Data documento
03/05/2024

Título
EGFL7 expression profile in IDH-wildtype glioblastomas is associated with poor patient outcome

Autor(es)
da Costa BHB, - Becker AP, - Neder L, - Gonçalves PG, - de Oliveira C, - Polverini AD, - Clara CA, - Teixeira GR, - Reis RM, - Bidinotto LT.

Palavras chave
EGFL7 - Glioblastoma IDH-wildtype - Notch pathway - PI3K-Akt pathway - Rap1 pathway

Resumo
Background: Despite the advances in glioblastoma (GBM) treatment, the average life span of patients is 14 months. Therefore, it is urgent to identity biomarkers of prognosis, treatment response, or development of novel treatment strategies. We previously described the association of high epidermal growth factor-like domain multiple 7 (EGFL7) expression and unfavorable outcome of pilocytic astrocytoma patients. The present study aims to analyze the prognostic potential of EGFL7 in GBM isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-wildtype, using immunohistochemistry and in silico approaches. Methods: Spearmans correlation analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas RNA sequencing data was performed. The genes strongly correlated to EGFL7 expression were submitted to enrichment gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis. Additionally, EGFL7 expression was associated with patient overall survival. The expression of EGFL7 was analyzed through immunohistochemistry in 74 GBM IDH-wildtype patients samples, and was associated with clinicopathological data and overall survival. Results: In silico analysis found 78 genes strongly correlated to EGFL7 expression. These genes were enriched in 40 biological processes and eight KEGG pathways, including angiogenesis/vasculogenesis, cell adhesion, and phosphoinositide 3-kinase-Akt, Notch, and Rap1 signaling pathways. The immunostaining showed high EGFL7 expression in 39 cases (52.7%). High immunolabelling was significantly associated with low Karnofsky Performance Status and poor overall survival. Cox analysis showed that GBMs IDH-wildtype with high EGFL7 expression presented a higher risk of death compared to low expression (hazard ratio, 1.645; 95% confidence interval, 1.021 to 2.650; p = .041). Conclusions: This study gives insights regarding the genes that are correlated with EGFL7, as well as biological processes and signaling pathways, which should be further investigated in order to elucidate their role in glioblastoma biology.

Citação
da Costa BHB, Becker AP, Neder L, Gonçalves PG, de Oliveira C, Polverini AD, Clara CA, Teixeira GR, Reis RM, Bidinotto LT. EGFL7 expression profile in IDH-wildtype glioblastomas is associated with poor patient outcome. J Pathol Transl Med. 2022 Jul;56(4):205-211. doi: 10.4132/jptm.2022.04.22. Epub 2022 Jun 15. PMID: 35698739; PMCID: PMC9288890.

Data documento
02/05/2024

Título
EGFR Mutations and PD-L1 Expression in Early-Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Real-World Data From a Single Center in Brazil

Autor(es)
Alves Pinto I, - de Oliveira Cavagna R, - Virginio da Silva AL, - Dias JM, - Santana IV, - Souza LC, - Ferreira da Silva FA, - Biazotto Fernandes MF, - Junqueira Pinto GD, - Negreiros IS, - Santiago Gonçalves MF, - de Paula FE, - Berardinelli GN, - Casagrande GMS, - Oliveira da Silva M, - Albino da Silva EC, - de Oliveira MA, - Jacinto AA, - Duval da Silva V, - Reis RM, - De Marchi P, - Leal LF.

Resumo
Background: Targeted and immunotherapies are currently moving toward early-stage settings for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Predictive biomarkers data are scarce in this scenario. We aimed to describe the frequency of EGFR mutations and PD-L1 expression levels in early-stage non-squamous patients with NSCLC from a large, single Brazilian oncology center. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated patients with NSCLC diagnosed at an early-stage (IB to IIIA-AJCC seventh edition) at Barretos Cancer Hospital (n = 302). EGFR mutational status was assessed in FFPE tumor tissues using distinct methodologies (NGS, Cobas, or Sanger sequencing). PD-L1 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry (clone 22C3) and reported as Tumor Proportion Score (TPS), categorized as <1%, 1-49%, and ≥50%. We evaluated the association between EGFR mutational status and PD-L1 expression with sociodemographic and clinicopathological parameters by Fisher’s test, qui-square test, and logistic regression. Survival analysis was assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression model. Results: EGFR mutations were detected in 17.3% (n = 48) of cases and were associated with female sex, never smokers, and longer overall and event-free survival. PD-L1 positivity was observed in 36.7% (n = 69) of cases [TPS 1-49% n = 44(23.4%); TPS ≥50% n = 25(13.3%)]. PD-L1 positivity was associated with smoking, weight loss, and higher disease stages (IIB/IIIA). Conclusion: The frequencies of EGFR mutations and PD-L1 positivity were described for early-stage non-squamous patients with NSCLC. These results will be essential for guiding treatment strategies with the recent approvals of osimertinib and immunotherapy in the adjuvant setting.

