Development and clinical validation of a real-time PCR assay for PITX2 DNA methylation to predict prostate-specific antigen recurrence in prostate cancer patients following radical prostatectomy.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men. The prospective discrimination of aggressive and clinically insignificant tumors still poses a significant and, as yet, unsolved problem. PITX2 DNA methylation is a strong prognostic biomarker in prostate cancer.

Role of the NK cell-activating receptor CRACC in periodontitis.

Periodontitis is a highly prevalent, biofilm-mediated chronic inflammatory disease that results in the loss of the tooth-supporting tissues. It features two major clinical entities: chronic periodontitis, which is more common, and aggressive periodontitis, which usually has an early onset and a rapid progression. Natural killer (NK) cells are a distinct subgroup of lymphocytes that play a major role in the ability of the innate immune system to steer immune responses.

[Translational research and diagnostics in lung cancer].

Lung cancer is the most common malignant disease leading to death worldwide. Histologically, it is broadly subcategorized into small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with the latter mainly consisting of the major entities adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. However, molecular profiling of various lung cancer entities has revealed major molecular differences within distinct histological tumor entities, resulting in the integration of molecular alterations in the subclassification of lung cancers.

Differences in frequency of ERG oncoprotein expression between index tumors of Caucasian and African American patients with prostate cancer.

Objective: To systematically evaluate the ETS-related gene (ERG) alterations in the multifocal tumor context using whole-mount prostatectomy specimens from African and Caucasian American patients matched for age, pathologic grade and stage. Oncogenic activation of the ERG is the most common early genomic alteration in patients with prostate cancer (CaP) in Western countries. However, ERG alterations have not been systematically examined in African American patients with a known greater risk of CaP incidence and mortality.

Exome enrichment and SOLiD sequencing of formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) prostate cancer tissue.

Next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have revolutionized cancer research allowing the comprehensive study of cancer using high throughput deep sequencing methodologies. These methods detect genomic alterations, nucleotide substitutions, insertions, deletions and copy number alterations. SOLiD (Sequencing by Oligonucleotide Ligation and Detection, Life Technologies) is a promising technology generating billions of 50 bp sequencing reads.

Integrative genome analyses identify key somatic driver mutations of small-cell lung cancer.

Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive lung tumor subtype with poor prognosis. We sequenced 29 SCLC exomes, 2 genomes and 15 transcriptomes and found an extremely high mutation rate of 7.4±1 protein-changing mutations per million base pairs.

ERG is specifically associated with ETS-2 and ETV-4, but not with ETS-1, in prostate cancer.

The erythroblast transformation-specific (ETS) family of transcription factors plays important roles in both physiological and pathological conditions. Even though many studies have focused on single ETS factors within a single tissue and within the context of specific promoters, the functional impact of multiple ETS members present within a specific cell type has not yet been investigated, especially in prostate cancer (PCa). As the most prominent gene rearrangement in PCa leads to the overexpression of the ETS-related gene (ERG), the aim of this study was to investigate whether ERG is part of a complex integrated transcriptional network that involves other ETS factors.

Loss of SLC45A3 protein (prostein) expression in prostate cancer is associated with SLC45A3-ERG gene rearrangement and an unfavorable clinical course.

The majority of prostate cancer harbors recurrent gene fusions involving ETS transcription factors, most commonly ERG. The second most common 5' fusion partner after TMPRSS2 is SLC45A3. The aim of our study was to quantify the protein expression of ERG, TMPRSS2 and SLC45A3 in prostate cancer to assess for diagnostic or prognostic utility.

ERG rearrangement in local recurrences compared to distant metastases of castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Castration-resistant prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death and results in a median survival of less than 2 years. In prostate cancer, fusions between TMPRSS2 and ERG are common. The ERG rearrangement prevalence in local recurrent castration-resistant prostate cancer compared to distant metastatic prostate cancer is unknown.

Definition of a fluorescence in-situ hybridization score identifies high- and low-level FGFR1 amplification types in squamous cell lung cancer.

We recently reported fibroblast growth factor receptor-type 1 (FGFR1) amplification to be associated with therapeutically tractable FGFR1 dependency in squamous cell lung cancer. This makes FGFR1 a novel target for directed therapy in these tumors. To reproducibly identify patients for clinical studies, we developed a standardized reading and evaluation strategy for FGFR1 fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) and propose evaluation criteria, describe different patterns of low- and high-level amplifications and report on the prevalence of FGFR1 amplifications in pulmonary carcinomas.

Improved method of detecting the ERG gene rearrangement in prostate cancer using combined dual-color chromogenic and silver in situ hybridization.

The recently detected TMPRSS2-ERG fusion gene was revealed as a recurrent and prevalent prostate cancer (PCa)-specific event, potentially qualifying it for clinical use. To detect this alteration, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is the method of choice. However, FISH has some disadvantages for widespread adoption in clinical practice.

Rearrangement of the ETS genes ETV-1, ETV-4, ETV-5, and ELK-4 is a clonal event during prostate cancer progression.

ETS gene rearrangements are frequently found in prostate cancer. Several studies have assessed the rearrangement status of the most commonly found ETS rearranged gene ERG, and the less frequent genes, ETV-1, ETV-4, ETV-5, and ELK-4 in primary prostate cancer. However, frequency in metastatic disease is not well investigated.

Rationale for treatment of metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the lung using fibroblast growth factor receptor inhibitors.

