The utility of ultrasound superb microvascular imaging for evaluation of breast tumour vascularity: comparison with colour and power Doppler imaging regarding diagnostic performance.

AIM: To investigate the utility of superb microvascular imaging (SMI) for evaluating the vascularity of breast masses in comparison with colour or power Doppler ultrasound (US) and the effect on diagnostic performance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 191 biopsy-proven masses (99 benign and 92 malignant) in 166 women with greyscale, colour Doppler, power Doppler, and SMI images were enrolled in this retrospective study. Three radiologists analysed the vascular images using a three-factor scoring system to evaluate the number, morphology, and distribution of tumour vessels. They assessed the Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System categories for greyscale US alone and combinations of greyscale US and each type of vascular US. The Kruskal-Wallis test was performed and the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) measured. On SMI, vascular scores were compared between benign and malignant masses and the optimal cut-off value for the overall score was determined. RESULTS: SMI showed higher vascular scores than colour or power Doppler US and malignant masses had higher scores than benign masses (p<0.001). The diagnostic performance of the combination of greyscale US and SMI was higher than those of greyscale US alone and greyscale and colour or power Doppler US (AUC, 0.815 versus 0.774, 0.789, 0.791; p<0.001). The optimal cut-off value of the overall vascular score was 5 with a sensitivity of 82.3% and a specificity of 65.3% (AUC, 0.808). CONCLUSION: SMI is superior to colour or power Doppler US for characterising the vascularity in breast masses and improving diagnostic performance.

Intramyocardial transfer of hepatocyte growth factor as an adjunct to CABG: phase I clinical study.

The purpose of this phase I clinical trial was to evaluate the safety, tolerability and potential efficacy of VM202, naked DNA expressing two isoforms of hepatocyte growth factor, as an adjunct therapy to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD). Nine patients were assigned to receive increasing doses (0.5 to 2.0 mg) of VM202 injected into the right coronary artery (RCA) territory following completion of CABG for the left coronary artery territory. Patients were evaluated for safety and tolerability, and changes in myocardial functions were monitored via echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and myocardial single photon emission computed tomography throughout 6-month follow-up period. No serious complication related to VM202 was observed throughout the 6-month follow-up period. Global myocardial functions (wall motion score index, P=0.0084; stress perfusion, P=0.0002) improved during the follow-up period. In the RCA region, there was an increase in the stress perfusion (baseline vs 3-month, P=0.024; baseline vs 6-month, P=0.024) and also in the wall thickness of the diastolic and systolic phases. Intramyocardial injection of VM202 can be safely used in IHD patients with the tolerable dose of 2.0 mg. In addition, VM202 might appear to have improved regional myocardial perfusion and wall thickness in the injected region.

Frequency of homozygous deletion at p16/CDKN2 in primary human tumours.

Many tumour types have been reported to have deletion of 9p21 (refs 1-6). A candidate target suppressor gene, p16 (p16INK4a/MTS-1/CDKN2), was recently identified within the commonly deleted region in tumour cell lines. An increasing and sometimes conflicting body of data has accumulated regarding the frequency of homozygous deletion and the importance of p16 in primary tumours. We tested 545 primary tumours by microsatellite analysis with existing and newly cloned markers around the p16 locus. We have now found that small homozygous deletions represent the predominant mechanism of inactivation at 9p21 in bladder tumours and are present in other tumour types, including breast and prostate cancer. Moreover, fine mapping of these deletions implicates a 170 kb minimal region that includes p16 and excludes p15.

Cervical cancer screening among Michigan women: 'The Special Cancer Behavioral Risk Factor Survey', 2004-2008.

The burden of cervical cancer remains greater among minority women. The purpose of this study was to evaluate racial/ethnic disparities in cervical cancer screening among minority women in Michigan. Data from 8,023 women (≥ 40 years) surveyed in the 2004-2008 Michigan Special Cancer Behavioral Risk Factor Survey were used to assess racial/ethnic differences in cervical cancer screening, knowledge and beliefs. Unexpectedly, African-American and Hispanic women reported being screened for cervical cancer at rates similar to, or higher than, Whites. Women demonstrated limited knowledge of cervical cancer risk factors and its signs/symptoms. Most minority women were more likely than Whites to believe in the importance of cervical screening, with Hispanic women more likely to support HPV vaccination. Differential utilisation of screening does not explain the disproportionately high rates of cervical cancer among minorities. Future research should examine disparities in the follow-up of abnormal cervical results and receipt of treatment.

