We present the successful development of IMPRESS and validated it with ddPCR. The final classifier model discriminating tumor from normal samples was built with 358 CpG target sites and reached a sensitivity of 0.95 and a specificity of 0.91. Moreover, we provide data that highlight IMPRESS’s potential for liquid biopsies. We successfully created an innovative DNA methylation detection technique. By combining this method with a new multi-cancer biomarker panel, we developed a sensitive and specific multi-cancer assay, with potential use in liquid biopsies.","PeriodicalId":9243,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Cancer","volume":"131 7","pages":"1224-1236"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-024-02809-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142054962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Imogen Rogers, Max Cooper, Anjum Memon, Lindsay Forbes, Harm van Marwijk, Elizabeth Ford
{"title":"The effect of comorbidities on diagnostic interval for lung cancer in England: a cohort study using electronic health record data","authors":"Imogen Rogers, Max Cooper, Anjum Memon, Lindsay Forbes, Harm van Marwijk, Elizabeth Ford","doi":"10.1038/s41416-024-02824-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41416-024-02824-2","url":null,"abstract":"Comorbid conditions may delay lung cancer diagnosis by placing demand on general practioners’ time reducing the possibility of prompt cancer investigation (“competing demand conditions”), or by offering a plausible non-cancer explanation for signs/symptoms (“alternative explanation conditions”). Patients in England born before 1955 and diagnosed with incident lung cancer between 1990 and 2019 were identified in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink and linked hospital admission and cancer registry data. Diagnostic interval was defined as time from first presentation in primary care with a relevant sign/symptom to the diagnosis date. 14 comorbidities were classified as ten “competing demand“ and four “alternative explanation” conditions. Associations with diagnostic interval were investigated using multivariable linear regression models. Complete data were available for 11870 lung cancer patients. In adjusted analyses diagnostic interval was longer for patients with “alternative explanation” conditions, by 31 and 74 days in patients with one and ≥2 conditions respectively versus those with none. Number of “competing demand” conditions did not remain in the final adjusted regression model for diagnostic interval. Conditions offering alternative explanations for lung cancer symptoms are associated with increased diagnostic intervals. Clinical guidelines should incorporate the impact of alternative and competing causes upon delayed diagnosis.","PeriodicalId":9243,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Cancer","volume":"131 7","pages":"1147-1157"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-024-02824-2.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142046359","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhengyan Yang, Pai Zhang, Yiwei Zhao, Ran Guo, Jinglin Hu, Qi Wang, Zhi Zhao, Handi Liu, Shuangyu Lv, Zhiguang Ren, Yanzhong Hu, Daxiang Cui
{"title":"DRD4 promotes chemo-resistance and cancer stem cell-like phenotypes by mediating the activation of the Akt/β-catenin signaling axis in liver cancer","authors":"Zhengyan Yang, Pai Zhang, Yiwei Zhao, Ran Guo, Jinglin Hu, Qi Wang, Zhi Zhao, Handi Liu, Shuangyu Lv, Zhiguang Ren, Yanzhong Hu, Daxiang Cui","doi":"10.1038/s41416-024-02811-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41416-024-02811-7","url":null,"abstract":"Liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) significantly impact chemo-resistance and recurrence in liver cancer. Dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) is known to enhance the cancer stem cell (CSC) phenotype in glioblastoma and correlates with poor prognosis in some non-central nervous system tumors; however, its influence on LCSCs remains uncertain. To investigate the gene and protein expression profiles of DRD4 in LCSCs and non-LCSCs, we utilized transcriptome sequencing and Western blotting analysis. Bioinformatics analysis and immunohistochemistry were employed to assess the correlation between DRD4 expression levels and the pathological characteristics of liver cancer patients. The impact of DRD4 on LCSC phenotypes and signaling pathways were explored using pharmacological or gene-editing techniques. Additionally, the effect of DRD4 on the protein expression and intracellular localization of β-catenin were examined using Western blotting and immunofluorescence. DRD4 expression is significantly