(Press-News.org) COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Big Data analysis that integrates three large sets of genomic data available through The Cancer Genome Atlas has identified 37 RNA molecules that might predict survival in patients with the most common form of breast cancer.
The study by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) initially analyzed messenger RNA (mRNA) and microRNA expression, DNA methylation data and clinical findings for 466 patients with invasive ductal carcinoma, the most common type of breast cancer.
The analysis identified 30 mRNAs and seven microRNAs – short snippets of RNA – that were consistently associated with patient outcome across 44 clinical and molecular subclasses, including early-stage tumors. The researchers then validated the prognostic signature using genome-wide expression data from 2,399 breast-cancer patients in eight independent groups and found that it performed better than other RNA signatures currently used for breast-cancer risk stratification.
The findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"This is the first prognostic signature in breast cancer or other type of cancer that combines both mRNA and microRNA," says first author and researcher Dr. Stefan Volinia, associate professor of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics at the OSUCCC – James, "and we believe this concise RNA signature could prove useful for the clinical management of breast-cancer patients."
Principal investigator Dr. Carlo M. Croce, professor of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics, and director of Human Cancer Genetics, notes that most of the genes involved in the RNA signature have not previously been linked to breast cancer and that unlike many other prognostic signatures, this one does not contain genes involved in the cell cycle or tumor grade.
"Most of these prognostic genes are newcomers, and therefore they might represent novel drug targets," says Croce, who is also the John W. Wolfe Chair in Human Cancer Genetics. "They also are novel genes with unknown function and need further study."
He noted that these genes could also be candidates for a blood test for early detection.
Key points related to the study's findings include:
The identified RNA signature might predict response to treatment, as well as being prognostic;
DNA methylation was used to confirm the association between mRNA expression and overall survival;
The signature includes mutations in PIK3CA and its pathway, indicating that the PIK3CA/AKT2/PTEN axis is an important and independent cofactor in prognosis;
The prognostic value of the integrated signature was highest in early stage I and II breast cancers, making this a potentially valuable biomarker signature in clinical practice.
###
Funding from the NIH/National Cancer Institute (grant CA 152758-03) and Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC) supported this research.
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute strives to create a cancer-free world by integrating scientific research with excellence in education and patient-centered care, a strategy that leads to better methods of prevention, detection and treatment. Ohio State is one of only 41 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of only seven centers funded by the NCI to conduct both phase I and phase II clinical trials. The NCI recently rated Ohio State's cancer program as "exceptional," the highest rating given by NCI survey teams. As the cancer program's 210-bed adult patient-care component, The James is a "Top Hospital" as named by the Leapfrog Group and one of the top cancer hospitals in the nation as ranked by U.S. News & World Report. END
Big data analysis identifies prognostic RNA markers in a common form of breast cancer
2013-04-30
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
NYU and NYU Langone researchers devise method for enhancing CEST MRI
2013-04-30
Researchers at New York University and NYU Langone Medical Center have created a novel way to enhance MRI by reducing interference from large macromolecules that can often obscure images generated by current chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) methods.
Their work, which appears in the Nature publishing group journal Scientific Reports, has the potential to improve MRI for cartilage as well as for brain tissue.
"We have found a way to eliminate signals of certain molecules and thereby clean up the image of parts of the body that could be used by medical professionals ...
Cat and mouse: A single gene matters
2013-04-30
When a mouse smells a cat, it instinctively avoids the feline or risks becoming dinner. How? A Northwestern University study involving olfactory receptors, which underlie the sense of smell, provides evidence that a single gene is necessary for the behavior.
A research team led by neurobiologist Thomas Bozza has shown that removing one olfactory receptor from mice can have a profound effect on their behavior. The gene, called TAAR4, encodes a receptor that responds to a chemical that is enriched in the urine of carnivores. While normal mice innately avoid the scent marks ...
