Carcinoma da mama com apresentação bilateral é uma doença pouco avaliada na literatura, com raros trabalhos científicos que comparam os aspectos moleculares de ambos os tumores. No presente estudo, analisamos os tumores de 45 pacientes portadoras de carcinoma ductal invasivo bilateral em relação às expressões de claudinas-4 e 7, de E-caderina e de -catenina por meio de imunoistoquímica em TMA. Além desses marcadores, analisamos o estado dos receptores de estrógeno e de progesterona, bem como diversas características histopatológicas (grau histológico, nuclear, mitose, infiltrado, desmoplasia e necrose). A amostra foi caracterizado por média de idade de 52,4 anos e os tumores foram divididos em mama primário (MP) e mama secundário (MS). Não houve diferenças entre os dois grupos (MP e MS) nos marcadores testados, sendo que a expressão foi coincidente nas seguintes proporções: claudina-4 (83,8%, p=0,61), claudina-7 (82,2%, p=0,29), E-caderina (81%, p=0,48), -catenina (89,7%, p=0,48), receptor de estrogeno (66%, p=0.75) e receptor de progesterona (55%, p=0.99). Em relação aos aspectos morfológicos, grau histológico (SBR) II, infiltrado inflamatório discreto, necrose, desmoplasia moderada e índice mitótico (<10fm/10cga) foram coincidentes em 57,8%, 60%, 55,6%, 63,6% e 55,6%, respectivamente. Os presentes resultados nos permitem inferir que os tumores de apresentação bilateral são, em sua maioria, similares do ponto de vista morfológico e da expressão dos marcadores testados / Forty-five patients with invasive ductal carcinoma were evaluated for the expression of claudin-4, claudin-7, E-cadherin, and -catenin through tissue microarray (TMA) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis. Besides these markers, estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) status was analyzed, in addition to histopathologic characteristics, i.e., histologic grade, nuclear, mitoses, infiltrate, desmoplasia, and necrosis. Tumors were divided into primary breast (PB) and secondary breast (SB). The expression of claudin-4 and -7 was coincident in PB and SB in 83.78% and 82.22% respectively. The expression of -catenin and E-cadherin in PB and SB was coincident in 89.74% and 80.95% respectively. Estrogen receptor status was (+) in both breasts in 66%, while progesterone receptor status (+) was in 55%. The histological grade using the Nottingham-modified Scarff-Bloom-Richardson grading system (MSBR) showed mild infiltrate, necrosis (+), moderate desmoplasia and mitotic index (<10) was coincident in 57.77%, 60.00%, 55.55%, 63.63% and 55.55% respectively. The degree of agreement showed claudin-4 (p=0.61), claudin-7 (p=0.29), E-cadherin (p=0.48), and -catenin (p=0.48). The expression of claudin-4 and -7, E-cadherin and -catenin present a strong agreement between tumors, showing that bilateral tumors are not different. Histopathologic characteristics showed a lesser agreement between tumors

Introdução: Os tumores de mama apresentam uma grande heterogeneidade molecular e clínica. Uma das classificações mais utilizadas no carcinoma de mama, baseia-se em seus aspectos moleculares e subdivide o câncer de mama em cinco grandes grupos baseados na expressão de alguns genes: luminais (A e B), super-expressor de HER-2, tipo basal e aqueles semelhantes à mama normal. Para melhor definirmos estes subgrupos de carcinomas mamários, analisamos diferentes marcadores imunoistoquímicos em dois estádios de pacientes: IIA e IIIB. Objetivo: O objetivo de nosso estudo foi avaliar quais fatores seriam importantes na determinação do prognóstico, tanto nas pacientes estadiadas como IIA quanto nas IIIB, com um período de seguimento de 120 meses, levando em conta dados clínicos e demográficos, características tumorais, tipos de tratamento, diferentes marcadores moleculares da transição epitélio-mesênquima (e-caderina, pcaderina, n-caderina, vimentina, twist, snai l, slug), o EGFR, a NOS-2 e os diferentes fenótipos (Luminal A, Luminal B, super-expressor de HER-2, basal e triplo-negativo) em câncer de mama. Pacientes e Métodos: A casuística deste estudo é constituída por 268 pacientes portadoras de tumor de mama operadas no Hospital A C Camargo, no período de 1980 a 1999. Foi realizado estudo imunoistoquímico para análise de nove marcadores moleculares e cada tumor foi classificado de acordo com a expressão do receptor de estrogênio, progesterona e expressão do HER-2 em uma das categorias luminais, basal, triplo-negativo e super-expressor de HER-2. Resultados: Observamos que a maioria dos tumores media de 2,1 a 5,0 cm (57,8%), pertenciam ao grau histológico 2 (57,1%), eram grau nuclear 3 (61,6%), possuíam de 0 a 9 mitoses por campo de grande aumento (CGA) e 59% apresentavam metástase linfonodal. As pacientes analisadas pertenciam a dois subgrupos de estadiamento, sendo que 86 casos pertenciam ao EC IIA (32,1%) e 182 ao EC IIIB (67,9%). Na análise multivariada, observamos em nosso estudo que a presença de diversos fatores clínicos e demográficos, de variáveis histopatológicas, formas de tratamento, os diversos marcadores moleculares não parecem conferir um pior prognóstico às pacientes do grupo IIA. Neste grupo, os fatores que mostraram estar associados a um pior prognóstico foram o fato destas pacientes pertencerem ao padrão fenotípico triplo negativo ou ao padrão basal. Quando realizamos a análise multivariada para avaliação do risco de óbito em 120 meses, observamos que no estádio IIIB, o padrão fenotípico luminal A, luminal B, super-expressor de HER-2 e triplo-negativo, não esteve relacionado com óbito. O risco de óbito esteve associado com a presença de metástase linfonodal e a não realização de quimioterapia adjuvante. Conclusão: Com estes achados podemos concluir que os padrões fenotípicos basal e triplo-negativo estão relacionados com uma pior sobrevida nas pacientes IIA. Entretanto, os subtipos de câncer de mama não estão relacionados com o prognóstico no grupo de mulheres do estádio IIIB. A presença de metástase nos linfonodos e a não realização