Systolic blood pressure and early neurological deterioration in minor stroke: A post hoc analysis of ARAMIS trial.

BACKGROUND: Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was a predictor of early neurological deterioration (END) in stroke. We performed a secondary analysis of ARAMIS trial to investigate whether baseline SBP affects the effect of dual antiplatelet versus intravenous alteplase on END. METHODS: This post hoc analysis included patients in the as-treated analysis set. According to SBP at admission, patients were divided into SBP ≥140 mmHg and SBP <140 mmHg subgroups. In each subgroup, patients were further classified into dual antiplatelet and intravenous alteplase treatment groups based on study drug actually received. Primary outcome was END, defined as an increase of ≥2 in the NIHSS score from baseline within 24 h. We investigated effect of dual antiplatelet vs intravenous alteplase on END in SBP subgroups and their interaction effect with subgroups. RESULTS: A total of 723 patients from as-treated analysis set were included: 344 were assigned into dual antiplatelet group and 379 into intravenous alteplase group. For primary outcome, there was more treatment effect of dual antiplatelet in SBP ≥140 mmHg subgroup (adjusted RD, -5.2%; 95% CI, -8.2% to -2.3%; p < 0.001) and no effect in SBP <140 mmHg subgroup (adjusted RD, -0.1%; 95% CI, -8.0% to 7.7%; p = 0.97), but no significant interaction between subgroups was found (adjusted p = 0.20). CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with minor nondisabling acute ischemic stroke, dual antiplatelet may be better than alteplase with respect to preventing END within 24 h when baseline SBP ≥140 mmHg.

Molecular and functional imaging in cancer-targeted therapy: current applications and future directions.

Targeted anticancer drugs block cancer cell growth by interfering with specific signaling pathways vital to carcinogenesis and tumor growth rather than harming all rapidly dividing cells as in cytotoxic chemotherapy. The Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumor (RECIST) system has been used to assess tumor response to therapy via changes in the size of target lesions as measured by calipers, conventional anatomically based imaging modalities such as computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and other imaging methods. However, RECIST is sometimes inaccurate in assessing the efficacy of targeted therapy drugs because of the poor correlation between tumor size and treatment-induced tumor necrosis or shrinkage. This approach might also result in delayed identification of response when the therapy does confer a reduction in tumor size. Innovative molecular imaging techniques have rapidly gained importance in the dawning era of targeted therapy as they can visualize, characterize, and quantify biological processes at the cellular, subcellular, or even molecular level rather than at the anatomical level. This review summarizes different targeted cell signaling pathways, various molecular imaging techniques, and developed probes. Moreover, the application of molecular imaging for evaluating treatment response and related clinical outcome is also systematically outlined. In the future, more attention should be paid to promoting the clinical translation of molecular imaging in evaluating the sensitivity to targeted therapy with biocompatible probes. In particular, multimodal imaging technologies incorporating advanced artificial intelligence should be developed to comprehensively and accurately assess cancer-targeted therapy, in addition to RECIST-based methods.

Assessing the role of tumour-associated macrophage subsets in breast cancer subtypes using digital image analysis.

PURPOSE: The number of M1-like and M2-like tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) and their ratio can play a role in breast cancer development and progression. Early clinical trials using macrophage targeting compounds are currently ongoing. However, the most optimal detection method of M1-like and M2-like macrophage subsets and their clinical relevance in breast cancer is still unclear. We aimed to optimize the assessment of TAM subsets in different breast cancer subtypes, and therefore related TAM subset numbers and ratio to clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcome. METHODS: Tissue microarrays of 347 consecutive primary Luminal-A, Luminal-B, HER2-positive and triple-negative tumours of patients with early-stage breast cancer were serially sectioned and immunohistochemically stained for the pan-macrophage marker CD68 and the M2-like macrophage markers CD163, CSF-1R and CD206. TAM numbers were quantified using a digital image analysis algorithm. M1-like macrophage numbers were calculated by subtracting M2-like TAM numbers from the total TAM number. RESULTS: M2-like markers CD163 and CSF-1R showed a moderate positive association with each other and with CD68 (r ≥ 0.47), but only weakly with CD206 (r ≤ 0.06). CD68 + , CD163 + and CSF-1R + macrophages correlated with tumour grade in Luminal-B tumours (P < 0.001). Total or subset TAM numbers did not correlate with disease outcome in any breast cancer subtype. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, macrophages and their subsets can be detected by means of a panel of TAM markers and are related to unfavourable clinicopathological characteristics in Luminal-B breast cancer. However, their impact on outcome remains unclear. Preferably, this should be determined in prospective series.

