Expression of the tumor antigens NY-ESO-1, tyrosinase, MAGE-A3, and TPTE in pediatric and adult melanoma: a retrospective case control study.

Tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) are potential targets for T cell-based immunotherapy approaches in cutaneous melanoma. BNT111, an investigational lipoplex-formulated mRNA-based therapeutic cancer vaccine encoding melanoma TAAs NY-ESO-1, tyrosinase, MAGE-A3, and TPTE, is undergoing clinical testing in adults. Expression of these TAAs in pediatric melanoma is unclear but is a prerequisite for feasibility of this treatment approach in children with melanoma. Our main objective was to characterize expression of those TAAs in pediatric melanomas compared to control cohorts. In this retrospective case control study, protein and transcript expression of NY-ESO-1, tyrosinase, MAGE-A3, and TPTE were analyzed in a cohort of 25 pediatric melanomas, 31 melanomas of young adults, 29 adult melanomas, and 30 benign melanocytic nevi in children using immunohistochemical staining and digital pathology (QuPath) and reverse transcription quantitative PCR. Based on IHC analysis, pediatric melanomas expressed tyrosinase (100.0%), TPTE (44.0%), MAGE-A3 (12.0%), and NY-ESO-1 (8.0%). Young adult melanomas expressed tyrosinase (96.8%), NY-ESO-1 (19.4%), MAGE-A3 (19.4%), and TPTE (3.2%). Adult melanomas expressed tyrosinase (86.2%), MAGE-A3 (75.9%), NY-ESO-1 (48.3%), and TPTE (48.3%). Childhood melanocytic nevi only expressed tyrosinase (93.3%). Expression prevalence of individual TAAs did not differ between subtypes of pediatric melanoma, and no association with prognosis was found. All four TAAs were expressed in pediatric melanoma, albeit NY-ESO-1 and MAGE-A3 to a lesser extent than in adult melanoma. These data support the possibility of investigating vaccines targeting these TAAs for the treatment of pediatric melanoma.

Systemic azithromycin as an adjunct to scaling and root planing in patients with stage III/IV periodontitis: 12-month results of a randomized controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether azithromycin (AZI) as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP), when compared to placebo, decreases the number of sites demonstrating pocket depth (PD) ≥ 5 mm and bleeding on probing (BOP) 12 months post-treatment in stage III/IV periodontitis patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a double-blind randomized parallel-arm placebo-controlled trial, 40 stage III/IV periodontitis patients received steps 1 and 2 of periodontal treatment in two sessions within 7 days. Patients then received systemic antibiotic therapy (n = 20; AZI 500 mg/day, 3 days) or placebo (n = 20). Additional instrumentation of residual diseased sites (DS) - sites with PD ≥ 5 mm and BOP - was performed at the 3-, 6- and 9-month follow-ups. The primary outcome variable was the number of DS at the 12-month re-evaluation. Using a multivariate multilevel logistic regression model, the effects of gender, age, antibiotic therapy, presence of Porphyromonas gingivalis or Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, smoking, tooth being a molar and interdental location were evaluated. RESULTS: The number of DS after 12 months was similar in the test (median (Me) = 4, interquartile range (IQR) = 0-6) and control (Me = 3, IQR = 1-6.5) groups. Both groups showed substantial but equivalent improvements in periodontal parameters, with no intergroup differences at initially shallow or deep sites. The logistic regression showed a lower odds ratio (OR) for the healing of DS on molars (OR = 0.29; p < 0.001) and in smokers (OR = 0.36; p = 0.048). CONCLUSION: Stage III/IV periodontitis patients showed significant but comparable improvements in periodontal parameters and the number of residual DS at the 12-month revaluation regardless of treatment type. This may have been the result of the additional instrumentation received by patients at residual DS in both treatment groups. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Treatment with AZI + SRP provided no additional benefits after 12 months in terms of periodontal parameters or the number of persisting sites with PD ≥ 5 mm + BOP as compared to SRP plus placebo. TRIAL REGISTRATION: EUDRA-CT: 2015-004306-42; https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ctr-search/trial/2015-004306-42/SI , registered 17. 12. 2015.

