Expression of Genes Involved in Vascular Morphogenesis and Maturation Predicts Efficacy of Bevacizumab-Based Chemotherapy in Patients Undergoing Liver Resection.

Angiogenesis-related gene expression is associated with the efficacy of anti-VEGF therapy. We tested whether intratumoral mRNA expression levels of genes involved in vascular morphogenesis and early vessel maturation predict response, recurrence-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS) in a unique cohort of patients with colorectal liver metastases (CLM) treated with bevacizumab-based chemotherapy followed by curative liver resection. Intratumoral mRNA was isolated from resected bevacizumab-pretreated CLM from 125 patients. In 42 patients, a matching primary tumor sample collected before bevacizumab treatment was available. Relative mRNA levels of 9 genes (ACVRL1, EGFL7, EPHB4, HIF1A, VEGFA, VEGFB, VEGFC, FLT1, and KDR) were analyzed by RT-PCR and evaluated for associations with response, RFS, and OS. P values for the associations between the individual dichotomized expression level and RFS were adjusted for choosing the optimal cut-off value. In CLM, high expression of VEGFB, VEGFC, HIF1A, and KDR and low expression of EGFL7 were associated with favorable RFS in multivariable analysis (P < 0.05). High ACVRL1 levels predicted favorable 3-year OS (P = 0.041) and radiologic response (PR = 1.093, SD = 0.539, P = 0.002). In primary tumors, low VEGFA and high EGFL7 were associated with radiologic and histologic response (P < 0.05). High VEGFA expression predicted shorter RFS (10.1 vs. 22.6 months; HR = 2.83, P = 0.038). High VEGFB (46% vs. 85%; HR = 5.75, P = 0.009) and low FLT1 (55% vs. 100%; P = 0.031) predicted lower 3-year OS rates. Our data suggest that intratumoral mRNA expression of genes involved in vascular morphogenesis and early vessel maturation may be promising predictive and/or prognostic biomarkers. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(11); 2814-21. ©2016 AACR.

Clinical Significance of TLR1 I602S Polymorphism for Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Treated with FOLFIRI plus Bevacizumab.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of single-nucleotide polymorphisms in TLR1, TLR2, TLR6, and TAK1 in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). We genotyped 9 SNPs of TLR1, TLR2, TLR6, and TAK1 in mCRC patients treated with first-line FOLFIRI (combination therapy of irinotecan, 5-fluorouracil, and folinic acid) plus bevacizumab, using a discovery cohort (TRIBE trial, n = 228) and a validation cohort (FIRE-3 trial, n = 297), and analyzed for the association with response rate (RR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). There was a significant association of TLR1 rs5743618 (T1805G) with the clinical outcome. In the TRIBE cohort, a homozygous wild-type genotype (T/T) associated with a significantly lower RR compared with variant T/G and G/G genotypes (43% vs. 62%, P = 0.025), and this observation was validated in the FIRE-3 cohort (46% vs. 65%, P = 0.021). In addition, those patients with the T/T genotype had significantly worse PFS (median, 8.2 vs. 10.5 months; HR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.09-2.28, P = 0.014) and OS (median: 19.9 vs. 27.9 months; HR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.14-2.35, P = 0.007), compared with those with other genotypes in the TRIBE cohort. These differences remained statistically significant in multivariate analysis. Our data suggest that TLR1 rs5743618 could serve as a predictor of clinical response to FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab in patients with mCRC. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(7); 1740-5. ©2016 AACR.

TWIST1 Polymorphisms Predict Survival in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Receiving First-Line Bevacizumab plus Oxaliplatin-Based Chemotherapy.

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is an important mechanism of resistance to angiogenesis inhibition. The ability of EMT pathway genetic variants to predict the efficacy of antiangiogenic therapy is unknown. We analyzed associations between functional SNPs in EMT-related genes and outcomes in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients undergoing first-line bevacizumab-based chemotherapy. A total of 220 mCRC patients were included in this study: 143 patients treated with first-line bevacizumab-based chemotherapy (bevacizumab cohort) and 77 patients treated with cetuximab-based chemotherapy (cetuximab cohort). SNPs in TWIST1 (rs2285682, rs2285681), ZEB1 (rs10826943, rs2839658), SNAIL (rs1543442, rs4647958), and E-cadherin (rs16260) genes were analyzed by PCR-based direct sequencing. Patients carrying a TWIST1 rs2285682 G allele had a significantly longer median progression-free survival (PFS) of 18.1 months and overall survival (OS) of 44.1 months compared with those with the T/T genotype, who had a median PFS of 13.3 months (HR, 0.57; P = 0.003) and OS of 29.2 months (HR, 0.53; P = 0.001) in the bevacizumab cohort. In multivariate analysis, associations between TWIST1 rs2285682 and PFS and OS remained significant. Among women, the G allele of TWIST1 rs2285682 (PFS HR, 0.39; P = 0.007; OS HR, 0.30; P = 0.001) and TWIST1 rs2285681 (PFS HR, 0.27; P < 0.001; OS HR, 0.25; P < 0.001) was associated with improved survival. No significant associations were found in the cetuximab cohort. Our findings suggest that TWIST1 polymorphisms are associated with survival in mCRC patients treated with first-line bevacizumab-based chemotherapy and may serve as clinically useful biomarkers for antiangiogenic therapy. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(6); 1405-11. ©2016 AACR.

