Histopathology and levels of proteins in plasma associate with survival after colorectal cancer diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: The TNM system is used to assess prognosis after colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis. Other prognostic factors reported include histopathological assessments of the tumour, tumour mutations and proteins in the blood. As some of these factors are strongly correlated, it is important to evaluate the independent effects they may have on survival. METHODS: Tumour samples from 2162 CRC patients were visually assessed for amount of tumour stroma, severity of lymphocytic infiltrate at the tumour margins and the presence of lymphoid follicles. Somatic mutations in the tumour were assessed for 2134 individuals. Pre-surgical levels of 4963 plasma proteins were measured in 128 individuals. The associations between these features and prognosis were inspected by a Cox Proportional Hazards Model (CPH). RESULTS: Levels of stroma, lymphocytic infiltration and presence of lymphoid follicles all associate with prognosis, along with high tumour mutation burden, high microsatellite instability and TP53 and BRAF mutations. The somatic mutations are correlated with the histopathology and none of the somatic mutations associate with survival in a multivariate analysis. Amount of stroma and lymphocytic infiltration associate with local invasion of tumours. Elevated levels of two plasma proteins, CA-125 and PPP1R1A, associate with a worse prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Tumour stroma and lymphocytic infiltration variables are strongly associated with prognosis of CRC and capture the prognostic effects of tumour mutation status. CA-125 and PPP1R1A may be useful prognostic biomarkers in CRC.

Oestrogen receptor status, treatment and breast cancer prognosis in Icelandic BRCA2 mutation carriers.

BACKGROUND: The impact of an inherited BRCA2 mutation on the prognosis of women with breast cancer has not been well documented. We studied the effects of oestrogen receptor (ER) status, other prognostic factors and treatments on survival in a large cohort of BRCA2 mutation carriers. METHODS: We identified 285 breast cancer patients with a 999del5 BRCA2 mutation and matched them with 570 non-carrier patients. Clinical information was abstracted from patient charts and pathology records and supplemented by evaluation of tumour grade and ER status using archived tissue specimens. Univariate and multivariate hazard ratios (HR) were estimated for breast cancer-specific survival using Cox regression. The effects of various therapies were studied in patients treated from 1980 to 2012. RESULTS: Among mutation carriers, positive ER status was associated with higher risk of death than negative ER status (HR=1.94; 95% CI=1.22-3.07, P=0.005). The reverse association was seen for non-carriers (HR=0.71; 95% CI: 0.51-0.97; P=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Among BRCA2 carriers, ER-positive status is an adverse prognostic factor. BRCA2 carrier status should be known at the time when treatment decisions are made.

Association of symptoms of colon cancer patients with tumor location and TNM tumor stage.

OBJECTIVE: Colon cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in Iceland and accounts for 8% of malignancies. We related information on symptoms of colon cancer patients with information on tumor location and pTNM-stage. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study is retrospective and population-based. Information on all patients diagnosed with colon cancer in Iceland in 1995-2004 was obtained. Information on symptoms of patients and blood hemoglobin was collected from patients' files. The pathological parameters were derived from a previously performed study. RESULTS: A total of 768 patients (422 males, 346 females) participated in this study. Median age was 73 years. Nearly 60% had anemia at the time of diagnosis, 53% had visible blood in stools, and 65% had changes in bowel habits. Around 84% had visible blood in stools and/or anemia. Of those with right-sided tumors, 75% had anemia and were more likely to be diagnosed incidentally (40%) than those with left-sided tumors (20%). Left-sided tumors were associated with blood in stools (68% compared to 41%, p < 0.05) and changes in bowel habits (74% compared to 57%, p < 0.05). Multivariate analysis indicated that blood in stools was strongly associated with a lower TNM-stage (OR = 0.75, p < 0.05). Anemia was strongly associated with a higher TNM-stage (OR = 1.84, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Right-sided tumors were associated with anemia and incidental diagnosis; left-sided tumors were associated with visible blood in stools and changes in bowel habits. Visible blood in stools was significantly associated with lower TNM-stage, whereas abdominal pain, general and acute symptoms were associated with higher TNM-stage.