Influence of adjunctive azithromycin on microbiological and clinical outcomes in periodontitis patients: 6-month results of randomized controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Our aim was to determine if azithromycin therapy, as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP), decreases the number of pathobiontic subgingival plaque species and sites demonstrating pocket depth (PD) ≥ 5 mm and bleeding on probing (BOP) 6 months post-treatment. METHODS: In a double-blind randomized parallel-arm placebo-controlled trial, 40 patients received nonsurgical periodontal treatment in two sessions within 7 days. Patients then received systemic antibiotic therapy (n = 20, azithromycin 500 mg/day for 3 days) or placebo (n = 20). Pooled microbiologic samples were taken before and 6 months after therapy and analysed by established culture methods. The primary outcome variable was the number of sites with PD ≥ 5 mm and BOP at the 6-month re-evaluation. Using multivariate multilevel logistic regression, the effects of gender, age, antibiotic therapy, presence of P. gingivalis or A. actinomycetemcomitans, smoking, tooth being a molar and interdental location were evaluated. RESULTS: The number of sites with PD ≥ 5 mm and BOP after 6 months was similar in the test (Me = 4, IQR = 0-11) and control (Me = 5, IQR = 1-22) group. Adjunctive azithromycin treatment, compared to SRP alone, resulted in more frequent eradication of A. actinomycetemcomitans (p = 0.013) and C. rectus (p = 0.029), decreased proportion (p = 0.006) and total counts (p = 0.003) of P. gingivalis, and decreased proportion of C. rectus (p = 0.012). Both groups showed substantial but equivalent improvements in periodontal parameters, with no intergroups differences at initially shallow or deep sites. The logistic regression showed a lower odds ratio for healing of diseased sites on molars (OR = 0.51; p <  0,001). CONCLUSION: Despite significant changes in numbers of A. actinomycetemcomitans, P. gingivalis and C. rectus, patients with periodontitis do not benefit from adjunctive systemic azithromycin in terms of number of persisting sites with PD ≥ 5 mm and BOP. TRIAL REGISTRATION: EUDRA-CT: 2015-004306-42; https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ctr-search/trial/2015-004306-42/SI , registered 17. 12. 2015.

An RNA vaccine drives immunity in checkpoint-inhibitor-treated melanoma.

Treating patients who have cancer with vaccines that stimulate a targeted immune response is conceptually appealing, but cancer vaccine trials have not been successful in late-stage patients with treatment-refractory tumours1,2. We are testing melanoma FixVac (BNT111)-an intravenously administered liposomal RNA (RNA-LPX) vaccine, which targets four non-mutated, tumour-associated antigens that are prevalent in melanoma-in an ongoing, first-in-human, dose-escalation phase I trial in patients with advanced melanoma (Lipo-MERIT trial, ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02410733). We report here data from an exploratory interim analysis that show that melanoma FixVac, alone or in combination with blockade of the checkpoint inhibitor PD1, mediates durable objective responses in checkpoint-inhibitor (CPI)-experienced patients with unresectable melanoma. Clinical responses are accompanied by the induction of strong CD4+ and CD8+ T cell immunity against the vaccine antigens. The antigen-specific cytotoxic T-cell responses in some responders reach magnitudes typically reported for adoptive T-cell therapy, and are durable. Our findings indicate that RNA-LPX vaccination is a potent immunotherapy in patients with CPI-experienced melanoma, and suggest the general utility of non-mutant shared tumour antigens as targets for cancer vaccination.

Investigation on potential associations of oxidatively generated DNA/RNA damage with lung, colorectal, breast, prostate and total cancer incidence.

