Associations of Prostate Tumor Immune Landscape with Vigorous Physical Activity and Prostate Cancer Progression.

Background: Vigorous physical activity has been associated with lower risk of fatal prostate cancer. However, mechanisms contributing to this relationship are not understood.

Methods: We studied 117 men with prostate cancer in the University of North Carolina Cancer Survivorship Cohort (UNC CSC) who underwent radical prostatectomy and 101 radiation-treated patients with prostate cancer in FASTMAN.

The University of North Carolina Cancer Survivorship Cohort: A Resource for Collaborative Survivorship Research.

Background: Rapid growth in the number of US cancer survivors drives the need for ongoing research efforts to improve outcomes and experiences after cancer. In this study, we describe the University of North Carolina (UNC) Cancer Survivorship Cohort, a medical center-based cohort of adults with cancer that integrates medical record-abstracted cancer information, patient-reported outcomes, and biological specimens.

Methods: Participants ages 18+ were recruited from UNC oncology clinics between April 2010 and August 2016.

ExPeCT: a randomised trial examining the impact of exercise on quality of life in men with metastatic prostate cancer.

Purpose: All patients living with cancer, including those with metastatic cancer, are encouraged to be physically active. This paper examines the secondary endpoints of an aerobic exercise intervention for men with metastatic prostate cancer.

Methods: ExPeCT (Exercise, Prostate Cancer and Circulating Tumour Cells), was a multi-centre randomised control trial with a 6-month aerobic exercise intervention arm or a standard care control arm.

Liquid Biopsy: A Multi-Parametric Analysis of Mutation Status, Circulating Tumor Cells and Inflammatory Markers in -Mutated NSCLC.

The liquid biopsy has the potential to improve patient care in the diagnostic and therapeutic setting in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Consented patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) positive disease (n = 21) were stratified into two cohorts: those currently receiving EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy (n = 9) and newly diagnosed EGFR TKI treatment-naïve patients (n = 12). Plasma genotyping of cell-free DNA was carried out using the FDA-approved cobas® EGFR mutation test v2 and compared to next generation sequencing (NGS) cfDNA panels.

Statins and prostate cancer-hype or hope? The epidemiological perspective.

Background: Men using cholesterol-lowering statin medications have been found to have lower risks of both advanced and fatal prostate cancer in multiple registry-based studies and prospective cohort studies. Statin use has also been associated with longer survival among men already diagnosed with prostate cancer. Mechanisms responsible for purported anti-cancer effects of statins are not well understood but may offer insight into prostate cancer biology.

Fusion Genes in Prostate Cancer: A Comparison in Men of African and European Descent.

Prostate cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide, particularly affecting men living a western lifestyle and of African descent, suggesting risk factors that are genetic, environmental, and socioeconomic in nature. In the USA, African American (AA) men are disproportionately affected, on average suffering from a higher grade of the disease and at a younger age compared to men of European descent (EA). Fusion genes are chimeric products formed by the merging of two separate genes occurring as a result of chromosomal structural changes, for example, inversion or trans/cis-splicing of neighboring genes.

Inflammation and Prostate Cancer: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Identifying Opportunities for Treatment and Prevention.

Prostate cancer is a major cause of disease for men globally. Inflammation, an established hallmark of cancer, is frequently observed in the prostate, though its contribution to prostate cancer risks and outcomes is not fully understood. Prostate cancer is biologically and clinically heterogeneous, and there is now evidence that inflammation and immunological characteristics vary by the genomic and mutational landscape of the tumor.

Characterizing and Exploiting Tumor Microenvironments to Optimize Treatment Outcomes.

Our understanding of cancer initiation, progression, and treatment is continually progressing through dedicated research achieved through laboratory investigation, clinical trials, and patient engagement. The importance and complexity of the microenvironment and its role in tumor development and behavior is pivotal to the understanding of tumor growth and the best course of treatment. The 57th Irish Association for Cancer Research (IACR) Annual Conference collected key researchers, clinicians, and patient advocates together to highlight and discuss the recognized importance of the microenvironment and treatment advances in cancer.