Markers Associated With Tumor Recurrence in Patients With Breast Cancer Achieving a Pathologic Complete Response After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.

Background: Patients who achieve a tumor pathologic complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) have better outcomes than patients with residual tumor. However, tumors still recur in the pCR patients. Therefore, we aim to explore factors associated with tumor recurrence in this patient population. Methods: A total of 1,913 patients diagnosed with breast cancer between 1995 and 2020 and received NAC were included in this analysis. Clinicopathological data of the patients were retrospectively collected. We used Cox regression analysis to assess the associations of clinicopathological factors with patients' outcome. Proteomic study of tumors was applied to identify differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) between tumors from the pCR patients with tumor recurrence and tumors from those without tumor recurrence. PPI network analysis of the corresponding genes of DEPs was used to identify the hub genes. The prognostic value of the corresponding genes of DEPs was evaluated using two online databases, Kaplan-Meier Plotter and bc-GenExMiner. The genes that were significantly associated with patients' survival in both databases, as well as being identified as hub genes, were considered as potential prognostic markers for pCR patients. Publicly available data from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) was used to verify the prognostic value of the identified marker. Results: Among the 1,913 included patients, 420 had tumor pCR. The median follow-up for the pCR patients was 32.6 months (IQR, 16.3-55.5). Overall estimated 5-year risk of tumor recurrence for the pCR patients was 11%. Multivariable analysis showed that a higher pre-NAC clinical T stage and N stage were independent predictors for increased risk of tumor recurrence (hazard ratio [HR] 2.57, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-6.51, P=0.047 for clinical T stage and HR 3.48, 95%CI 1.37-8.83, P=0.009 for clinical N stage). NAC regimens, the type of breast and axillary surgery, and adjuvant chemotherapy were not associated with tumor recurrence. Finally, aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) 3A2 was identified by the proteomic study and was verified as a potential predictor for tumor recurrence in the pCR patients (with a median follow up of 3.78 years for dataset GSE32603 and 2.74 years for dataset GSE25066 from GEO, tumor recurrence rate: low versus high expression, 20.7% versus 4.5% [data from GSE32603]; 10.9% versus 0% [data from GSE25066]). Conclusions: Clinical T stage, clinical N stage and tumor expression of ALDH3A2 were potential markers for predicting tumor recurrence in the pCR patients after NAC.

CXCL9 Is a Potential Biomarker of Immune Infiltration Associated With Favorable Prognosis in ER-Negative Breast Cancer.

The chemokine CXCL9 (C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 9) has been reported to be required for antitumour immune responses following immune checkpoint blockade. In this study, we sought to investigate the potential value of CXCL9 according to immune responses in patients with breast cancer (BC). A variety of open-source databases and online tools were used to explore the expression features and prognostic significance of CXCL9 in BC and its correlation with immune-related biomarkers followed by subsequent verification with immunohistochemistry experiments. The CXCL9 mRNA level was found to be significantly higher in BC than in normal tissue and was associated with better survival outcomes in patients with ER-negative tumours. Moreover, CXCL9 is significantly correlated with immune cell infiltration and immune-related biomarkers, including CTLA4, GZMB, LAG3, PDCD1 and HAVCR2. Finally, we performed immunohistochemistry with breast cancer tissue samples and observed that CXCL9 is highly expressed in the ER-negative subgroup and positively correlated with the immune-related factors LAG3, PD1, PDL1 and CTLA4 to varying degrees. These findings suggest that CXCL9 is an underlying biomarker for predicting the status of immune infiltration in ER-negative breast cancer.

Fluorescent image-guided surgery in breast cancer by intravenous application of a quenched fluorescence activity-based probe for cysteine cathepsins in a syngeneic mouse model.