Oxidative stress has been linked to cancer development in previous studies. However, the association between pre-diagnostic oxidatively generated DNA/RNA damage levels and incident cancer has rarely been investigated. Urinary oxidized guanine/guanosine (OxGua) concentrations, including 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine, were assessed in 8,793 older adults in a population-based German cohort. 1,540 incident cancer cases, including 207 lung, 196 colorectal, 218 breast and 245 prostate cancer cases were diagnosed during over 14 years of follow-up. Associations of OxGua levels with cancer outcomes were not observed in the total population in multi-variable adjusted Cox regression models. However, in subgroup analyses, colorectal cancer incidence increased by 8%, 9% and 8% with one standard deviation increase in OxGua levels among current non-smokers, female and non-obese participants, respectively. Additionally, among non-smokers, overall and prostate cancer incidences statistically significantly increased by 5% and 13% per 1 standard deviation increase in OxGua levels, respectively. In contrast, OxGua levels were inversely associated with the risk of prostate cancer among current smokers. However, none of the subgroup analyses had p-values below a threshold for statistical significance after correction for multiple testing. Thus, results need to be validated in further studies. There might be a pattern that oxidatively generated DNA/RNA damage is a weak cancer risk factor in the absence of other strong risk factors, such as smoking, obesity and male sex.

Circulating MicroRNA Biomarkers for Lung Cancer Detection in East Asian Populations.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer (LC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death in Eastern Asia. The prognosis of LC highly depends on tumor stages and early detection could substantially reduce LC mortality. Accumulating evidence suggested that circulating miRNAs in plasma or serum may have applications in early LC detection. We thus conducted a systematic literature review on the diagnostic value of miRNAs markers for LC in East Asian populations. METHODS: PubMed and ISI Web of Knowledge were searched to retrieve relevant articles published up to 17 September 2018. Information on study design, population characteristics, investigated miRNAs and diagnostic accuracy (including sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve (AUC)) were independently extracted by two reviewers. RESULTS: Overall, 46 studies that evaluated a total of 88 miRNA markers for LC diagnosis in East Asian populations were identified. Sixteen of the 46 studies have incorporated individual miRNA markers as panels (with 2⁻20 markers). Three promising miRNA panels with ≥90% sensitivity and ≥90% specificity were discovered, two of which were externally validated. Diagnostic performance of circulating miRNAs in East Asian populations was comparable to previously summarized performance in Western populations. Forty-four miRNAs were reported in both populations. No major differences in diagnostic performance by ethnicity of the same miRNA was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Circulating miRNAs or miRNA panels, possibly in combination with other promising molecular markers including epigenetic and genetic markers, may be promising candidates for noninvasive LC early detection. However, large studies with samples collected prospectively in true screening settings are required to validate the promising markers or marker panels.

Combination of Different Fecal Immunochemical Tests in Colorectal Cancer Screening: Any Gain in Diagnostic Performance?

A variety of fecal immunochemical tests (FITs) are used for colorectal cancer screening. FIT performance could be improved further. It is unclear, whether the combination of different FITs with different analytical characteristics (such as, different antibodies for the detection of fecal hemoglobin) can yield a better diagnostic performance. Fecal samples were obtained from 2042 participants of screening colonoscopy. All participants with advanced neoplasm (AN, colorectal cancer (n = 16) or advanced adenoma (n = 200)) and 300 randomly selected participants without AN were included. Nine quantitative FITs were evaluated simultaneously. Sensitivity and specificity was calculated for single tests (n = 9) and for their pairwise test combinations (n = 36) (requiring either both FITs (P++) or at least one FIT (P+) to be positive for defining a positive test result). Mean age of the participants (n = 516) was 63 (range: 50⁻79) years and 56% were men. At cutoffs yielding a specificity of 96.7% for single FITs, the median gain in specificity by P++ combination was +1.0%, whereas the median loss in sensitivity for AN was -4.2%. For P+ combination the median gain in sensitivity for AN was +2.8%, at a prize of median loss of -1.0% of specificity. Combinations of different FITs do not yield any relevant gain in diagnostic performance.