Long non-coding RNAs and their potential impact on diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy in prostate cancer: racial, ethnic, and geographical considerations.

Introduction: Advances in high-throughput sequencing have greatly advanced our understanding of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in a relatively short period of time. This has expanded our knowledge of cancer, particularly how lncRNAs drive many important cancer phenotypes via their regulation of gene expression.

Areas Covered: Men of African descent are disproportionately affected by PC in terms of incidence, morbidity, and mortality.

Circulating Tumour Cell Numbers Correlate with Platelet Count and Circulating Lymphocyte Subsets in Men with Advanced Prostate Cancer: Data from the ExPeCT Clinical Trial (CTRIAL-IE 15-21).

Interactions between circulating tumour cells (CTCs) and platelets are thought to inhibit natural killer(NK)-cell-induced lysis. We attempted to correlate CTC numbers in men with advanced prostate cancer with platelet counts and circulating lymphocyte numbers. Sixty-one ExPeCT trial participants, divided into overweight/obese and normal weight groups on the basis of a BMI ≥ 25 or <25, were randomized to participate or not in a six-month exercise programme.

Family history of prostate cancer and prostate tumor aggressiveness in black and non-black men;results from an equal access biopsy study.

Purpose: To test for racial differences in associations between family history (FH) of prostate cancer (PC) and prostate cancer aggressiveness in a racially diverse equal access population undergoing prostate biopsy.

Subjects/patients And Methods: We prospectively enrolled men undergoing prostate biopsy at the Durham Veterans Administration from 2007 to 2018 and assigned case or control status based on biopsy results. Race and FH of PC were self-reported on questionnaires.

Platelet cloaking of circulating tumour cells in patients with metastatic prostate cancer: Results from ExPeCT, a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) represent a morphologically distinct subset of cancer cells, which aid the metastatic spread. The ExPeCT trial aimed to examine the effectiveness of a structured exercise programme in modulating levels of CTCs and platelet cloaking in patients with metastatic prostate cancer.

Methods: Participants (n = 61) were randomised into either standard care (control) or exercise arms.

Epidemiology of Basal-like and Luminal Breast Cancers among Black Women in the AMBER Consortium.

Background: Evidence suggests etiologic heterogeneity among breast cancer subtypes. Previous studies with six-marker IHC classification of intrinsic subtypes included small numbers of black women.

Methods: Using centralized laboratory results for estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor, HER2, proliferation marker, Ki-67, EGFR, and cytokeratin (CK)5/6, we estimated case-only and case-control ORs for established breast cancer risk factors among cases ( = 2,354) and controls ( = 2,932) in the African American Breast Cancer Epidemiology and Risk (AMBER) consortium.

Asian Race and Risk of Prostate Cancer: Results from the REDUCE Study.

Background: Global prostate cancer incidence rates are lower in Asian men than Caucasian men. Whether this is the result of less screening in Asian men remains to be determined. We examined whether Asian race was associated with prostate cancer diagnosis in the Reduction by Dutasteride of Cancer Events (REDUCE) study.

Sleep quality and prostate cancer aggressiveness: Results from the REDUCE trial.

Background: Disrupted sleep has been associated with increased risk of certain cancers. Little data exist in prostate cancer. We tested the association between sleep quality and prostate cancer diagnosis overall and by tumor grade in the Reduction by Dutasteride of Prostate Cancer Events chemoprevention trial.

Abdominal and pelvic adipose tissue distribution and risk of prostate cancer recurrence after radiation therapy.

Background: Fat distribution varies between individuals of similar body mass index (BMI). We hypothesized that visceral obesity is more strongly associated with poor prostate cancer outcomes than overall obesity defined by BMI.