[Epidemiology of the two types of gastric adenocarcinoma in Iceland according to the Laurén histological classification 1990-2009].

BACKGROUND: In the mid twentieth century gastric cancer was the most common type of cancer in Iceland. In recent decades, however, the incidence rate of gastric cancer has decreased markedly and currently only represents 2-3% of cancer cases. The Laurén classification system classifies adenocarcinoma into two types, intestinal and diffuse. The main purpose of our study was to describe the epidemiology of the two types of gastric adenocarcinoma in Iceland between the years 1990-2009. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study. Information on patients diagnosed with gastric cancer in Iceland between 1990 and 2009 was collected from the population based Cancer Registry. Histological descriptions were reviewed and classified according to the Laurén classification system. The records of patients diagnosed with either having intestinal or diffuse adenocarcinomas were reviewed and epidemiological information gathered. RESULTS: Between 1990 and 2009, 730 patients were diagnosed with gastric adenocarcinoma in Iceland, 447 had intestinal adenocarcinoma and 168 diffuse adenocarcinoma. Patients diagnosed with diffuse adenocarcinoma were significantly younger at diagnosis than those diagnosed with intestinal adenocarcinoma. The sex ratio for intestinal adenocarcinoma was 2.3:1 (M:F) and 1.1:1 (M:F) for diffuse adenocarcinoma. The incidence of intestinal adenocarcinoma decreased more rapidly than that of diffuse adenocarcinoma during this period (0.92/100,000 vs. 0.12/100,000). Median survival rates of intestinal and diffuse adenocarcinomas were 23.7 and 20.6 months, respectively. The difference in survival was found to be statistically significant. The hazard ratio between the two groups was 1.31 (CI 1.03-1.67), corrected for age, sex, stage, year of diagnosis and surgical outcome (radical, non-radical or no operation). CONCLUSION: The overall incidence rate of gastric cancer has decreased dramatically in the past 20 years. However, the reduction is largely limited to the intestinal adenocarcinoma sub-group. We conclude that the Laurén classification predicts prognosis in gastric adenocarcinoma with diffuse adenocarcinoma having worse prognosis. KEY WORDS: gastric cancer, Laurén classification, survival, incidence. Correspondence: Halla Sif Olafsdottir, hsolafsdottir@gmail.com.

Colon cancer: association of histopathological parameters and patients' survival with clinical presentation.

Available data correlating symptoms of colon cancer patients with the severity of the disease are very limited. In a population-based setting, we correlated information on symptoms of colon cancer patients with several pathological tumor parameters and survival. Information on all patients diagnosed with colon cancer in Iceland in 1995-2004 for this retrospective, population-based study was obtained from the Icelandic Cancer Registry. Information on symptoms of patients and blood hemoglobin was collected from patients' files. Pathological parameters were obtained from a previously performed standardized tumor review. A total of 768 patients entered this study; the median age was 73 years. Tumors in patients presenting at diagnosis with visible blood in stools were significantly more likely to be of lower grade, having pushing border, conspicuous peritumoral lymphocytic infiltration, and lower frequency of vessel invasion. Patients with abdominal pain and anemia were significantly more likely to have vessel invasion. Logistic regression showed that visible blood in stools was significantly associated with protecting pathological factors (OR range 0.38-0.83, p < 0.05). Tumors in patients presenting with abdominal pain were strongly associated with infiltrative margin and scarce peritumoral lymphocytic infiltration (OR = 1.95; 2.18 respectively, p < 0.05). Changes in bowel habits were strongly associated with vessel invasion (OR = 2.03, p < 0.05). Cox regression showed that blood in stools predicted survival (HR = 0.54). In conclusion, visible blood in stools correlates significantly with all the beneficial pathological parameters analyzed and with better survival of patients. Anemia, general symptoms, changes in bowel habits, acute symptoms, and abdominal pain correlate with more aggressive tumor characteristics and adverse outcome for patients.