Whole-Blood DNA Methylation Markers in Early Detection of Breast Cancer: A Systematic Literature Review.

Whole-blood DNA methylation markers have been suggested as potential biomarkers for early detection of breast cancer. We conducted a systematic review of the literature on whole-blood DNA methylation markers for breast cancer detection. PubMed and ISI Web of Knowledge were searched up to May 29, 2018. Overall, 33 studies evaluating 355 markers were included. The diagnostic value of most individual markers was relatively modest, with only six markers showing sensitivity >40% at specificity >75% [only 2 (HYAL2 and S100P) were independently validated]. Although relatively strong associations (OR ≤0.5 or OR ≥2) with breast cancer were reported for 14 markers, most of them were not independently validated. Two prospective studies performed epigenome-wide association analysis and identified 276 CpG sites related to breast cancer risk, but no overlap was observed between CpGs reported from these two studies. Five studies incorporated individual markers as panels, but only two of them used a test-validation approach. In conclusion, so far detected methylation markers are insufficient for breast cancer early detection, but markers or marker-combinations may be useful for breast cancer risk stratification. Utilizing high-throughput methods of methylation quantification, future studies should focus on further mining informative methylation markers and derivation of enhanced multimaker panels with thorough external validation ideally in prospective settings.

Discovery of common and rare genetic risk variants for colorectal cancer.

To further dissect the genetic architecture of colorectal cancer (CRC), we performed whole-genome sequencing of 1,439 cases and 720 controls, imputed discovered sequence variants and Haplotype Reference Consortium panel variants into genome-wide association study data, and tested for association in 34,869 cases and 29,051 controls. Findings were followed up in an additional 23,262 cases and 38,296 controls. We discovered a strongly protective 0.3% frequency variant signal at CHD1. In a combined meta-analysis of 125,478 individuals, we identified 40 new independent signals at P < 5 × 10-8, bringing the number of known independent signals for CRC to ~100. New signals implicate lower-frequency variants, Krüppel-like factors, Hedgehog signaling, Hippo-YAP signaling, long noncoding RNAs and somatic drivers, and support a role for immune function. Heritability analyses suggest that CRC risk is highly polygenic, and larger, more comprehensive studies enabling rare variant analysis will improve understanding of biology underlying this risk and influence personalized screening strategies and drug development.

Genetic determinants of telomere length and risk of pancreatic cancer: A PANDoRA study.

Telomere deregulation is a hallmark of cancer. Telomere length measured in lymphocytes (LTL) has been shown to be a risk marker for several cancers. For pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) consensus is lacking whether risk is associated with long or short telomeres. Mendelian randomization approaches have shown that a score built from SNPs associated with LTL could be used as a robust risk marker. We explored this approach in a large scale study within the PANcreatic Disease ReseArch (PANDoRA) consortium. We analyzed 10 SNPs (ZNF676-rs409627, TERT-rs2736100, CTC1-rs3027234, DHX35-rs6028466, PXK-rs6772228, NAF1-rs7675998, ZNF208-rs8105767, OBFC1-rs9420907, ACYP2-rs11125529 and TERC-rs10936599) alone and combined in a LTL genetic score ("teloscore", which explains 2.2% of the telomere variability) in relation to PDAC risk in 2,374 cases and 4,326 controls. We identified several associations with PDAC risk, among which the strongest were with the TERT-rs2736100 SNP (OR = 1.54; 95%CI 1.35-1.76; p = 1.54 × 10-10 ) and a novel one with the NAF1-rs7675998 SNP (OR = 0.80; 95%CI 0.73-0.88; p = 1.87 × 10-6 , ptrend = 3.27 × 10-7 ). The association of short LTL, measured by the teloscore, with PDAC risk reached genome-wide significance (p = 2.98 × 10-9 for highest vs. lowest quintile; p = 1.82 × 10-10 as a continuous variable). In conclusion, we present a novel genome-wide candidate SNP for PDAC risk (TERT-rs2736100), a completely new signal (NAF1-rs7675998) approaching genome-wide significance and we report a strong association between the teloscore and risk of pancreatic cancer, suggesting that telomeres are a potential risk factor for pancreatic cancer.