Cell adhesion molecules as tumour suppressors.

Cell adhesion molecules, a diverse group of proteins expressed on the cell surface, have been implicated in numerous important cellular functions ranging from controlling morphogenesis to suppressing tumourigenesis. In this article, we discuss evidence supporting the idea that at least some proteins involved in cell adhesion may suppress tumourigenesis through influences on cell growth, differentiation and/or invasion. These studies suggest that some cell adhesion molecules may be encoded by tumour suppressor genes.

NIH3T3 cells expressing the deleted in colorectal cancer tumor suppressor gene product stimulate neurite outgrowth in rat PC12 pheochromocytoma cells.

The Deleted in Colorectal Cancer (DCC) gene is a candidate tumor suppressor gene that is predicted to encode a transmembrane polypeptide with strong similarity to the neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM) family. Previous studies have suggested that several different N-CAMs, when expressed in non-neuronal cell types can stimulate neurite outgrowth from PC12 rat pheochromocytoma cells. Based on the predicted structural similarity of DCC to N-CAMs, we sought to determine whether NIH3T3 cells expressing DCC could stimulate neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells. We found that NIH3T3 cell lines expressing DCC could stimulate PC12 cells to extend neurites. Supernatants from DCC-transfected NIH3T3 cells did not induce neurite outgrowth above background levels, suggesting that cell-cell interaction was required. NIH3T3 cells expressing a truncated form of DCC, lacking the majority of the cytoplasmic domain sequences, also failed to induce neurite outgrowth above the levels seen with control NIH3T3 cells, suggesting that the cytoplasmic domain of DCC was necessary for its neurite-promoting function. In contrast to NGF-mediated neurite outgrowth, the DCC-mediated response was inhibited by treatment with pertussis toxin or the combination of N- and L-type calcium channel blockers, and was unaffected by the transcriptional inhibitor cordycepin. The data suggest that the DCC protein can function in a fashion analogous to other N-CAMs to alter PC12 cell phenotype through intracellular pathways distinct from those involved in NGF signaling.

Identification of a chromosome 18q gene that is altered in colorectal cancers.

Allelic deletions involving chromosome 18q occur in more than 70 percent of colorectal cancers. Such deletions are thought to signal the existence of a tumor suppressor gene in the affected region, but until now a candidate suppressor gene on this chromosomal arm had not been identified. A contiguous stretch of DNA comprising 370 kilobase pairs (kb) has now been cloned from a region of chromosome 18q suspected to reside near this gene. Potential exons in the 370-kb region were defined by human-rodent sequence identities, and the expression of potential exons was assessed by an "exon-connection" strategy based on the polymerase chain reaction. Expressed exons were used as probes for cDNA screening to obtain clones that encoded a portion of a gene termed DCC; this cDNA was encoded by at least eight exons within the 370-kb genomic region. The predicted amino acid sequence of the cDNA specified a protein with sequence similarity to neural cell adhesion molecules and other related cell surface glycoproteins. While the DCC gene was expressed in most normal tissues, including colonic mucosa, its expression was greatly reduced or absent in most colorectal carcinomas tested. Somatic mutations within the DCC gene observed in colorectal cancers included a homozygous deletion of the 5' end of the gene, a point mutation within one of the introns, and ten examples of DNA insertions within a 0.17-kb fragment immediately downstream of one of the exons. The DCC gene may play a role in the pathogenesis of human colorectal neoplasia, perhaps through alteration of the normal cell-cell interactions controlling growth.

DCC: linking tumor suppressor genes and altered cell surface interactions in cancer?