Citação
Alves Pinto I, de Oliveira Cavagna R, Virginio da Silva AL, Dias JM, Santana IV, Souza LC, Ferreira da Silva FA, Biazotto Fernandes MF, Junqueira Pinto GD, Negreiros IS, Santiago Gonçalves MF, de Paula FE, Berardinelli GN, Casagrande GMS, Oliveira da Silva M, Albino da Silva EC, de Oliveira MA, Jacinto AA, Duval da Silva V, Reis RM, De Marchi P, Leal LF. EGFR Mutations and PD-L1 Expression in Early-Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Real-World Data From a Single Center in Brazil. Oncologist. 2022 Nov 3;27(11):e899-e907. doi: 10.1093/oncolo/oyac167. PMID: 36099421; PMCID: PMC9632322.

Data documento
03/05/2024

Título
Liquid Biopsy for Lung Cancer: Up-to-Date and Perspectives for Screening Programs

Autor(es)
Casagrande GMS, - Silva MO, - Reis RM, - Leal LF.

Palavras chave
biomarkers - liquid biopsy - lung cancer - precision medicine

Resumo
Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer worldwide. Tissue biopsy is currently employed for the diagnosis and molecular stratification of lung cancer. Liquid biopsy is a minimally invasive approach to determine biomarkers from body fluids, such as blood, urine, sputum, and saliva. Tumor cells release cfDNA, ctDNA, exosomes, miRNAs, circRNAs, CTCs, and DNA methylated fragments, among others, which can be successfully used as biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and prediction of treatment response. Predictive biomarkers are well-established for managing lung cancer, and liquid biopsy options have emerged in the last few years. Currently, detecting EGFR p.(Tyr790Met) mutation in plasma samples from lung cancer patients has been used for predicting response and monitoring tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKi)-treated patients with lung cancer. In addition, many efforts continue to bring more sensitive technologies to improve the detection of clinically relevant biomarkers for lung cancer. Moreover, liquid biopsy can dramatically decrease the turnaround time for laboratory reports, accelerating the beginning of treatment and improving the overall survival of lung cancer patients. Herein, we summarized all available and emerging approaches of liquid biopsy-techniques, molecules, and sample type-for lung cancer.

Citação
Casagrande GMS, Silva MO, Reis RM, Leal LF. Liquid Biopsy for Lung Cancer: Up-to-Date and Perspectives for Screening Programs. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jan 28;24(3):2505. doi: 10.3390/ijms24032505. PMID: 36768828; PMCID: PMC9917347.

Data documento
07/05/2024

Título
Significance of Chr9p22.1-p21.3 Deletion in Cancer Development: A Pan-cancer In Silico Analysis

Autor(es)
Gonçalves PG, Reis RM, Bidinotto LT.

Palavras chave
locus - In silico analysis - TCGA - gene expression - prognostic value