PURPOSE: The reoperation rate for breast-conserving surgery is as high as 15-30% due to residual tumor in the surgical cavity after surgery. In vivo tumor-targeted optical molecular imaging may serve as a red-flag technique to improve intraoperative surgical margin assessment and to reduce reoperation rates. Cysteine cathepsins are overexpressed in most solid tumor types, including breast cancer. We developed a cathepsin-targeted, quenched fluorescent activity-based probe, VGT-309, and evaluated whether it could be used for tumor detection and image-guided surgery in syngeneic tumor-bearing mice. METHODS: Binding specificity of the developed probe was evaluated in vitro. Next, fluorescent imaging in BALB/c mice bearing a murine breast tumor was performed at different time points after VGT-309 administration. Biodistribution of VGT-309 after 24 h in tumor-bearing mice was compared to control mice. Image-guided surgery was performed at multiple time points tumors with different clinical fluorescent camera systems and followed by ex vivo analysis. RESULTS: The probe was specifically activated by cathepsins X, B/L, and S. Fluorescent imaging revealed an increased tumor-to-background contrast over time up to 15.1 24 h post probe injection. In addition, VGT-309 delineated tumor tissue during image-guided surgery with different optical fluorescent imaging camera systems. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that optical fluorescent molecular imaging using the cathepsin-targeted probe, VGT-309, may improve intraoperative tumor detection, which could translate to more complete tumor resection when coupled with commercially available surgical tools and techniques.

High hepatocyte growth factor expression in primary tumor predicts better overall survival in male breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is rare in men, but management is focused on tumor characteristics commonly found in female breast cancer. The tumor microenvironment of male breast cancer is less well understood, and insight may improve male breast cancer management. The hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/c-MET axis and the stromal cell-derived factor-1 (CXCL12)/C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) axis are prognostic in women with breast cancer. We aimed to investigate these factors in male breast cancer and correlate them with patient survival. METHODS: From 841 Dutch males with breast cancer who were enrolled in the EORTC 10085/TBCRC/BIG/NABCG International Male Breast Cancer Program (NCT01101425) and diagnosed between 1990 and 2010, archival primary tumor samples were collected. Tissue microarrays were constructed with 3 cores per sample and used for immunohistochemical analysis of HGF, c-MET, CXCL12, and CXCR4. Overall survival (OS) of the patients without metastases (M0) was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. The value of the markers regarding OS was determined using univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses, providing hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). RESULTS: Of 720 out of 841 patients, sufficient tissue was available for analysis; 487 out of 720 patients had M0 disease. Patients with high HGF expression and high CXCL12 expression had a superior OS (low vs high expression of both markers, 7.5 vs 13.0 years, hazard ratio [HR] 0.64, 95% CI 0.49-0.84, P = 0.001 [HGF]; 9.1 vs 15.3 years, HR 0.63, 95% CI 0.45-0.87, P = 0.005 [CXCL12]). Multivariate analysis identified HGF as an independent predictor for OS (HR 0.64, 95% CI 0.47-0.88, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: HGF and CXCL12 tumor expression appear to identify male breast cancer patients with a relatively good prognosis. Possibly, this could support male breast cancer-specific management strategies in the future.

Consideration of breast cancer subtype in targeting the androgen receptor.

The androgen receptor (AR) is a drug target in breast cancer, and AR-targeted therapies have induced tumor responses in breast cancer patients. In this review, we summarized the role of AR in breast cancer based on preclinical and clinical data. Response to AR-targeted therapies in unselected breast cancer populations is relatively low. Preclinical and clinical data show that AR antagonists might have a role in estrogen receptor (ER)-negative/AR-positive tumors. The prognostic value of AR for patients remains uncertain due to the use of various antibodies and cut-off values for immunohistochemical assessment. To get more insight into the role of AR in breast cancer, we additionally performed a retrospective pooled analysis to determine the prognostic value of the AR using mRNA profiles of 7270 primary breast tumors. Our analysis shows that a higher AR mRNA level is associated with improved disease outcome in patients with ER-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative tumors, but with worse disease outcome in HER2-positive subgroups. In conclusion, next to AR expression, incorporation of additional tumor characteristics will potentially make AR targeting a more valuable therapeutic strategy in breast cancer.

Tumor-associated macrophages in breast cancer: Innocent bystander or important player?

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are important tumor-promoting cells in the breast tumor microenvironment. Preclinically TAMs stimulate breast tumor progression, including tumor cell growth, invasion and metastasis. TAMs also induce resistance to multiple types of treatment in breast cancer models. The underlying mechanisms include: induction and maintenance of tumor-promoting phenotype in TAMs, inhibition of CD8+ T cell function, degradation of extracellular matrix, stimulation of angiogenesis and inhibition of phagocytosis. Several studies reported that high TAM infiltration of breast tumors is correlated with a worse patient prognosis. Based on these findings, macrophage-targeted treatment strategies have been developed and are currently being evaluated in clinical breast cancer trials. These strategies include: inhibition of macrophage recruitment, repolarization of TAMs to an antitumor phenotype, and enhancement of macrophage-mediated tumor cell killing or phagocytosis. This review summarizes the functional aspects of TAMs and the rationale and current evidence for TAMs as a therapeutic target in breast cancer.