The gene deleted in colorectal cancer (DCC) is a candidate tumor suppressor gene encoding a neural cell adhesion molecule like transmembrane protein. Over the past year, data supporting DCC inactivation in multiple tumor types have continued to accumulate. Functional studies suggest that DCC may participate in signaling pathways that regulate cell proliferation and/or differentiation, two cellular processes that often go awry during tumorigenesis.

Restored expression of fragile histidine triad protein and tumorigenicity of cervical carcinoma cells.

BACKGROUND: Allelic losses in the short arm of chromosome 3 are common in cervical carcinomas. The fragile histidine triad (FHIT) gene at chromosome region 3p14.2 is a candidate tumor suppressor gene that may play a role in cervical tumorigenesis. We and others have identified aberrant FHIT transcripts and frequent loss of Fhit protein expression in primary cervical cancers and high-grade noninvasive lesions but not in normal cervical tissues. The altered expression of FHIT may be due to somatic mutations or integration of human papillomavirus DNA at the FHIT locus. The purpose of this study was to determine whether ectopic expression of Fhit can suppress the tumorigenic properties of cervical cancer cells. METHODS: We employed infection with recombinant retroviruses as well as transfection of plasmid DNA to restore Fhit protein expression in cervical cancer cell lines lacking full-length FHIT transcripts and endogenous Fhit protein. The effects of Fhit expression on tumor cell morphology, anchorage-independent growth, and tumorigenicity in nude mice were examined. RESULTS: Stable overexpression of Fhit had no discernible effect on the tumorigenic properties of two cervical carcinoma cell lines or on a lung carcinoma cell line previously reported by others to be suppressed for tumorigenicity by Fhit. CONCLUSIONS: Restoration of Fhit expression does not suppress anchorage-independent growth or tumorigenicity of cervical carcinoma cell lines. However, it remains possible that FHIT inactivation may be important early in cervical tumor progression or that FHIT may suppress tumorigenesis in ways distinct from those measured by the assays employed in this study.

Both cell proliferation and apoptosis increase with lesion grade in cervical neoplasia but do not correlate with human papillomavirus type.

Recent molecular studies suggest that the expression of high-risk but not low-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) oncoproteins E6 and E7 can significantly alter normal cell cycle regulation. The alterations in cell cycle regulation may be reflected by changes in the balance between cell growth and cell loss through apoptosis in cell populations expressing E6 and/or E7. We evaluated the kinetic indices of cell proliferation and apoptosis in a histopathological spectrum of cervical neoplasia and compared low-versus high-risk HPV-associated lesions. The cell proliferation index, as determined by detection of the nuclear antigen Ki67, increased with increasing lesion grade. Apoptotic cells were identified with terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-labeling of the 3'-hydroxyl ends of DNA nucleosomes. No apoptosis was observed in normal epithelium, and only occasional apoptotic cells were seen in low-grade lesions. However, there was a low but measurable apoptotic index in the higher grade lesions, which increased with lesion grade. There was no significant difference in the proliferative and apoptotic indices in similar grade lesions when stratified into low-versus high-risk HPV types. These findings suggest that apoptosis in HPV-infected lesions correlates with proliferative activity rather than HPV type.

Diverse mechanisms of beta-catenin deregulation in ovarian endometrioid adenocarcinomas.

