White Blood Cell BRCA1 Promoter Methylation Status and Ovarian Cancer Risk.

Background: The role of normal tissue gene promoter methylation in cancer risk is poorly understood. Objective: To assess associations between normal tissue BRCA1 methylation and ovarian cancer risk. Design: 2 case-control (initial and validation) studies. Setting: 2 hospitals in Norway (patients) and a population-based study (control participants). Participants: 934 patients and 1698 control participants in the initial study; 607 patients and 1984 control participants in the validation study. Measurements: All patients had their blood sampled before chemotherapy. White blood cell (WBC) BRCA1 promoter methylation was determined by using methylation-specific quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and the percentage of methylation-positive samples was compared between population control participants and patients with ovarian cancer, including the subgroup with high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC). Results: In the initial study, BRCA1 methylation was more frequent in patients with ovarian cancer than control participants (6.4% vs. 4.2%; age-adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.83 [95% CI, 1.27 to 2.63]). Elevated methylation, however, was restricted to patients with HGSOC (9.6%; OR, 2.91 [CI, 1.85 to 4.56]), in contrast to 5.1% and 4.0% of patients with nonserous and low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC), respectively. These findings were replicated in the validation study (methylation-positive status in 9.1% of patients with HGSOC vs. 4.3% of control participants-OR, 2.22 [CI 1.40 to 3.52]-4.1% of patients with nonserous ovarian cancer, and 2.7% of those with LGSOC). The results were not influenced by tumor burden, storage time, or WBC subfractions. In separate analyses of young women and newborns, BRCA1 methylation was detected in 4.1% (CI, 1.8% to 6.4%) and 7.0% (CI, 5.0% to 9.1%), respectively. Limitations: Patients with ovarian cancer were recruited at the time of diagnosis in a hospital setting. Conclusion: Constitutively normal tissue BRCA1 promoter methylation is positively associated with risk for HGSOC. Primary Funding Source: Norwegian Cancer Society.

Functional characterisation of p53 mutants identified in breast cancers with suboptimal responses to anthracyclines or mitomycin.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 4300 different TP53 mutations have been reported in human cancers. TP53 mutations, in particular those affecting the L2/L3 domains, are associated with resistance to anthracycline or mitomycin treatment in breast cancer patients. While many mutations have been characterised functionally, novel TP53 mutations are continuously reported. Here, we characterise 10 p53 protein variants encoded by mutated TP53 (5 within and 5 outside L2/L3) detected in locally advanced or metastatic breast cancers. Each tumour was previously characterised for response to therapy, allowing comparison between in vivo and in vitro findings. METHODS: Mutated p53 variants were analysed for their ability to oligomerise with the wild-type protein and their subcellular localisation by immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence, respectively. Their ability to induce transcription of target genes was determined by qPCR. Cellular growth rate, apoptosis and senescence were monitored by WST-1, TUNEL and beta-galactosidase assays, respectively. RESULTS: Immunoprecipitation assays revealed each mutant protein to retain binding capacity for wild-type p53, thus potentially acting in a dominant negative manner. Even though each p53 variant located predominantly in the nucleus, the percentage of cells with only nuclear p53 localisation varied between 60% and 90%. None of the p53 variants were able to induce target genes to levels similar to wild-type p53, nor where they able to reduce cellular growth rate, induce apoptosis or senescence similar to wild-type p53 after anthracycline treatment in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: All the 10 variants studied displayed inferior p53 functionality compared to the wild-type protein. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: Our data add further information characterising the effects of somatic TP53 mutations on p53 protein function and anthracycline resistance in breast cancer.

Concomitant inactivation of the p53- and pRB- functional pathways predicts resistance to DNA damaging drugs in breast cancer in vivo.