Resumo
Background/aim: Deletions in chr9p22.1-21.3 locus have been related to the development of several types of cancer, mainly due to the presence of CDKN2A and CDKN2B genes. However, there are several other genes in the region with potential importance in tumorigenesis. We, therefore, aimed to analyze in silico the potential prognostic significance of alterations in copy number and expression of genes present in the chr9p22.1-21.3 locus in 33 TCGA datasets (approximately 10,000 patients). Materials and methods: We analyzed which of the 27 genes are expressed in the datasets. Additionally, we associated the deletion of the locus with survival (log rank analysis) and hazard ratio (HR) (univariate cox regression). Finally, we performed univariate, multivariate, and overall survival analyses in 13 datasets considering the expression of 10 genes present in the locus. Results: We identified 10 genes of the chr9p22.1-21.3 locus expressed in the datasets (MLLT3, FOCAD, PTPLAD2, KLHL9, IFNE, MTAP, CDKN2A, CDKN2B, DMRTA1 and ELAVL2). Moreover, we found that deletion in at least 1 of these genes was associated with poor survival and increased HR in 13 datasets: adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), glioblastoma (GBM), head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC), kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC), kidney renal papillary cell carcinoma (KIRP), low-grade glioma (LGG), lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), mesothelioma (MESO), pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD), prostate adenocarcinoma (PRAD), rectum adenocarcinoma (READ), sarcoma (SARC) and uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC). Finally, we found an association of survival/HR and altered expression of MLLT3 in the MESO dataset, of FOCAD in the READ dataset, of PTPLAD2 in the KIRP dataset, of KLHL9 in the LGG and UCEC datasets, of IFNE in ACC, GBM, KIRC and LUAD datasets, of MTAP in LGG, LUAD and MESO datasets, of CDKN2A in the HNSC, KIRC and MESO datasets, of CDKN2B in the LGG and READ datasets, of DMRTA1 in SARC datasets and of ELAVL2 in the LGG dataset (p<0.01 for all associations). Conclusion: Besides CDKN2A and CDKN2B, numerous other genes are possibly related to cancer development, requiring further investigation.

Citação
Gonçalves PG, Reis RM, Bidinotto LT. Significance of Chr9p22.1-p21.3 Deletion in Cancer Development: A Pan-cancer In Silico Analysis. Anticancer Res. 2022 Nov;42(11):5291-5304. doi: 10.21873/anticanres.16036. PMID: 36288884.

Data documento
03/05/2024

Título
Somatic mutation detection and KRAS amplification in testicular germ cell tumors

Autor(es)
Cabral ERM, - Pacanhella MF, - Lengert AVH, - Dos Reis MB, - Leal LF, - de Lima MA, - da Silva ALV, - Pinto IA, - Reis RM, - Pinto MT, - Cárcano FM.

Palavras chave
K-ras Gene - TP53 Gene - mutation - next-generation sequencing - testicular germ cell tumor - testicular neoplasms

Resumo
Background: Testicular Germ Cell Tumors (TGCT) are the most common cancer among young adult men. The TGCT histopathology is diverse, and the frequency of genomic alterations, along with their prognostic role, remains largely unexplored. Herein, we evaluate the mutation profile of a 15-driver gene panel and copy number variation of KRAS in a large series of TGCT from a single reference cancer center. Materials and methods: A cohort of 97 patients with TGCT, diagnosed at the Barretos Cancer Hospital, was evaluated. Real-time PCR was used to assess copy number variation (CNV) of the KRAS gene in 51 cases, and the mutation analysis was performed using the TruSight Tumor 15 (Illumina) panel (TST15) in 65 patients. Univariate analysis was used to compare sample categories in relation to mutational frequencies. Survival analysis was conducted by the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Results: KRAS copy number gain was a very frequent event (80.4%) in TGCT and presented a worse prognosis compared with the group with no KRAS copy gain (10y-OS, 90% vs. 81.5%, p = 0.048). Among the 65 TGCT cases, different variants were identified in 11 of 15 genes of the panel, and the TP53 gene was the most recurrently mutated driver gene (27.7%). Variants were also detected in genes such as KIT, KRAS, PDGFRA, EGFR, BRAF, RET, NRAS, PIK3CA, MET, and ERBB2, with some of them potentially targetable. Conclusion: Although larger studies incorporating collaborative networks may shed the light on the molecular landscape of TGCT, our findings unveal the potential of actionable variants in clinical management for applying targeted therapies.

Citação
Cabral ERM, Pacanhella MF, Lengert AVH, Dos Reis MB, Leal LF, de Lima MA, da Silva ALV, Pinto IA, Reis RM, Pinto MT, Cárcano FM. Somatic mutation detection and KRAS amplification in testicular germ cell tumors. Front Oncol. 2023 Mar 16;13:1133363. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1133363. PMID: 37007070; PMCID: PMC10060882.