Background: The androgen receptor (AR) pathway-associated gene nuclear receptor coactivator 2 (NCOA2) has an established oncogenic role in early prostate cancer and likewise is a driver of metastatic disease and castration-resistant prostate cancer. However, its significance as a biomarker in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), both alone and in conjunction with co-occurring AR alterations using a liquid biopsy approach has not been investigated.
Methods: Ninety-one patients were included in this study, (n = 68 receiving an androgen receptor pathway inhibitor and n = 23 receiving taxane chemotherapy).
Unlabelled: Tumor tissue from metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) harbors frequent copy number variations (CNVs) in the PTEN-PI3K-AKT pathway. However, identifying CNVs in plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) has proven to be challenging. With emerging data supporting Akt inhibition in PTEN-deficient mCRPC, we profiled PTEN-PI3K-AKT pathway aberrations in patients with mCRPC using a novel cfDNA assay optimized for CNV detection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: As potent systemic therapies transition earlier in the prostate cancer disease course, molecular biomarkers are needed to guide optimal treatment selection for metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC). The value of whole blood RNA to detect candidate biomarkers in mHSPC remains largely undefined.
Methods: In this cohort study, we used a previously optimised whole blood reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay to assess the prognostic utility [measured by seven-month undetectable prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and time to castration-resistance (TTCR)] of eight prostate cancer-associated gene transcripts in 43 mHSPC patients.
Background: Dysregulated lipid metabolism is associated with more aggressive pathology and poorer prognosis in prostate cancer (PC). The primary aim of the study is to assess the relationship between the plasma lipidome and clinical outcomes in localised and metastatic PC. The secondary aim is to validate a prognostic circulating 3-lipid signature specific to metastatic castration-resistant PC (mCRPC).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlasma circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis has emerged as a minimally invasive means to perform molecular tumor typing. Here we developed a custom ultra-sensitive ctDNA next-generation sequencing assay using molecular barcoding technology and off-the-shelf reagents combined with bioinformatics tools for enhanced ctDNA analysis. Assay performance was assessed via a spike-in experiment and the technique was applied to analyze 41 plasma samples from men with advanced prostate cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The androgen receptor (AR) remains a critical driver in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Profiling AR aberrations in both circulating DNA and RNA may identify key predictive and/or prognostic biomarkers in the context of contemporary systemic therapy.
Objective: To profile AR aberrations in circulating nucleic acids and correlate with clinical outcomes.
Background: The treatment paradigm for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) has evolved significantly in recent years. Identifying predictive and/or prognostic biomarkers in the context of this rapidly expanding therapeutic armamentarium remains a pressing and unmet clinical need.
Objective: To develop a prognostic whole-blood gene signature for mCRPC patients.
Activation of estrogen receptor α (ERα) stimulates cell division and tumor growth by modulating the expression of ERα target genes. This activation involves the recruitment of specific proteins with activities that are still not fully understood. Timeless, the human homolog of the Drosophila gene involved in circadian rhythm, was previously shown to be a strong predictor of tamoxifen relapse, and is involved in genomic stability and cell cycle control.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhite adipose tissue inflammation is linked with increased aromatase gene expression and estrogen production, a major risk factor for breast cancer in obese postmenopausal women. TNF-α, a proinflammatory cytokine, is a key driver of aromatase promoter I.4-mediated expression in adipose tissue.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: In 2014, a landmark study was published demonstrating that the expression of androgen receptor splice variant (AR-V) 7 was a negative predictive biomarker for response to abiraterone acetate and enzalutamide in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients. However, these results were not supported by the recently reported ARMOR3-SV phase III clinical trial, which employed an identical circulating tumour cell assay to assess AR-V7 expression. Therefore, the predictive utility of AR-V7 expression in mCRPC remains uncertain, as does any potential association between other AR-Vs and treatment response.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDes-acyl ghrelin is the unacylated form of the well-characterized appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin. It affects a number of physiological processes, including increasing adipose lipid accumulation and inhibiting adipose tissue inflammation. Breast adipose tissue inflammation in obesity is associated with an increase in the expression of the estrogen biosynthetic enzyme, aromatase, and is hypothesized to create a hormonal milieu conducive to tumor growth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation. This occurs largely as a result of the infiltration of immune cells within the obese adipose, which produce a number of inflammatory factors, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)). These factors have previously been shown to affect insulin-mediated glucose uptake in differentiated adipocytes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObesity is a risk factor for postmenopausal breast cancer and the majority of these cancers are estrogen dependent. Aromatase converts androgens into estrogens and its increased expression in breast adipose stromal cells (ASC) is a major driver of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. In particular, obesity-associated and tumor-derived factors, such as prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), have been shown to drive the expression of aromatase by stimulating the activity of the proximal promoter II (PII).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAromatase converts androgens into estrogens and its expression within adipose stromal cells (ASCs) is believed to be the major driver of estrogen-dependent cancers in older women. Ghrelin is a gut-hormone that is involved in the regulation of appetite and known to bind to and activate the cognate ghrelin receptor, GHSR1a. The unacylated form of ghrelin, des-acyl ghrelin, binds weakly to GHSR1a but has been shown to play an important role in regulating a number of physiological processes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe dramatically increased prevalence of breast cancer after menopause is of great concern and is correlated with elevated local levels of estrogens. This is mainly due to an increase in aromatase expression driven by its proximal promoter II (PII). We have previously demonstrated that the CREB co-activator CRTC2 binds directly to PII and stimulates its activity via mechanisms involving LKB1-AMPK in response to prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The majority of postmenopausal breast cancers are estrogen-dependent. Tumor-derived factors, such as prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), stimulate CREB1 binding to cAMP response elements (CREs) on aromatase promoter II (PII), leading to the increased expression of aromatase and biosynthesis of estrogens within human breast adipose stromal cells (ASCs). Hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), a key mediator of cellular adaptation to low oxygen levels, is emerging as a novel prognostic marker in breast cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is recognized as a master regulator of energy homeostasis. In concert with the AMPK-kinase LKB1, it has been shown to provide a molecular link between obesity and postmenopausal breast cancer via its actions to inhibit aromatase expression, hence estrogen production, within the breast. The anti-diabetic drug metformin is known to increase the activity of AMPK and was therefore hypothesized to inhibit aromatase expression in primary human breast adipose stromal cells.
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