Clinical and molecular findings suggest that the four major histological subtypes of ovarian carcinoma (serous, clear cell, mucinous, and endometrioid) likely represent distinct disease entities. Prior studies have shown that ovarian endometrioid adenocarcinomas (OEAs) often carry mutations in the CTNNB1 gene, which encodes beta-catenin, a critical component of the Wnt signaling pathway. However, the nature of other defects in the Wnt signaling pathway in ovarian carcinomas remains largely unknown. Thus, in 45 primary OEAs and two OEA-derived cell lines, we sought to comprehensively address the prevalence of and mechanisms underlying beta-catenin and Wnt pathway deregulation. CTNNB1 missense mutations were detected in 14 primary tumors. All mutations affected the NH(2)-terminal regulatory domain of beta-catenin, presumably rendering the mutant proteins resistant to degradation. Immunohistochemical studies revealed nuclear accumulation of beta-catenin in all but two tumors with CTNNB1 mutations. Two primary tumors lacking CTNNBI mutations showed strong nuclear immunoreactivity for beta-catenin. In one of the two tumors, biallelic inactivation of the APC gene was found. In the remaining 29 primary OEAs, unequivocal nuclear beta-catenin immunoreactivity was not observed, though a nonsense mutation in AXIN1 was observed in one tumor and a truncating frameshift mutation in AXIN2 was seen in another case. Both OEA-derived cell lines studied (TOV-112D and MDAH-2774) had elevated constitutive T-cell factor/lymphoid enhancer factor transcriptional activity. TOV-112D cells were shown to harbor mutant beta-catenin, whereas a missense AXIN1 sequence alteration was identified in MDAH-2774 cells. Collectively, our findings demonstrate frequent defects of the Wnt signaling pathway in a particular subtype of ovarian carcinomas, i.e., OEAs. Although mutations in the CTNNB1 gene are the most common mechanism of beta-catenin deregulation in OEAs, beta-catenin deregulation may also result from mutations in the APC, AXIN1, and AXIN2 genes.

p53 inactivation by HPV16 E6 results in increased mutagenesis in human cells.

To study the pathways associated with genomic instability in cancer, we examined UV-induced and spontaneous mutagenesis in clonal cell lines expressing human papillomavirus (HPV) proteins, either high-risk (HPV16) E6 or E7 or low-risk (HPV11) E6, in comparison to the parental RKO cells, a colon carcinoma cell line expressing only normal p53. High-risk E6 and E7 bind and functionally inactivate tumor suppressor proteins p53 and Rb, respectively, and both disrupt the G1 arrest in response to DNA damage. Low-risk HPV E6 proteins bind p53 with much lower affinity than high-risk E6 and fail to mediate p53 degradation or to disrupt the G1 checkpoint. We found that cells expressing HPV16 E6 had reduced survival and increased mutagenesis at the hprt locus when treated with low doses of UV. However, this analysis was complicated by the unexpected observation of a very high background of spontaneous mutagenesis in the unirradiated cells expressing the HPV16 E6 gene. Fluctuation analysis revealed a 5-fold elevated mutation rate in the cells expressing HPV16 E6. HPV11 E6 conferred a 2-fold elevation in the mutation rate, but HPV16 E7 had no effect. The increased spontaneous mutagenesis, therefore, appeared to be mediated by p53 inactivation and to be independent of Rb (which acts downstream of p53 in the G1 arrest pathway following DNA damage). Taken together, these findings suggest that the effect of p53 inactivation on spontaneous mutagenesis is manifested at the level of DNA repair, recombination, or coupling of transcription with one of these processes instead of by an alteration in G1 arrest.

Growth-related elevations of DNA topoisomerase II levels found in Dunning R3327 rat prostatic adenocarcinomas.

The relationship between DNA topoisomerase II expression and mammalian cell proliferation has been evaluated by determining enzyme levels in normal and neoplastic rat prostate tissues. By activity assay and by immunoblot analysis using anti-topoisomerase II antiserum, topoisomerase II levels were found to be elevated in both the Dunning R3327-H and the Dunning R3327-G rat prostatic adenocarcinomas over levels assayed in the normal rat dorsal prostate. Immunohistochemical studies using the antitopoisomerase II antiserum revealed that a greater fraction of nuclei contained detectable levels of topoisomerase II in tissue sections prepared from each of the Dunning tumors than in rat dorsal prostate tissue sections. The Dunning R3327-H and R3327-G tumors grow at different rates in vivo (J. T. Isaacs and D. S. Coffey, Clin. Oncol., 2: 479-498, 1983). When measured topoisomerase II levels were compared to known growth parameters for each of the tissues studied, topoisomerase II expression was found to be correlated with tissue growth rate.

Coordinately up-regulated genes in ovarian cancer.