Prognostic Impact of IL6 Genetic Variants in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Treated with Bevacizumab-Based Chemotherapy.

PURPOSE: The IL6/STAT3 axis promotes inflammation, angiogenesis, and cancer. The effect of genetic variants within this pathway on benefit from antiangiogenic cancer therapy is unknown. We tested whether SNPs in genes involved in IL6/STAT3 signaling can predict efficacy of bevacizumab-based chemotherapy in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Associations between potentially functional IL6 (rs2069837 and rs1800795) and STAT3 (rs744166 and rs4796793) SNPs and clinical outcomes [progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival, and tumor response rate] were evaluated in mCRC patients receiving first-line FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab in two randomized phase III trials: TRIBE (n = 223, training cohort) and FIRE-3 (n = 288, validation cohort). Patients receiving FOLFIRI plus cetuximab in FIRE-3 (n = 264) served as a control cohort. The interaction between genotype and primary tumor location with clinical outcomes was examined. Genomic DNA isolated from whole blood or tumor tissue was analyzed by PCR-based direct sequencing. RESULTS: Patients with an IL6 rs2069837 G allele treated with FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab had an inferior PFS than those with the A/A genotype in TRIBE [9.4 vs. 11.1 months; HR = 1.53; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.12-2.10; P = 0.004] and FIRE-3 (8.8 vs. 10.9 months; HR = 1.40; 95% CI, 1.06-1.85; P = 0.015). These associations were confirmed in multivariable analyses and were not seen in the control cohort. In subgroup analysis, the effect of IL6 rs2069837 on PFS was present only in patients with left-sided cancers, but the test for interaction was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: IL6 rs2069837 genotype is a clinically relevant prognostic factor in mCRC patients treated with first-line bevacizumab-based chemotherapy. Clin Cancer Res; 22(13); 3218-26. ©2016 AACR.

Cytokeratin-20 and Survivin-Expressing Circulating Tumor Cells Predict Survival in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients by a Combined Immunomagnetic qRT-PCR Approach.

Circulating tumor cells (CTC) express epithelial and stem cell-like genes, though current approved detection methods mainly use epithelial markers. We optimized a CTC isolation method that could capture their molecular heterogeneity and predict overall survival (OS) in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients receiving various chemotherapy regimens. We combined immunomagnetic enrichment of CD45-negative, EpCAM-positive circulating cancer cells with qRT-PCR amplification of CK20 and survivin expression in 88 mCRC patients and 20 healthy controls. We then evaluated the prognostic value of baseline CTC CK20 and survivin expression in mCRC patients. The presence of elevated CTC CK20 or survivin expression distinguished mCRC patients from controls with sufficient sensitivity (79.6%) and specificity (85%). In univariate analysis, patients with high CTC-CK20 expression (9 vs. 33.2+ months, log-rank P < 0.001) or high CTC-survivin expression (10 vs. 33.2+ months, log-rank P = 0.032) had a significantly worse median OS than those with low expression of either marker. In multivariable analysis, the high CTC-CK20 group had significantly shortened OS (HR, 3.11; adjusted P = 0.01), and there was a trend toward inferior OS in the high CTC-survivin group (HR, 1.76; adjusted P = 0.099). Patients with either high CTC CK20 or survivin expression had inferior OS compared with those with low expression of both markers (HR, 4.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.56-12.35; adjusted P = 0.005). Colorectal cancer CTCs can be reliably isolated using epithelial and stem cell markers. CTC CK20 and survivin expression may effectively predict OS in mCRC patients receiving chemotherapy.

Lower island trapezius myocutaneous flap reconstruction of a large neck defect in an infant.

Free tissues transfer has been well-described in infants but there is limited data on techniques for reconstruction of large neck defects with regional myocutaneous flaps in this population. We report on the use of a lower island trapezius myocutaneous flap to reconstruct a large posterior neck and occiput wound in an 18-month-old child. The use of a regional myocutaneous flap allowed for reliable transfer of a relatively large volume of skin and soft tissue, providing coverage of the internal jugular vein and spinal accessory nerve as well as limiting the likelihood of debilitating scar contracture.