VEGF may not be relevant biomarker for advanced prostate cancer
2013-04-30
PHILADELPHIA—The well-studied protein VEGF does not appear to have any prognostic or predictive value for men with locally advanced prostate cancer, researchers from the Department of Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and other institutions found in a retrospective study published online April 25 in the journal BMC Radiation Oncology.
VEGF, or vascular endothelial growth factor, induces blood vessel growth, a process known as angiogenesis, which is a key element in solid tumor growth and metastasis. It is overexpressed, along with its receptors, ...
Study identifies key shift in the brain that creates drive to overeat
2013-04-30
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A team of American and Italian neuroscientists has identified a cellular change in the brain that accompanies obesity. The findings could explain the body's tendency to maintain undesirable weight levels, rather than an ideal weight, and identify possible targets for pharmacological efforts to address obesity.
The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition this week, identify a switch that occurs in neurons within the hypothalamus. The switch involves receptors that trigger or inhibit the release of the ...
Sea turtles benefiting from protected areas
2013-04-30
DRY TORTUGAS, Fla. – Nesting green sea turtles are benefiting from marine protected areas by using habitats found within their boundaries, according to a U.S. Geological Survey study that is the first to track the federally protected turtles in Dry Tortugas National Park.
Green turtles are listed as endangered in Florida and threatened throughout the rest of their range, and the habits of green sea turtles after their forays to nest on beaches in the Southeast U.S. have long remained a mystery. Until now, it was not clear whether the turtles made use of existing protected ...
World's longest-running plant monitoring program now digitized
2013-04-30
Researchers at the University of Arizona's Tumamoc Hill have digitized 106 years of growth data on individual plants, making the information available for study by people all over the world.
Knowing how plants respond to changing conditions over many decades provides new insights into how ecosystems behave.
The permanent research plots on Tumamoc Hill represent the world's longest-running study that monitors individual plants, said co-author Larry Venable, director of research at Tumamoc Hill.
Some of the plots date from 1906 -- and the birth, growth and death of ...
Antidepressants linked with increased risks after surgery
2013-04-30
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) – among the most widely prescribed antidepressant medications – are associated with increased risk of bleeding, transfusion, hospital readmission and death when taken around the time of surgery, according to an analysis led by researchers at UC San Francisco and Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass.
The scientists looked at the medical records of more than 530,000 patients who underwent surgery at 375 U.S. hospitals between 2006 and 2008. Their results will be published on April 29 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
"There ...
'Super-resolution' microscope possible for nanostructures
2013-04-30
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers have found a way to see synthetic nanostructures and molecules using a new type of super-resolution optical microscopy that does not require fluorescent dyes, representing a practical tool for biomedical and nanotechnology research.
"Super-resolution optical microscopy has opened a new window into the nanoscopic world," said Ji-Xin Cheng, an associate professor of biomedical engineering and chemistry at Purdue University.
Conventional optical microscopes can resolve objects no smaller than about 300 nanometers, or billionths of a meter, ...
Do you obsess over your appearance? Your brain might be wired abnormally
2013-04-30
Body dysmorphic disorder is a disabling but often misunderstood psychiatric condition in which people perceive themselves to be disfigured and ugly, even though they look normal to others. New research at UCLA shows that these individuals have abnormalities in the underlying connections in their brains.
Dr. Jamie Feusner, the study's senior author and a UCLA associate professor of psychiatry, and his colleagues report that individuals with BDD have, in essence, global "bad wiring" in their brains — that is, there are abnormal network-wiring patterns across the brain ...
Surgery for nonfatal skin cancers might not be best for elderly patients
2013-04-30
Surgery is often recommended for skin cancers, but older, sicker patients can endure complications as a result and may not live long enough to benefit from the treatment.
A new study led by UC San Francisco focused on the vexing problem of how best to handle skin cancers among frail, elderly patients. In the study sample, the researchers found that most non-melanoma skin cancers were typically treated surgically, regardless of the patient's life expectancy or whether the tumor was likely to recur or harm the patient.
One in five patients in the study reported ...