A better understanding of the molecular circuitry in normal ovarian tissues and in ovarian cancer will likely provide new targets for diagnosis and therapy. Recently, much has been learned about the genes expressed in ovarian cancer through studies with cDNA arrays and serial analysis of gene expression. However, these methods do not allow highly quantitative analysis of gene expression on a large number of specimens. Here, we have used quantitative real-time RT-PCR in a panel of 39 microdissected ovarian carcinomas of various subtypes to systematically analyze the expression of 13 genes, many of which were previously identified as up-regulated in a subset of ovarian cancers by serial analyses of gene expression. The genes analyzed are glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPX3), apolipoprotein J/clusterin, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 2, epithelial cell adhesion molecule/GA733-2, Kop protease inhibitor, matrix gla protein, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 3, folate receptor 1, S100A2, signal transducer and activator of transcription 1, secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor, apolipoprotein E, and ceruloplasmin. All of the genes were found overexpressed, some at extremely high levels, in the vast majority of ovarian carcinomas irrespective of the subtype. Interestingly, GPX3 was found at much higher levels in tumors with clear cell histology and may represent a biomarker for this subtype. Some of the genes studied here may thus represent targets for early detection ovarian cancer. The gene expression patterns were not associated with age at diagnosis, stage, or K-ras mutation status in ovarian cancer. We find that several genes are coordinately regulated in ovarian cancer, likely representing the fact that many genes are activated as part of common signaling pathways or that extensive cross-talk exists between several pathways in ovarian cancer. A statistical analysis shows that genes commonly up-regulated in ovarian cancer may result from the aberrant activation of a limited number of pathways, providing promising targets for novel therapeutic strategies.

Evidence supporting exclusion of the DCC gene and a portion of chromosome 18q as the locus for susceptibility to hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal carcinoma in five kindreds.

Hereditary non-polyposis colorectal carcinoma (HNPCC) syndrome is characterized by early onset and multiple cancers of predominantly the proximal colon and occasionally other organs. The mode of transmission is compatible with autosomal dominant inheritance but the location and characteristics of the putative susceptibility gene are unknown. We performed linkage analyses with the aim of proving or excluding the existence of a susceptibility locus on 18q. This hypothesis was based on the frequent involvement of the DCC gene in colorectal carcinoma and on the previously reported linkage between HNPCC and the Kidd blood group locus (JK) also on 18q. Seven HNPCC families were tested with eight polymorphisms, including three from within DCC. The DCC locus could be excluded as the HNPCC susceptibility locus in five families in which the two point logarithm-of-odds scores were -3.66, -3.63, -4.12, -7.90, and -3.74 at the recombination fraction of 0.00. In the remaining two families linkage could be neither excluded nor confirmed. The added pairwise logarithm-of-odds score for all seven families was -22.65 at the recombination fraction of 0.00. Multipoint analyses of linkage in the seven families suggested exclusion of some 60 cM in the region DCC-D18S18-D18S22-D18S7 as the site for HNPCC susceptibility locus. In addition to DCC, the excluded portion comprises JK.

A transforming growth factor beta receptor type II gene mutation common in colon and gastric but rare in endometrial cancers with microsatellite instability.

We have recently demonstrated that mutation of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) receptor type II (RII) gene is characteristic of colon cancers exhibiting microsatellite instability or replication errors (RER+). Moreover, we have shown that RII mutations in these RER+ colon cancers are characteristically frameshift mutations within a 10-bp polyadenine repeat present in the RII-coding region. We now show that RII gene mutations in this polyadenine repeat are also commonly present in RER+ gastric cancers (71%). In contrast, we find these same RII gene mutations are distinctly uncommon in RER+ endometrial cancers (17%, P < 0.02). These results suggest that RII gene mutations confer a growth advantage and are selected for in RER+ cancers of both the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract. The genesis of RER+ endometrial tumors must, however, be by a different route.

Mutations in DNA mismatch repair genes are not responsible for microsatellite instability in most sporadic endometrial carcinomas.