Chemoresistance is the main obstacle to cancer cure. Contrasting studies focusing on single gene mutations, we hypothesize chemoresistance to be due to inactivation of key pathways affecting cellular mechanisms such as apoptosis, senescence, or DNA repair. In support of this hypothesis, we have previously shown inactivation of either TP53 or its key activators CHK2 and ATM to predict resistance to DNA damaging drugs in breast cancer better than TP53 mutations alone. Further, we hypothesized that redundant pathway(s) may compensate for loss of p53-pathway signaling and that these are inactivated as well in resistant tumour cells. Here, we assessed genetic alterations of the retinoblastoma gene (RB1) and its key regulators: Cyclin D and E as well as their inhibitors p16 and p27. In an exploratory cohort of 69 patients selected from two prospective studies treated with either doxorubicin monotherapy or 5-FU and mitomycin for locally advanced breast cancers, we found defects in the pRB-pathway to be associated with therapy resistance (p-values ranging from 0.001 to 0.094, depending on the cut-off value applied to p27 expression levels). Although statistically weaker, we observed confirmatory associations in a validation cohort from another prospective study (n = 107 patients treated with neoadjuvant epirubicin monotherapy; p-values ranging from 7.0 × 10(-4) to 0.001 in the combined data sets). Importantly, inactivation of the p53-and the pRB-pathways in concert predicted resistance to therapy more strongly than each of the two pathways assessed individually (exploratory cohort: p-values ranging from 3.9 × 10(-6) to 7.5 × 10(-3) depending on cut-off values applied to ATM and p27 mRNA expression levels). Again, similar findings were confirmed in the validation cohort, with p-values ranging from 6.0 × 10(-7) to 6.5 × 10(-5) in the combined data sets. Our findings strongly indicate that concomitant inactivation of the p53- and pRB- pathways predict resistance towards anthracyclines and mitomycin in breast cancer in vivo.

CHEK2 mutations affecting kinase activity together with mutations in TP53 indicate a functional pathway associated with resistance to epirubicin in primary breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Chemoresistance is the main obstacle to cure in most malignant diseases. Anthracyclines are among the main drugs used for breast cancer therapy and in many other malignant conditions. Single parameter analysis or global gene expression profiles have failed to identify mechanisms causing in vivo resistance to anthracyclines. While we previously found TP53 mutations in the L2/L3 domains to be associated with drug resistance, some tumors harboring wild-type TP53 were also therapy resistant. The aim of this study was; 1) To explore alterations in the TP53 gene with respect to resistance to a regular dose epirubicin regimen (90 mg/m(2) every 3 week) in patients with primary, locally advanced breast cancer; 2) Identify critical mechanisms activating p53 in response to DNA damage in breast cancer; 3) Evaluate in vitro function of Chk2 and p14 proteins corresponding to identified mutations in the CHEK2 and p14((ARF)) genes; and 4) Explore potential CHEK2 or p14((ARF)) germline mutations with respect to family cancer incidence. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Snap-frozen biopsies from 109 patients collected prior to epirubicin (as preoperative therapy were investigated for TP53, CHEK2 and p14((ARF)) mutations by sequencing the coding region and p14((ARF)) promoter methylations. TP53 mutations were associated with chemoresistance, defined as progressive disease on therapy (p = 0.0358; p = 0.0136 for mutations affecting p53 loop domains L2/L3). Germline CHEK2 mutations (n = 3) were associated with therapy resistance (p = 0.0226). Combined, mutations affecting either CHEK2 or TP53 strongly predicted therapy resistance (p = 0.0101; TP53 mutations restricted to the L2/L3 domains: p = 0.0032). Two patients progressing on therapy harbored the CHEK2 mutation, Arg95Ter, completely abrogating Chk2 protein dimerization and kinase activity. One patient (Epi132) revealed family cancer occurrence resembling families harboring CHEK2 mutations in general, the other patient (epi203) was non-conclusive. No mutation or promoter hypermethylation in p14((ARF)) were detected. CONCLUSION: This study is the first reporting an association between CHEK2 mutations and therapy resistance in human cancers and to document mutations in two genes acting direct up/down-stream to each other to cause therapy failure, emphasizing the need to investigate functional cascades in future studies.