There are many peer-reviewed papers covering biomarkers in oncology, and it is frequently difficult for healthcare professionals to keep up with the literature. As a special service to our readers, CLI presents a few key literature abstracts from the clinical and scientific literature chosen by our editorial board as being particularly worthy of attention.
KL-6 mucin in metastatic liver cancer tissues from primary colorectal carcinoma.
Zhang K et al. Hepatogastroenterology 2009; 56:960-3.
KL-6 mucin is the MUC1 protein bearing sialylated carbohydrate epitopes that are recognised by KL-6 antibody. The study described in this paper aims to assess the subcellular localisation of KL-6 mucin in liver metastatic tissues from colorectal carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma.Tissue samples of tissues were collected from 56 patients with liver metastasis of colorectal carcinoma and 92 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent a hepatectomy. The tissues were subjected to immunohistochemical analysis using KL-6 antibody. All 56 cases with metastatic liver cancer showed positive staining for KL-6 mucin in cancer tissues but not in non-cancerous tissues. All staining was observed in the circumferential membrane and/or cytoplasm of the cancer cells. In contrast, no staining for KL-6 mucin was observed in either cancerous or non-cancerous tissues from the 92 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The results suggest that KL-6 mucin may be an indicator for liver metastasis of colorectal carcinoma. Additionally, detection of KL-6 mucin may be helpful in distinguishing hepatocellular carcinoma from metastatic liver cancer.
Clinical usefulness of {alpha}-crystallin antibodies in non-small cell lung cancer patients.
Cherneva R et al. Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2009 Oct 1.
The study described in this paper explored the clinical utility of alpha-crystallin antibodies as markers for diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and for screening among high-risk groups. Alpha-crystallin antibodies were detected by ELISA in 51 NSCLC patients, 38 high-risk chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and 52 age and sex matched healthy volunteers. Alpha-crystallin IgG antibody levels differed significantly between the groups of cancer patients and the healthy volunteers (p<0.001). The assay was effective in distinguishing the patients with and without lymphogenic metastatic spread of the disease (p=0.045). This marker could facilitate lung cancer diagnosis and screening in high-risk groups. Its importance as a prognostic marker or a marker of disease recurrence and lymph node micrometastasis should be further explored.
Gene expression profiling of primary and metastatic colon cancers identifies a reduced proliferative rate in metastatic tumours.
Ganepola GA et al. Clin Exp Metastasis 2009; Nov 1.
Recent studies have demonstrated that few new mutational changes are acquired during the metastatic progression of colon tumours. However, the extent to which epigenetic and transcriptional changes occur between primary and metastatic colon cancer remains unknown. In this study, microarrays were used to assess the similarities and differences in gene expression profiles between macro-dissected primary and metastatic colon tumours. Unexpectedly, it was found that the expression of a number of cell proliferation markers was reduced in the liver metastases of colon tumours when compared to primary tumours. This finding was validated by immunohistochemical staining of Ki67 and Cyclin D1 in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) section of the same samples, and in an independent cohort of FFPE-matched tumour and metastatic tissue samples. The results indicate that significant transcriptional differences exist between primary and metastatic colon tumours and demonstrate that metastatic lesions have a lower proliferative rate compared to primary tumours. These findings may have implications for interpreting differences in response rates between primary and metastatic lesions and suggest that measurement of expression-based biomarkers in metastatic tissue could be most informative for understanding the basis of the response of metastatic tumours to therapeutic intervention.
Angiogenesis and ovarian cancer.
Gómez-Raposo C et al. Clin Transl Oncol. 2009;11:564-71.
Ovarian carcinoma is the most important cause of gynaecological cancer-related mortality in Western societies. The age at diagnosis, extent of disease (as expressed by FIGO state), success of primary surgery and the histopathological features of the tumour are important prognostic markers. The majority of patients with ovarian cancer present with advanced disease (FIGO stage III/IV) and in this group of patients the median survival is only three years. New treatment approaches are therefore required to improve outcome in this disease. Angiogenesis, the development of a neovascular blood supply, is a critical step in the propagation of malignant tumour growth and metastasis and represents a promising target. This review focuses on angiogenesis, VEGF biology and the potential value of angiogenic factors with prognostic value in ovarian cancer.