elevated in LCSCs and correlates with short survival in liver cancer. The expression and activity of DRD4 are positive to resistance, self renewal and tumorigenicity in HCC. Mechanistically, DRD4 stabilizes β-catenin and promotes its entry into the nucleus via activating the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β pathway, thereby enhancing LCSC phenotypes. Inhibiting DRD4 expression and activation offers a promising targeted therapy for eradicating LCSCs and relieve chemo-resistance.","PeriodicalId":9243,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Cancer","volume":"131 7","pages":"1212-1223"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142035264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Esben Packness, Olafur Birgir Davidsson, Klaus Rostgaard, Michael Asger Andersen, Emelie Curovic Rotbain, Carsten Utoft Niemann, Christian Brieghel, Henrik Hjalgrim
{"title":"Infections and their prognostic significance before diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, or multiple myeloma","authors":"Esben Packness, Olafur Birgir Davidsson, Klaus Rostgaard, Michael Asger Andersen, Emelie Curovic Rotbain, Carsten Utoft Niemann, Christian Brieghel, Henrik Hjalgrim","doi":"10.1038/s41416-024-02816-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41416-024-02816-2","url":null,"abstract":"Immunodeficiency is a shared feature of B cell malignancies. The risk of infections and their prognostic significance after diagnosis are well characterized, but, conversely, less is known about prediagnostic infections in these domains. In matched case-control analyzes, using Danish nationwide registers, we assessed the rate of prediagnostic infections in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), multiple myeloma (MM), follicular lymphoma (FL), marginal zone lymphoma (MZL), and lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL). Survival analyzes of data from clinical registers were then used to determine the effect of infections in the year preceding diagnosis on overall survival. To yield results for as many patients as possible, antimicrobial prescriptions were used as surrogates for infections. The nationwide and clinical registers comprised 30,389 patients, accumulating 213,649 antimicrobial prescriptions, and 18,560 patients accumulating 107,268 prescriptions, respectively. The relative risk of infections was increased up to 15 years prior to diagnosis of malignancy and markedly increased in the year just prior to diagnosis. More than two antimicrobials within one year prior to diagnosis were associated with significantly shorter overall survival, independently of known prognostic factors. Patients with B cell-derived malignancies exhibit marked immunodeficiency several years prior to diagnosis such that different disease subtypes demonstrate both overlapping and distinct trends in infection risk preceding diagnosis. Moreover, multiple infections within the year preceding diagnosis are independently associated with shorter overall survival for all the examined malignancies.","PeriodicalId":9243,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Cancer","volume":"131 7","pages":"1186-1194"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-024-02816-2.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142035265","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hema Sekhar, Rohit Kochhar, Bernadette Carrington, Thomas Kaye, Damian Tolan, Lee Malcomson, Mark P. Saunders, Matthew Sperrin, David Sebag-Montefiore, Marcel van Herk, Andrew G. Renehan
{"title":"Pre-treatment magnetic resonance imaging in anal cancer: large-scale evaluation of mrT, mrN and novel staging parameters","authors":"Hema Sekhar, Rohit Kochhar, Bernadette Carrington, Thomas Kaye, Damian Tolan, Lee Malcomson, Mark P. Saunders, Matthew Sperrin, David Sebag-Montefiore, Marcel van Herk, Andrew G. Renehan","doi":"10.1038/s41416-024-02759-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41416-024-02759-8","url":null,"abstract":"In patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA), magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is recommended for pre-treatment staging prior to chemo-radiotherapy (CRT), but large-scale evaluation of its staging performance is lacking. We re-characterised pre-treatment MRs from 228 patients with non-metastatic SCCA treated consecutively by CRT (2006–2015) at one UK cancer centre. We derived TN staging from tumour size (mrTr) and nodal involvement (mrN), and additionally characterised novel beyond TN features such as extramural vascular invasion (mrEMVI) and tumour signal heterogeneity (mrTSH). Primary outcomes were 5-year overall survival (OS) and 3-year loco-regional failure (LRF). Time-to-event analyses used Kaplan-Meier estimates; Hazard Ratios (HRs) with confidence intervals (CIs) were derived from Cox models. With a median follow up of 60.9 months, 5-year OS was 74%. Poor OS was associated with increasing mrT (HR: 1.12 per cm [95% CI: 1.07–1.33]), nodal positivity (HR 2.08 [95% CI 1.23–3.52]) and mrEMVI (HR 3.66 [95% CI: 1.88–7.41]). 