Factors associated with false-positive fecal immunochemical tests in a large German colorectal cancer screening study.

In recent years fecal immunochemical tests (FITs) have been offered as a primary screening test for colorectal cancer (CRC) in a growing number of countries. Our study aims to identify factors associated with apparently false-positive results of FITs. In this cross-sectional study within the German population-based screening colonoscopy program, participants were invited to provide a stool sample for FIT prior to colonoscopy. Four thousand six hundred and fifty six participants aged 50-79 years with no known history of CRC or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and no findings of neoplasms at screening colonoscopy were included in the current analyses. Main outcome measures were rates and factors associated with apparently false-positive FIT results. Apparently false-positive FIT results were found for 378 participants (8.1%). Male sex (OR = 1.30, 95%CI 1.03, 1.62), age ≥65 years (OR = 1.27, 95%CI 1.01, 1.59), a BMI ≥30 kg/m2 (OR = 1.81, 95%CI 1.36, 2.40), current smoking (OR = 1.63, 95%CI 1.18, 2.25), use of aspirin (OR = 1.36, 95%CI 1.02, 1.82) and a new diagnosis of IBD (OR = 9.13, 95%CI 2.18, 38.19) or other non-neoplastic findings (OR = 1.86, 95%CI 1.37, 2.51) at screening colonoscopy were independently associated with significantly increased odds of a positive FIT. Although considered false positive in the context of CRC screening, the identified factors associated with apparently false-positive FIT results are known risk factors for and may point to conditions other than colorectal neoplasms that may be potential sources of gastrointestinal bleeding, potentially requiring further medical follow up.

Fecal immunochemical test for hemoglobin in combination with fecal transferrin in colorectal cancer screening.

OBJECTIVE: Fecal transferrin has been suggested as a complementary or even superior marker for early detection of colorectal cancer (CRC) besides fecal hemoglobin. We aimed to evaluate both markers individually and in combination in a large cohort of participants of screening colonoscopy. METHODS: Precolonoscopy stool samples were obtained from participants of screening colonoscopy and frozen at -80℃ until blinded analysis, using a dual-quantitative fecal immunochemical test (FIT) for hemoglobin and transferrin. Sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve (AUC) were calculated for CRC and advanced adenoma (AA). RESULTS: A total of 1667 participants fulfilled our inclusion criteria. All individuals with advanced neoplasm (AN) (16 CRC, 200 AA) and 300 randomly selected participants without AN were included. Mean age was 63 years and 56% were male. The AUC for CRC and AA was 92% and 68%, respectively, for hemoglobin vs. 79% and 58%, respectively for transferrin. Combination of both markers yielded an AUC for CRC and AA of 92% and 68%, respectively. CONCLUSION: FIT for hemoglobin shows better diagnostic performance than FIT for transferrin for the detection of ANs (both proximal and distal neoplasms), and a combination of both markers does not improve the diagnostic performance.

Circulating microRNA biomarkers for lung cancer detection in Western populations.