Androgen receptor expression inversely correlates with immune cell infiltration in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Although targeting human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a meaningful treatment in HER2-positive breast cancer, ultimately resistance develops. Androgen receptor (AR) expression and immune cell infiltration are thought to be involved in trastuzumab response and may, therefore, be of interest as additional targets for therapy in HER2-positive breast cancer. AIM: To improve insights into the presence among AR expression, immune cell infiltration and HER2, we analysed HER2-positive breast tumours. METHODS: Primary tumours of 221 patients treated with trastuzumab for metastatic disease were selected. HER2 status was centrally confirmed. AR, T-cells (CD3 and CD8), programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and PD-1 ligand 1 immunohistochemical staining and M2 tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs; CD68 and CD163) immunofluorescence were performed. Tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes were evaluated by haematoxylin and eosin staining. RESULTS: Sufficient tumour material was available for 150 patients. Oestrogen receptor was expressed in 51.3% of the tumours and AR in 81.3% of the tumours. AR expression was inversely correlated with M2 TAM (Pearson's r = -0.361, P < 0.001), CD3+ (r = -0.199, P < 0.030) and CD8+ (r = -0.212, P < 0.021) T-cell infiltration. Clustering analysis showed high immune cell infiltration in AR low-expressing tumours, and low immune cell infiltration in AR-high expressing tumours. CONCLUSION: AR expression inversely correlates with immune cell infiltration in HER2-positive breast cancer.

Implementation and benchmarking of a novel analytical framework to clinically evaluate tumor-specific fluorescent tracers.

During the last decade, the emerging field of molecular fluorescence imaging has led to the development of tumor-specific fluorescent tracers and an increase in early-phase clinical trials without having consensus on a standard methodology for evaluating an optical tracer. By combining multiple complementary state-of-the-art clinical optical imaging techniques, we propose a novel analytical framework for the clinical translation and evaluation of tumor-targeted fluorescent tracers for molecular fluorescence imaging which can be used for a range of tumor types and with different optical tracers. Here we report the implementation of this analytical framework and demonstrate the tumor-specific targeting of escalating doses of the near-infrared fluorescent tracer bevacizumab-800CW on a macroscopic and microscopic level. We subsequently demonstrate an 88% increase in the intraoperative detection rate of tumor-involved margins in primary breast cancer patients, indicating the clinical feasibility and support of future studies to evaluate the definitive clinical impact of fluorescence-guided surgery.

Considering the biology of late recurrences in selecting patients for extended endocrine therapy in breast cancer.

Extended endocrine therapy can reduce recurrences occurring more than 5 years after diagnosis (late recurrences) in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. Given the side effects of endocrine therapy, optimal patient selection for extended treatment is crucial. Enhanced understanding of late recurrence biology could optimize patient selection in this setting. We therefore summarized the current knowledge of late recurrence biology, clinical trials on extended endocrine therapy, and tools for predicting late recurrence and benefit from treatment extension. Extending 5 years of tamoxifen therapy with 5 years of tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor (AI) reduces late recurrence risk by 2-5%, but results of extending AI-based therapy are inconsistent. Although several clinicopathological parameters and multigene assays are prognostic for late recurrence, selection tools predicting benefit from extended endocrine therapy are sparse. Therefore, we additionally performed a pooled analysis using 2231 mRNA profiles of patients with ER-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative breast cancer. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis was applied on genes ranked according to their association with early and late recurrence risk. Higher expression of estrogen-responsive genes was associated with a high recurrence risk beyond 5 years after diagnosis when patients had received no systemic therapy. Although 5 years of endocrine therapy reduced this risk, this effect disappeared after treatment cessation. This suggests that late recurrences of tumors with high expression of estrogen-responsive genes are likely ER-driven. Long-term intervention in this pathway by means of extended endocrine therapy might reduce late recurrences in patients with tumors showing high expression of estrogen-responsive genes.

Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) for intraoperative surgical margin assessment of breast cancer: A feasibility study in breast conserving surgery.

