Inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase 2 (IMPDH2) modulates response to therapy and chemo-resistance in triple negative breast cancer.

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is one of the deadliest subtypes of breast cancer, whose high frequency of relapse is often due to resistance to chemotherapy. Here, we identify inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase 2 (IMPDH2) as a contributor to doxorubicin resistance, in multiple TNBC models. Analysis of publicly available datasets reveals elevated IMPDH2 expression to associate with worse overall TNBC prognosis in the clinic, including lower recurrence-free survival post adjuvant/neoadjuvant therapy.

Image-Based Measures of Obesity are Associated with Alterations in Metabolic Pathways in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

Background: Studies suggest that the obesity paradox in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) results from the use of body mass index (BMI) as a measure of obesity. However, the mechanistic basis linking body fat and lung cancer behavior remains unclear. We examined the association of image-based measures of obesity with tumor gene expression to identify transcriptional signatures concordant with adiposity and their underlying biology.

Clinically relevant body composition phenotypes are associated with distinct circulating cytokine and metabolomic milieus in epithelial ovarian cancer patients.

Introduction: Preclinical evidence suggests that host obesity is associated with tumor progression due to immuno-metabolic dysfunction, but the impact of obesity on immunity and clinical outcomes in patients is poorly understood, with some studies suggesting an obesity paradox. We recently reported that high-adiposity and low-muscle body composition phenotypes are associated with striking increases in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) mortality and we observed no evidence of an obesity paradox. However, whether at-risk versus optimal body composition phenotypes are associated with distinct immuno-metabolic milieus remains a fundamental gap in knowledge.

Differential bone morphology and hypoxia activity in skeletal metastases of ER and ER breast cancer.

Bone metastases occur in the majority of advanced breast cancer patients, and the most common complications are osteolytic bone metastases. However, due to the limitations of models and methodologies for bone metastasis studies, the intricacies of bone metastasis have not been fully acknowledged and revealed in prior work. Our earlier study indicated that certain breast cancer cells undergo a pre-osteolytic stage before the establishment of overt metastatic lesions.