Lung cancer (LC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death in the Western world. Patients with LC usually have poor prognosis due to the difficulties in detecting tumors at early stages. Multiple studies have shown that circulating miRNAs might be promising biomarkers for early detection of LC. We aimed to provide an overview of published studies on circulating miRNA markers for early detection of LC and to summarize their diagnostic performance in Western populations. A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed and ISI Web of Knowledge to find relevant studies published up to 11 August 2017. Information on study design, population characteristics, miRNA markers, and diagnostic accuracy (including sensitivity, specificity, and AUC) were independently extracted by two reviewers. Overall, 17 studies evaluating 35 circulating miRNA markers and 19 miRNA panels in serum or plasma were included. The median sensitivity (range) and specificity (range) were, respectively, 78.4% (51.7%-100%) and 78.7% (42.9%-93.5%) for individual miRNAs, and 83.0% (64.0%-100%) and 84.9% (71.0%-100%) for miRNA panels. Most studies incorporated individual miRNA markers as panels (with 2-34 markers), with multiple miRNA-based panels generally outperforming individual markers. Two promising miRNA panels were discovered and verified in prospective cohorts. Of note, both studies exclusively applied miRNA ratios when building up panels. In conclusion, circulating miRNAs may bear potential for noninvasive LC screening, but large studies conducted in screening or longitudinal settings are needed to validate the promising results and optimize the marker panels.

Direct comparison of ten quantitative fecal immunochemical tests for hemoglobin stability in colorectal cancer screening.

OBJECTIVES: To systematically investigate and directly compare, for the first time, the sample stability of a large number of quantitative fecal immunochemical tests (FITs) at different storage conditions. METHODS: Stool samples were obtained from participants of the German screening colonoscopy program between 2005 and 2010. After an initial FIT-based hemoglobin (Hb) measurement, stool samples were kept frozen at -80 °C until analysis. Twenty randomly selected participants with initial measurements ranging from 10 to 100 µg Hb/g feces were included. Ten quantitative FITs were investigated in parallel. A defined stool amount was extracted using each manufacturer's brand-specific fecal sampling device and stored at 5 °C, 20 °C, and 35 °C, respectively. After 1, 4, 5, and 7 days, the samples were analyzed blinded. Median fecal Hb concentrations and positivity rates were calculated. RESULTS: Mean age of the participants was 67 years (range: 56-80 years) and 60% were male. The most advanced finding at screening colposcopy was advanced adenoma in five and non-advanced adenoma in eight cases. Hyperplastic polyps were found in two participants and five participants were without any findings. At 5 °C storage temperature, almost all FITs showed fairly stable results throughout the 7-day observation period. At 20 °C, most FITs still showed fairly stable results over 4 days, whereas positivity rates significantly declined from day 4 on for most FITs at 35 °C. Major differences regarding the sample stability between FITs were observed. CONCLUSION: FIT-specific Hb decay according to ambient temperature and time period between sampling and test evaluation requires careful consideration in the design of FIT-based screening programs.

Urinary 8-isoprostane levels and occurrence of lung, colorectal, prostate, breast and overall cancer: Results from a large, population-based cohort study with 14 years of follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Urinary 8-isoprostane is an established biomarker for lipid peroxidation. However, the association between its pre-diagnostic levels and cancer incidence has rarely been evaluated. METHODS: 8793 older adults from the German ESTHER cohort were followed up for cancer incidence by cancer registry data. A directed acyclic graph was utilized to identify potential confounders. Multivariate Cox regression models were applied to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). RESULTS: During 14-year follow-up, 1540 incident cancer cases, including 207 lung, 196 colorectal, 218 breast and 245 prostate cancer cases were detected. 8-isoprostane concentrations were positively associated with lung cancer, but not with cancer at the other sites. The HR (95% CI) for the association with lung cancer was 1.61 (1.10, 2.34) for comparison of the top with bottom tertile in total population. The association of 8-isoprostane levels with lung cancer persisted after the adjustment for smoking and other potential confounders and was multiplicative to the effect of smoking. However, 8-isoprostane levels did not improve lung cancer prediction when added to a model containing age, sex and smoking. A protective association of increasing 8-isoprostane levels was observed for prostate cancer incidence but this association was only statistically significant among current smokers. DISCUSSION: Our findings suggest that lipid peroxidation is involved in the development of lung cancer. However, high oxidative stress may be a protective factor for prostate cancer, especially among current smokers.

E-cadherin breast tumor expression, risk factors and survival: Pooled analysis of 5,933 cases from 12 studies in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium.