3-year LRF rate was 16.5%. Increased LRF was associated with increasing mrT (HR: 1.43 per cm [95% CI: 1.26–1.63]), nodal positivity (HR 2.70 [95% CI 1.39–5.24]) and mrTSH (HR 2.66 [95% CI 1.29–5.48]). In SCCA, the study demonstrates that mrT and mrN stages are prognostic, while mrEMVI and mrTSH may be novel prognostic factors.","PeriodicalId":9243,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Cancer","volume":"131 7","pages":"1137-1146"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-024-02759-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142016432","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Clinical efficacy and immune response of neoadjuvant camrelizumab plus chemotherapy in resectable locally advanced oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a phase 2 trial","authors":"Yue-Yun Chen, Pei-Pei Wang, Yang Hu, Yong Yuan, Yu-Shang Yang, Hua-Shan Shi, Qing Hao, Zhen Lin, Jiang-Fang Tian, Yue Zheng, Ting Liu, Pan-Pan Lin, Heng Xu, Xue-Lei Ma, Li Yang, Zhen-Yu Ding","doi":"10.1038/s41416-024-02805-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41416-024-02805-5","url":null,"abstract":"Neoadjuvant immunotherapy is under intensive investigation for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). This study assesses the efficacy and immune response of neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy (nICT) in ESCC. In this phase II trial (ChiCTR2100045722), locally advanced ESCC patients receiving nICT were enrolled. The primary endpoint was the pathological complete response (pCR) rate. Multiplexed immunofluorescence, RNA-seq and TCR-seq were conducted to explore the immune response underlying nICT. Totally 42 patients were enrolled, achieving a 27.0% pCR rate. The 1-year, 2-year DFS and OS rates were 89.2%, 64.4% and 97.3%, 89.2%, respectively. RNA-seq analysis highlighted T-cell activation as the most significantly enriched pathway. The tumour immune microenvironment (TIME) was characterised by high CD4, CD8, Foxp3, and PD-L1 levels, associating with better pathological regression (TRS0/1). TIME was categorised into immune-infiltrating, immune-tolerant, and immune-desert types. Notably, the immune-infiltrating type and tertiary lymphoid structures correlated with improved outcomes. In the context of nICT, TIM-3 negatively influenced treatment efficacy, while elevated TIGIT/PD-1 expression post-nICT correlated positively with CD8+ T cell levels. TCR-seq identified three TCR rearrangements, underscoring the specificity of T-cell responses. Neoadjuvant camrelizumab plus chemotherapy is effective for locally advanced, resectable ESCC, eliciting profound immune response that closely associated with clinical outcomes.","PeriodicalId":9243,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Cancer","volume":"131 7","pages":"1126-1136"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-024-02805-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142008345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
N. Johnson, J. Bentley, L-Z Wang, D. R. Newell, C. N. Robson, G. I. Shapiro, N. J. Curtin
{"title":"Editorial Expression of Concern: Pre-clinical evaluation of cyclin-dependent kinase 2 and 1 inhibition in anti-estrogen-sensitive and resistant breast cancer cells","authors":"N. Johnson, J. Bentley, L-Z Wang, D. R. Newell, C. N. Robson, G. I. Shapiro, N. J. Curtin","doi":"10.1038/s41416-024-02813-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41416-024-02813-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":9243,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Cancer","volume":"131 5","pages":"955-955"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-024-02813-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142003643","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kerri A. Mullen, Kelly Hurley, Shelley Hewitson, Joshua Scoville, Alyssa Grant, Kednapa Thavorn, Eshwar Kumar, Graham W. Warren