Endometrial carcinoma is the second most common tumor type in women with hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal carcinoma. Microsatellite instability (MI) has been observed in the inherited (hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal carcinoma-associated) form of endometrial carcinoma as well as in approximately 20% of presumably sporadic cases. Recent studies suggest that MI in many cell lines or xenografts derived from sporadic colorectal carcinomas is not attributable to mutations in four known human DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes (hMSH2, hMLH1, hPMS1, and hPMS2). Mutational analyses of these four MMR genes in endometrial carcinomas have not been previously reported. We analyzed nine sporadic MI-positive primary endometrial carcinomas for mutations in the above four MMR genes. Mutations were detected in two tumors (in hMSH2), and both of the mutations were acquired somatically. Immunohistochemical staining revealed a lack of expression of hMSH2 protein in the two tumors containing hMSH2 mutations. Our data suggest that mutations in these four known DNA MMR genes are not responsible for MI in the majority of sporadic endometrial carcinomas displaying this phenotype.

Mutations in PTEN are frequent in endometrial carcinoma but rare in other common gynecological malignancies.

Loss of heterozygosity of chromosome 10q has been reported in approximately 40% of endometrial carcinomas. PTEN, a candidate tumor suppressor gene located at chromosome 10q23.3, was recently identified and found to be homozygously deleted or mutated in several different types of human tumors. To determine if PTEN is a target of 10q loss of heterozygosity in carcinomas of the endometrium, we examined 32 primary endometrial carcinomas for mutations in PTEN. The tumors included the two major histopathological types of endometrial carcinoma: endometrioid (n = 26; 14 microsatellite instability (MI)-positive and 12 MI-negative) and serous (n = 6). Overall, mutations were detected in 50% of the endometrial carcinomas we analyzed. Mutations were present in 12 of 14 (86%) MI-positive and 4 of 12 (33%) MI-negative endometrioid tumors. Furthermore, mutations were found in all three histological grades of MI-positive endometrioid carcinoma. All six serous endometrial carcinomas lacked detectable mutations. To evaluate the role of PTEN in other common malignancies of the female genital tract, 12 serous ovarian carcinomas and 10 squamous cervical carcinomas were analyzed and were negative for mutations. Our results support PTEN as a tumor suppressor gene and suggest that mutations in PTEN play a significant role in the pathogenesis of the endometrioid type of endometrial carcinoma.

Large-scale serial analysis of gene expression reveals genes differentially expressed in ovarian cancer.

Difficulties in the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of ovarian cancer result in an overall low survival rate of women with this disease. A better understanding of the pathways involved in ovarian tumorigenesis will likely provide new targets for early and effective intervention. Here, we have used serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) to generate global gene expression profiles from various ovarian cell lines and tissues, including primary cancers, ovarian surface epithelia cells, and cystadenoma cells. The profiles were used to compare overall patterns of gene expression and to identify differentially expressed genes. We have sequenced a total of 385,000 tags, yielding >56,000 genes expressed in 10 different libraries derived from ovarian tissues. In general, ovarian cancer cell lines showed relatively high levels of similarity to libraries from other cancer cell lines, regardless of the tissue of origin (ovarian or colon), indicating that these lines had lost many of their tissue-specific expression patterns. In contrast, immortalized ovarian surface epithelia and ovarian cystadenoma cells showed much higher similarity to primary ovarian carcinomas than to primary colon carcinomas. Primary tissue specimens therefore appeared to be a better model for gene expression analyses. Using the expression profiles described above and stringent selection criteria, we have identified a number of genes highly differentially expressed between nontransformed ovarian epithelia and ovarian carcinomas. Some of the genes identified are already known to be overexpressed in ovarian cancer, but several represent novel candidates. Many of the genes up-regulated in ovarian cancer represent surface or secreted proteins such as claudin-3 and -4, HE4, mucin-1, epithelial cellular adhesion molecule, and mesothelin. Interestingly, both apolipoprotein E (ApoE) and ApoJ, two proteins involved in lipid homeostasis, are among the genes highly up-regulated in ovarian cancer. Selected serial analysis of gene expression results were further validated through immunohistochemical analysis of ApoJ, claudin-3, claudin-4, and epithelial cellular adhesion molecule in archival material. These experiments provided additional evidence of the relevance of our findings in vivo. The publicly available expression data reported here should stimulate and aid further research in the field of ovarian cancer.