E-cadherin (CDH1) is a putative tumor suppressor gene implicated in breast carcinogenesis. Yet, whether risk factors or survival differ by E-cadherin tumor expression is unclear. We evaluated E-cadherin tumor immunohistochemistry expression using tissue microarrays of 5,933 female invasive breast cancers from 12 studies from the Breast Cancer Consortium. H-scores were calculated and case-case odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using logistic regression. Survival analyses were performed using Cox regression models. All analyses were stratified by estrogen receptor (ER) status and histologic subtype. E-cadherin low cases (N = 1191, 20%) were more frequently of lobular histology, low grade, >2 cm, and HER2-negative. Loss of E-cadherin expression (score < 100) was associated with menopausal hormone use among ER-positive tumors (ever compared to never users, OR = 1.24, 95% CI = 0.97-1.59), which was stronger when we evaluated complete loss of E-cadherin (i.e. H-score = 0), OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.06-2.33. Breast cancer specific mortality was unrelated to E-cadherin expression in multivariable models. E-cadherin low expression is associated with lobular histology, tumor characteristics and menopausal hormone use, with no evidence of an association with breast cancer specific survival. These data support loss of E-cadherin expression as an important marker of tumor subtypes.

Evaluation of Promoter Methylation of RASSF1A and ATM in Peripheral Blood of Breast Cancer Patients and Healthy Control Individuals.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among women and has high mortality rates. Early detection is supposed to be critical for the patient's prognosis. In recent years, several studies have investigated global DNA methylation profiles and gene-specific DNA methylation in blood-based DNA to develop putative screening markers for cancer. However, most of the studies have not yet been validated. In our study, we analyzed the promoter methylation of RASSF1A and ATM in peripheral blood DNA of 229 sporadic patients and 151 healthy controls by the MassARRAY EpiTYPER assay. There were no significant differences in DNA methylation levels of RASSF1A and ATM between the sporadic BC cases and the healthy controls. Furthermore, we performed the Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip (450K) array analysis using 48 sporadic BC cases and 48 healthy controls (cases and controls are the same from those of the MassARRAY EpiTYPER assay) and made a comparison with the published data. No significant differences were presented in DNA methylation levels of RASSF1A and ATM between the sporadic BC cases and the healthy controls. So far, the evidence for powerful blood-based methylation markers is still limited and the identified markers need to be further validated.

Polygenic hazard score to guide screening for aggressive prostate cancer: development and validation in large scale cohorts.

OBJECTIVES: To develop and validate a genetic tool to predict age of onset of aggressive prostate cancer (PCa) and to guide decisions of who to screen and at what age. DESIGN: Analysis of genotype, PCa status, and age to select single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with diagnosis. These polymorphisms were incorporated into a survival analysis to estimate their effects on age at diagnosis of aggressive PCa (that is, not eligible for surveillance according to National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines; any of Gleason score ≥7, stage T3-T4, PSA (prostate specific antigen) concentration ≥10 ng/L, nodal metastasis, distant metastasis). The resulting polygenic hazard score is an assessment of individual genetic risk. The final model was applied to an independent dataset containing genotype and PSA screening data. The hazard score was calculated for these men to test prediction of survival free from PCa. SETTING: Multiple institutions that were members of international PRACTICAL consortium. PARTICIPANTS: All consortium participants of European ancestry with known age, PCa status, and quality assured custom (iCOGS) array genotype data. The development dataset comprised 31 747 men; the validation dataset comprised 6411 men. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prediction with hazard score of age of onset of aggressive cancer in validation set. RESULTS: In the independent validation set, the hazard score calculated from 54 single nucleotide polymorphisms was a highly significant predictor of age at diagnosis of aggressive cancer (z=11.2, P<10-16). When men in the validation set with high scores (>98th centile) were compared with those with average scores (30th-70th centile), the hazard ratio for aggressive cancer was 2.9 (95% confidence interval 2.4 to 3.4). Inclusion of family history in a combined model did not improve prediction of onset of aggressive PCa (P=0.59), and polygenic hazard score performance remained high when family history was accounted for. Additionally, the positive predictive value of PSA screening for aggressive PCa was increased with increasing polygenic hazard score. CONCLUSIONS: Polygenic hazard scores can be used for personalised genetic risk estimates that can predict for age at onset of aggressive PCa.