{"title":"Cost-effectiveness of point of care smoking cessation interventions in oncology clinics","authors":"Kerri A. Mullen, Kelly Hurley, Shelley Hewitson, Joshua Scoville, Alyssa Grant, Kednapa Thavorn, Eshwar Kumar, Graham W. Warren","doi":"10.1038/s41416-024-02819-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41416-024-02819-z","url":null,"abstract":"We examined the cost-effectiveness of providing systematic smoking cessation interventions to oncology patients at point-of-care. A decision analytic model was completed from the healthcare payer’s perspective and included all incident cancer cases involving patients who smoke in New Brunswick, Canada (n = 1040), cancer site stratifications, and risks of mortality, continued smoking, and cancer treatment failure over one year. Usual care (no cessation support) was compared to the standard Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation (OMSC) intervention, and to OMSC plus unlimited cost-free stop smoking medication (OMSC + SSM), including nicotine replacement therapy, varenicline, or bupropion. Primary outcomes were incremental cost per quit (ICQ) and incremental cost per cancer treatment failure avoided (ICTFA). The ICQ was $C143 and ICTFA $C1193 for standard OMSC. The ICQ was $C503 and ICTFA was $C5952 for OMSC + SSM. The number needed to treat (NNT) to produce one quit was 9 for standard OMSC and 4 for OMSC + SSM, and the NNT to avoid one first-line treatment failure was 78 for OMSC and 45 for OMSC + SSM. Both were cost-effective in 100% of 1000 simulations. Given the high clinical benefits and low incremental costs, systematic smoking cessation interventions should be a standard component of first-line cancer treatment.","PeriodicalId":9243,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Cancer","volume":"131 7","pages":"1178-1185"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-024-02819-z.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141981725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mariah J. Berner, Steven W. Wall, Gloria V. Echeverria
{"title":"Deregulation of mitochondrial gene expression in cancer: mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities","authors":"Mariah J. Berner, Steven W. Wall, Gloria V. Echeverria","doi":"10.1038/s41416-024-02817-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41416-024-02817-1","url":null,"abstract":"“Reprogramming of energy metabolism” was first considered an emerging hallmark of cancer in 2011 by Hanahan & Weinberg and is now considered a core hallmark of cancer. Mitochondria are the hubs of metabolism, crucial for energetic functions and cellular homeostasis. The mitochondrion’s bacterial origin and preservation of their own genome, which encodes proteins and RNAs essential to their function, make them unique organelles. Successful generation of mitochondrial gene products requires coordinated functioning of the mitochondrial ‘central dogma,’ encompassing all steps necessary for mtDNA to yield mitochondrial proteins. Each of these processes has several levels of regulation, including mtDNA accessibility and protection through mtDNA packaging and epigenetic modifications, mtDNA copy number through mitochondrial replication, mitochondrial transcription through mitochondrial transcription factors, and mitochondrial translation through mitoribosome formation. Deregulation of these mitochondrial processes in the context of cancers has only recently been appreciated, with most studies being correlative in nature. Nonetheless, numerous significant associations of the mitochondrial central dogma with pro-tumor phenotypes have been documented. Several studies have even provided mechanistic insights and further demonstrated successful pharmacologic targeting strategies. Based on the emergent importance of mitochondria for cancer biology and therapeutics, it is becoming increasingly important that we gain an understanding of the underpinning mechanisms so they can be successfully therapeutically targeted. It is expected that this mechanistic understanding will result in mitochondria-targeting approaches that balance anticancer potency with normal cell toxicity. This review will focus on current evidence for the dysregulation of mitochondrial gene expression in cancers, as well as therapeutic opportunities on the horizon.","PeriodicalId":9243,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Cancer","volume":"131 9","pages":"1415-1424"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141981768","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Potential role of the CD39-CD73 ATP-adenosine pathway in platelet mediated dissemination of circulating tumour cells","authors":"Mark P. Ward, Sharon A. O’Toole, John J. O’Leary","doi":"10.1038/s41416-024-02797-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41416-024-02797-2","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":9243,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Cancer","volume":"131 5","pages":"781-782"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141916111","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}