PURPOSE: Around 15%-30% of patients receiving breast-conserving surgery (BCS) for invasive breast carcinoma or ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) need a reoperation due to tumor-positive margins at final histopathology. Currently available intraoperative surgical margin assessment modalities all have specific limitations. Therefore, we aimed to assess the feasibility and accuracy of micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) as a novel method for intraoperative margin assessment in BCS. METHODS: Lumpectomy specimens from 30 consecutive patients diagnosed with invasive breast cancer or DCIS were imaged using a micro-CT. Margin status was assessed on micro-CT images by two investigators who were blinded to the final histopathological margin status. The micro-CT margin status was compared with the histopathological margin status. RESULTS: The margin status could be assessed by micro-CT in 29 out of 30 patients. Of these, nine patients had a positive tumor margin and 20 a negative tumor margin at final histopathology. Margin status evaluation by micro-CT took always less than 15 min. The margin status in 25 patients was correctly predicted by micro-CT. There were four false-negative predictions. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of micro-CT in margin status prediction were 86%, 56%, 100%, 100% and 83%, respectively. With micro-CT, the positive margin rate could potentially have been reduced from 31% to 14%. CONCLUSIONS: Whole lumpectomy specimen micro-CT scanning is a promising technique for intraoperative margin assessment in BCS. Intraoperative quick feedback on the margin status could potentially lead to a reduction in the number of reoperations.

[Delineation of urban development boundary based on the combination of rigidity and elasti-city: A case of Yiwu City in Zhejiang Province, China.] / 刚性与弹性相结合的城市开发边界划定­­ä»¥æµ™æ±Ÿçœä¹‰ä¹Œå¸‚为例.

Under the background of rapid urbanization, we took the contradiction between the rapid urbanization and resource environment protection as the starting point, conducted some theoretical research on urban growth boundary. Based on the definition of urban development boundary, we took Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province as a typical instance. Firstly, this study delimited the ecological boundary as ecological basic constraint area, using the methods of ecological red line discrimination and ecological sensitivity evaluation. Furthermore, the MCE-CA model was used in simulating the city size in 2020, making some adjustments to the moderate and low ecological-sensitive areas in the eco-sensitivity assessing, and delimiting the size of urban growth boundary and elastic control zones. The results showed that the ecological constraint area with a total area of385.2 km2 and outside of the ecological boundary was the security line of urban development and construction. The urban growth boundary with a total area of 163.3 km2 was not only the spatial boundary that could be constructed now, but also could meet the future development and construction. The district between the ecological boundary and urban growth boundary was an elastic control zone, in which urban development activities were allowed, but the size of construction could not exceed 8.5% of the total urban development boundary area. Our results delimited the urban development boundary under the rigidity and elasticity, which could guide the urban space development and provide a theoretical reference for China.

Evolution in sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is the standard of care for axillary staging in clinically node-negative (cN0) breast cancer patients without neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). The application of SLNB in patients receiving NAC has also been explored. Evidence supports its use after NAC in pretreatment cN0 patients. Nonetheless, its routine use in all the pretreatment node-positive patients who become cN0 after NAC is unjustified due to the unacceptably high false-negative rate, which can be improved in a subset of patients. Axillary surgery omission in selected patients with a low risk of ALN metastasis has gained more and more research interest because the SLNs are tumor-free in more than 70% of all patients. To avoid drawbacks of conventional mapping methods, novel techniques for SLN detection have been developed and shown to be highly accurate in patients with early breast cancer. This article reviews the progress in SLNB in patients with breast cancer.

Validation and update of a lymph node metastasis prediction model for breast cancer.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to validate and update a model for predicting the risk of axillary lymph node (ALN) metastasis for assisting clinical decision-making. METHODS: We included breast cancer patients diagnosed at six Dutch hospitals between 2011 and 2015 to validate the original model which includes six variables: clinical tumor size, tumor grade, estrogen receptor status, lymph node longest axis, cortical thickness and hilum status as detected by ultrasonography. Subsequently, we updated the original model using generalized linear model (GLM) tree analysis and by adjusting its intercept and slope. The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) and calibration curve were used to assess the original and updated models. Clinical usefulness of the model was evaluated by false-negative rates (FNRs) at different cut-off points for the predictive probability. RESULTS: Data from 1416 patients were analyzed. The AUC for the original model was 0.774. Patients were classified into four risk groups by GLM analysis, for which four updated models were created. The AUC for the updated models was 0.812. The calibration curves showed that the updated model predictions were better in agreement with actual observations than the original model predictions. FNRs of the updated models were lower than the preset 10% at all cut-off points when the predictive probability was less than 12.0%. CONCLUSIONS: The original model showed good performance in the Dutch validation population. The updated models resulted in more accurate ALN metastasis prediction and could be useful preoperative tools in selecting low-risk patients for omission of axillary surgery.

Breast reconstruction with single-pedicle TRAM flap in breast cancer patients with low midline abdominal scar.