Circulating free DNA integrity and concentration as independent prognostic markers in metastatic breast cancer.

PURPOSE: Non-invasive blood-based molecular markers have been investigated for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Circulating free or cell-free DNA (cfDNA) variables have been shown to be putative markers in breast cancer prognosis. METHODS: Here, we investigated the potential prognostic ability of cfDNA concentration and cfDNA integrity (cfDI) in a study cohort of 268 patients by quantitative PCR. We compared cfDNA concentration and cfDI at baseline and after one cycle of therapy in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients. RESULTS: A significantly increased cfDI (P = 1.21E-7 for ALU and P = 1.87E-3 for LINE1) and decreased cfDNA concentration (P = 1.17E-3 for ALU and P = 1.60E-2 for LINE1) in both repetitive DNA elements after one cycle of therapy was observed. A multiple Cox regression model indicated that cfDI and cfDNA concentration can serve as independent prognostic markers in patients at baseline with HR (95% CI) of 0.70 (0.48-1.01) for ALU cfDI, 0.63 (0.44-0.92) for LINE1 cfDI, 2.44 (1.68-3.53) for ALU cfDNA concentration, and 2.12 (1.47-3.06) for LINE1 cfDNA concentration and after one cycle of therapy with HR (95% CI) of 0.59 (0.42-0.84) for ALU cfDI, 0.51 (0.36-0.74) for LINE1 cfDI, 1.59 (1.31-1.92) for ALU cfDNA concentration, and 1.30 (1.17-1.45) for LINE1 cfDNA concentration, respectively. By comparing integrated prediction error of different models, cfDNA variables were shown to improve the prognostic power of the CTC status. CONCLUSIONS: We hereby show that cfDNA variables, especially in combination with other markers, can serve as attractive prognostic markers for MBC patients at baseline and during the systematic therapy.

Do pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis share the same genetic risk factors? A PANcreatic Disease ReseArch (PANDoRA) consortium investigation.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a very aggressive tumor with a five-year survival of less than 6%. Chronic pancreatitis (CP), an inflammatory process in of the pancreas, is a strong risk factor for PDAC. Several genetic polymorphisms have been discovered as susceptibility loci for both CP and PDAC. Since CP and PDAC share a consistent number of epidemiologic risk factors, the aim of this study was to investigate whether specific CP risk loci also contribute to PDAC susceptibility. We selected five common SNPs (rs11988997, rs379742, rs10273639, rs2995271 and rs12688220) that were identified as susceptibility markers for CP and analyzed them in 2,914 PDAC cases, 356 CP cases and 5,596 controls retrospectively collected in the context of the international PANDoRA consortium. We found a weak association between the minor allele of the PRSS1-PRSS2-rs10273639 and an increased risk of developing PDAC (ORhomozygous = 1.19, 95% CI 1.02-1.38, p = 0.023). Additionally all the SNPs confirmed statistically significant associations with risk of developing CP, the strongest being PRSS1-PRSS2-rs10273639 (ORheterozygous = 0.51, 95% CI 0.39-0.67, p = 1.10 × 10-6 ) and MORC4-rs 12837024 (ORhomozygous = 2.07 (1.55-2.77, ptrend = 0.7 × 10-11 ). Taken together, the results from our study do not support variants rs11988997, rs379742, rs10273639, rs2995271 and rs12688220 as strong predictors of PDAC risk, but further support the role of these SNPs in CP susceptibility. Our study suggests that CP and PDAC probably do not share genetic susceptibility, at least in terms of high frequency variants.