Background: We previously identified amplification of the fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 gene (FGFR1) as a potential therapeutic target for small-molecule inhibitor therapy in squamous cell lung cancer (L-SCC). Currently, clinical phase I trials are underway to examine whether patients with FGFR1-amplified L-SCC benefit from a targeted therapy approach using small-molecule inhibitors. Because most patients with lung cancer present with metastatic disease, we investigated whether lymph node metastases in L-SCC share the FGFR1 amplification status of their corresponding primary tumor.

Palliative surgery for skeletal metastases from melanoma in the scaphoid--a critical case report appraisal.

A 46-year-old woman with a history of metastatic malignant melanoma presented with what appeared to be a scaphoid nonunion. Biopsy and subsequent scaphoid excision confirmed the diagnosis of metastatic melanoma. Her quality of life was improved for her remaining 13 months by scaphoid excision.

ERG protein expression and genomic rearrangement status in primary and metastatic prostate cancer--a comparative study of two monoclonal antibodies.

Background: Overexpression of the ERG protein is highly prevalent in prostate cancer (PCa) and commonly results from gene fusions involving the ERG gene. Recently, N-terminal epitope-targeted mouse and a C-terminal epitope-targeted rabbit monoclonal anti-ERG antibody (ERG-MAbs) have been introduced for the detection of the ERG protein. Independent studies reported that immunohistochemistry (IHC) with both ERG-MAbs highly correlates with the underlying ERG gene rearrangement status.

The HOPE fixation technique--a promising alternative to common prostate cancer biobanking approaches.

Background: The availability of well-annotated prostate tissue samples through biobanks is key for research. Whereas fresh-frozen tissue is well suited for a broad spectrum of molecular analyses, its storage and handling is complex and cost-intensive. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens (FFPE) are easy to handle and economic to store, but their applicability for molecular methods is restricted.

The peripheral zone of the prostate is more prone to tumor development than the transitional zone: is the ETS family the key?

Predisposition to develop prostate cancer (PCA) varies among the prostate zones, with the peripheral zone (PZ) more prone to tumor development than the transitional zone (TZ). In view of the fact that molecular differences between the zones may explain this difference, combined with the findings that translocations between TMPRSS2 and several ETS members are frequently observed in PCA, we hypothesized that the ETS family may be crucial to explaining this difference. Normal tissues from the PZ and the TZ of 20 PCA patients were laser microdissected to separate glands from stroma.

[High-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia: the only accepted prostate cancer precursor lesion].

For many tumors the early detection of precursor lesions of invasive cancer has an impact on the clinical course. The high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HG-PIN) is the only accepted facultative precursor lesion for acinar prostate cancer. While HG-PIN shows many similarities to prostate cancer it is most probably not a precursor of every prostate cancer variant.

Validation of a TFE3 break-apart FISH assay for Xp11.2 translocation renal cell carcinomas.

Renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) with an Xp11.2 translocation predominantly affect young patients, and can present at an advanced stage. However, more cases in older patients and incidentally detected cancers at earlier stages are also being identified.

α-Methylacyl-CoA racemase expression and lethal prostate cancer in the Physicians' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study.

Background: α-Methylacyl-CoA racemase (AMACR) is an enzyme that serves as a diagnostic biomarker of prostate cancer in clinical practice. Recent studies suggest that low AMACR expression is associated with biochemical recurrence and the development of fatal disease.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study among 920 men aged 47-84 years, who were diagnosed with prostate cancer in the Physicians' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study cohorts, and whose resected tissue specimens were available for immunohistochemical analysis.

Relevance of cohort design for studying the frequency of the ERG rearrangement in prostate cancer.

Aims: ERG rearrangements, mostly resulting in TMPRSS2-ERG fusions, are frequent alterations in prostate cancer (PCa), with a frequency ranging from 15% to 78%. As the reason for this variability is unknown, our aim was to investigate the ERG rearrangement frequency with a cohort design.

Methods And Results: We assessed three well-defined cohorts for ERG rearrangements, using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).

mRNA expression signature of Gleason grade predicts lethal prostate cancer.

Purpose: Prostate-specific antigen screening has led to enormous overtreatment of prostate cancer because of the inability to distinguish potentially lethal disease at diagnosis. We reasoned that by identifying an mRNA signature of Gleason grade, the best predictor of prognosis, we could improve prediction of lethal disease among men with moderate Gleason 7 tumors, the most common grade, and the most indeterminate in terms of prognosis.

Patients And Methods: Using the complementary DNA-mediated annealing, selection, extension, and ligation assay, we measured the mRNA expression of 6,100 genes in prostate tumor tissue in the Swedish Watchful Waiting cohort (n = 358) and Physicians' Health Study (PHS; n = 109).

Frequency and clinicopathologic correlates of KRAS amplification in non-small cell lung carcinoma.

Background: Characterization of the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) genome has suggested that KRAS amplification is one of the commonest molecular abnormalities in NSCLC. However, the prevalence and clinicopathologic significance of KRAS amplification, and its relationship with KRAS activating mutations have not been well-defined. The purpose of this study was to establish the prevalence of KRAS amplification in two separate, large NSCLC cohorts, to define the clinicopathologic features of KRAS-amplified NSCLC in a single uniformly treated cohort, and to investigate the interplay between KRAS amplification and KRAS mutation.

SOX2 gene amplification and protein overexpression are associated with better outcome in squamous cell lung cancer.

The transcription factor SOX2 (3q26.3-q27) is a key regulator of foregut development and an embryonic stem cell factor cooperating during induction of pluripotency in terminally differentiated somatic cells. Recently, we found SOX2 to be amplified in a subset of squamous cell lung and esophageal cancers.