Low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC) typically responds poorly to standard platinum-based chemotherapy and new therapeutic approaches are needed. We describe a remarkable response to targeted therapy in a patient with platinum-resistant, advanced LGSOC who had failed standard-of-care chemotherapy and two surgeries. The patient was in rapid decline and entering hospice care on home intravenous (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: ERα and PR levels are critical determinants for breast cancer prognosis and response to endocrine therapy. Although PR is known to be silenced by methylation of its promoter, few studies have correlated methylation with PR levels and outcome in breast cancer. There is only one previous small study comparing methylation of the two PR isoforms, PRA and PRB, which are expressed from different promoters, and finally, there is no prior knowledge of associations between isoform-specific methylation and outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn cancer, epigenetic changes such as covalent addition of methyl groups to the genomic DNA itself are more prominent than genetic changes. Cytosine-phosphate-guanosine (CpG) methylation negatively affects gene transcription of an adjacent gene. It is thought that DNA methylation significantly contributes to all hallmarks of cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: We recently reported DNA methylation of the paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 2 (PITX2) gene to be strongly correlated with increased risk of recurrence in node-negative, hormone receptor-positive, tamoxifen-treated breast cancer patients using fresh frozen specimens. Aims of the present study were to establish determination of PITX2 methylation for routine analysis in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) breast cancer tissue and to test PITX2 DNA methylation as a biomarker for outcome prediction in an independent patient cohort.
Patients And Methods: Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology was validated for FFPE tissue by comparing methylation measurements in FFPE specimens with those in fresh frozen specimens from the same tumor.