Breast reconstruction with transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flap is challenging in patients with low midline abdominal scar. In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical feasibility of immediate breast reconstruction using single-pedicle TRAM (SP-TRAM) flaps in patients with low midline abdominal scar. There were 4 strict selection criteria: 1) presence at least 3 perforators on the pedicle side; 2) perforators with regional average flow velocity of >20 cm/s; 3) upper edge of the abdominal scar at least 4 cm from the umbilicus; and 4) scar age >1 year. Eight breast cancer patients with low midline abdominal scar (scar group) and 20 without (control group) underwent immediate breast reconstruction with SP-TRAM flaps consisting of zone I and III and zone II tissues. Flap complications, donor-site complications, and cosmetic results were compared between the two groups. All flaps survived and both groups presented similar flap and donor site complications, including fat necrosis, seroma, hematoma, infection, delayed wound healing, and abdominal hernia, and patients in both groups had similar aesthetic results (p > 0.05). Thus, the study demonstrated that breast reconstruction using SP-TRAM flap was a safe approach in carefully selected patients with low midline abdominal scar.

A nomogram to predict the probability of axillary lymph node metastasis in early breast cancer patients with positive axillary ultrasound.

Among patients with a preoperative positive axillary ultrasound, around 40% of them are pathologically proved to be free from axillary lymph node (ALN) metastasis. We aimed to develop and validate a model to predict the probability of ALN metastasis as a preoperative tool to support clinical decision-making. Clinicopathological features of 322 early breast cancer patients with positive axillary ultrasound findings were analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of ALN metastasis. A model was created from the logistic regression analysis, comprising lymph node transverse diameter, cortex thickness, hilum status, clinical tumour size, histological grade and estrogen receptor, and it was subsequently validated in another 234 patients. Coefficient of determination (R(2)) and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) were calculated to be 0.9375 and 0.864, showing good calibration and discrimination of the model, respectively. The false-negative rates of the model were 0% and 5.3% for the predicted probability cut-off points of 7.1% and 13.8%, respectively. This means that omission of axillary surgery may be safe for patients with a predictive probability of less than 13.8%. After further validation in clinical practice, this model may support increasingly limited surgical approaches to the axilla in breast cancer.

Over-Expressed Twist Associates with Markers of Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition and Predicts Poor Prognosis in Breast Cancers via ERK and Akt Activation.

Overexpression of Twist, a highly conserved basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, is associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and predicts poor prognosis in various kinds of cancers, including breast cancer. In order to further clarify Twist's role in breast cancer, we detected Twist expression in breast cancer tissues by immunohistochemistry. Twist expression was observed in 54% (220/408) of breast cancer patients and was positively associated with tumor size, Ki67, VEGF-C and HER2 expression. Conversely, Twist was negatively associated with estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR) and E-cadherin expression. Patients with Twist expression had a poorer prognosis for 30-month disease free survival (DFS) (82.9%) than patients with negative Twist (92.3%). Overexpression of Twist led to dramatic changes in cellular morphology, proliferation, migratory/invasive capability, and expression of EMT-related biomarkers in breast cancer cells. Moreover, we show that Twist serves as a driver of tumorigenesis, as well as an inducer of EMT, at least in part, through activation of the Akt and extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) pathways which are critical for Twist-mediated EMT. Our results demonstrate that Twist expression is an important prognostic factor in breast cancer patients.

ERα inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition by suppressing Bmi1 in breast cancer.

In human breast cancer, estrogen receptor-α (ERα) suppresses epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and stemness, two crucial parameters for tumor metastasis; however, the underlying mechanism by which ERα regulates these two processes remains largely unknown. Bmi1, the polycomb group protein B lymphoma Mo-MLV insertion region 1 homolog, regulates EMT transition, maintains the self-renewal capacity of stem cells, and is frequently overexpressed in human cancers. In the present study, ERα upregulated the expression of the epithelial marker, E-cadherin, in breast cancer cells through the transcriptional down-regulation of Bmi1. Furthermore, ERα overexpression suppressed the migration, invasion, and EMT of breast cancer cells. Notably, overexpression of ERα significantly decreased the CD44high/CD24low cell population and inhibited the capacity for mammosphere formation in ERα-negative breast cancer cells. In addition, overexpression of Bmi1 attenuated the ERα-mediated suppression of EMT and cell stemness. Immunohistochemistry revealed an inverse association of ERα and Bmi1 expression in human breast cancer tissue. Taken together, our findings suggest that ERα inhibits EMT and stemness through the downregulation of Bmi1.