Materials And Methods: We quantified abdominal visceral and subcutaneous fat area (VFA and SFA), and pelvic periprostatic adipose tissue area (PPAT), using computed tomography scans from radiation-treated prostate cancer patients at the Durham North Carolina Veterans Administration Hospital.

Statin Use Is Associated with Lower Risk of PTEN-Null and Lethal Prostate Cancer.

Purpose: Statins are associated with lower risk of aggressive prostate cancer, but lethal prostate cancer is understudied and contributing mechanisms are unclear. We prospectively examined statins and lethal prostate cancer risk in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS), tested associations with molecular subtypes, and integrated gene expression profiling to identify putative mechanisms.

Experimental Design: Our study included 44,126 men cancer-free in 1990, followed for prostate cancer incidence through 2014, with statin use recorded on biennial questionnaires.

Borderline Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancers in Black and White Women.

Background: Some breast tumors expressing greater than 1% and less than 10% estrogen receptor (ER) positivity (ER-borderline) are clinically aggressive; others exhibit luminal biology. Prior ER-borderline studies included few black participants.

Methods: Using the Carolina Breast Cancer Study (phase I: 1993-1996; 2: 1996-2001; 3: 2008-2013), a population-based study that oversampled black women, we compared ER-borderline (n = 217) to ER-positive (n = 1885) and ER-negative (n = 757) tumors.

Bimodal age distribution at diagnosis in breast cancer persists across molecular and genomic classifications.

Purpose: Female breast cancer demonstrates bimodal age frequency distribution patterns at diagnosis, interpretable as two main etiologic subtypes or groupings of tumors with shared risk factors. While RNA-based methods including PAM50 have identified well-established clinical subtypes, age distribution patterns at diagnosis as a proxy for etiologic subtype are not established for molecular and genomic tumor classifications.

Methods: We evaluated smoothed age frequency distributions at diagnosis for Carolina Breast Cancer Study cases within immunohistochemistry-based and RNA-based expression categories.

Statin use and longitudinal changes in prostate volume; results from the REduction by DUtasteride of prostate Cancer Events (REDUCE) trial.

Objective: To test the association between statin use and prostate volume (PV) change over time using data from the REduction by DUtasteride of prostate Cancer Events (REDUCE) trial, a 4-year randomised controlled trial testing dutasteride for prostate cancer chemoprevention.

Subjects/patients And Methods: We identified men with a baseline negative prostate biopsy from REDUCE who did not undergo prostate surgery or develop prostate cancer over the trial period. Men reported statin use at baseline.

Serum Lipids prior to Starting Androgen Deprivation Therapy and Risk of Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer and Metastasis: Results from the SEARCH Database.

Purpose: We tested the association of serum lipid levels prior to androgen deprivation therapy with the risk of castration resistant prostate cancer and metastasis.

Materials And Methods: We identified 302 men in the SEARCH (Shared Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital) database who received androgen deprivation therapy after radical prostatectomy for nonmetastatic disease, had never received statins before androgen deprivation therapy and had available serum lipid data within 2 years prior to androgen deprivation therapy. Cox proportional hazards models were used to test associations between total cholesterol (less than 200 vs 200 mg/dl or greater), low density lipoprotein (less than 130 vs 130 mg/dl or greater), high density lipoprotein (40 or greater vs less than 40 mg/dl) and triglycerides (less than 150 vs 150 mg/dl or greater) and the risk of castration resistant prostate cancer and metastasis after androgen deprivation therapy while adjusting for potential confounders.

Evidence for Etiologic Subtypes of Breast Cancer in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study.

Background: Distinctions in the etiology of triple-negative versus luminal breast cancer have become well established using immunohistochemical surrogates [notably estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)]. However, it is unclear whether established immunohistochemical subtypes are the sole or definitive means of etiologically subdividing breast cancers.

Methods: We evaluated clinical biomarkers and tumor suppressor p53 with risk factor data from cases and controls in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study, a population-based study of incident breast cancers.