de quimioterapia adjuvante são fatores de risco para estas mulheres. / Introduction: The breast cancer is a great molecular and clinical heterogeneous disease. One of the most used breast cancer classification involves molecular events and classify breast cancer into distinct groups based on gene expression patterns: luminal (A and B), overexpression of HER-2, basal and and normal breast like. Once the breast subgroups have been identified, we used a large panel of different tumour markers, to differenciated to groups of patients: IIA and IIIB. Objectives: The aim of our study was to identify which factors could be necessary to determine the prognosis, in both patients group (IIA and IIIB), until 10 years of follow-up, when we consider clinical and demographics aspects, histopathologic characteristics of the tumour, treatment, molecular markers of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (e-cadherin, p-cadherin, n-cadherin, vimentin, twist, snai l, slug), EGFR and NOS 2 and molecular subgroups (luminal A, luminal B, basal, triplenegative and overexpressor of HER-2), in breast cancer. Patients and Methods: Cases for this study were selected from Hospital A C Camargo, and included 268 patients with diagnosis of breast cancer submitted to surgery between 1980 and 1999. We applied immunohistochemical to analyse nine different molecular markers and each tumour was classified according to estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and HER-2 expression in one of the molecular cathegories. Results: We observed that the size of most tumours varied 2.1 to 5.0 cm (57.8%), that they had histologic grade 2 (57.1%), nuclear grade 3 (61.6%), they showed 0 to 9 m mitoses and 59% had dissemination to lymph nodes. Eighty six patients were staged as IIA (32.1%) and 182 were staged as IIIB (67.9%). The multivarieted analysis showed that different clinical and demographics factors, histopathologic characteristics of the tumour, different treatment and some molecular markers didnt confer a worse prognostic to patients staged as IIA. The factors that showed an association with a worse prognosis were: tumor belongs to triple-negative or basal phenotype. When we realize the multivarieted analysis in stage IIIB, to look for the death risk in ten years, we observed that luminal A or B, over expression of HER-2 and triplenegative phenotype, didnt had any relation with death. The death risk was associated with dissemination to lymph nodes and with no adjuvant chemotherapy. Conclusion: We concluded that in stage IIA, the factors that showed an association with a worse prognosis were triple-negative or basal phenotype. And that the phenotype subgroups were not related to prognoses in stage IIIB and that the presence of lymph node dissemination and no adjuvant chemotherapy were risk factors for these patients.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T10:38:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CAROLINE STEGLICH RAMOS.pdf: 1233030 bytes, checksum: 0c294f9932ce70c185a878b013b4d356 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-07 / The breast cancer constitutes most common malignancy pathology among women where the knowledge of prognostic aspects suggest the clinical course of disease and patient survival. Detection of HLA-G has been described as prognostic factor for many cancers, this molecule, expresses in ectopic way in certain types of tumors, where induce the immunotolerance and, favors the tumoral immune escape. Thereby, this study aimed to evaluate the expression of the molecule HLA-G in infiltrating ductal breast carcinomas (CDI), as well as evaluate the polyphormism of the gene encoding HLA-G to determine possible correlation between these and the molecule expression. Thus, to meet these objectives, we evaluated the expression of HLA-G protein in forty-five patients with IDC by immunohistochemistry and also the insertion and deletion polymorphism of 14pb gene HLA-G in 80 samples of paraffin tumors, obtained from the Service of Anatomic Pathology at Araújo Jorge Hospital, and a group of 191 healthy people was used as control. All the statistical analyses were made using the programs GraphPad Instat version 5.01 and Genepop version 2.0. Our results showed that the group of patients were inbalance in Hardy-Weinberg (p=0,01), due to the excess of heterozygotes (p=0,0007), there is not statistically significant difference in the allelic frequencies in locus HLA-G, when compared the group of patients with the control group, however, there were difference in the genotypics frequencies when comparing the same groups (p=0,012), being the genotypic frequency deletion/insertion significantly higher in the group of patients. Also, the expression of HLA-G was observed in 62% of the samples analyzed by immunohistochemistry and this expression was observed an mostly in tumor cells and also by intra-tumoral inflammatory infiltrate (p=0,03). The analysis showed that the expression of HLA-G was significantly higher in patients that had shorter survival (log rank = 0,03), after 5 years of follow up and still there was also a correlation between the expression of HLA-G and increased incidence of lymph node metastases (p=0,01). Thus, the results suggest that the HLA-G expression in patients with CDI may be associate to poor clinical evolution, with the reduced survival. / O câncer de mama constitui-se na patologia maligna mais comum entre as mulheres onde o conhecimento dos aspectos prognósticos sugerem o curso clínico da doença e a sobrevida dos pacientes. A detecção da molécula HLA-G tem sido descrita como fator prognóstico para inúmeras neoplasias, esta molécula, expressa de maneira ectópica em certos tipos de tumores, onde induz a imunotolerância e favorece o escape imunológico tumoral. Desse modo, esse estudo objetivou avaliar a expressão da molécula HLA-G em carcinomas ductais infiltrantes da mama (CDI), bem como, avaliar polimorfismo do gene codificador de HLA-G para determinar possível correlação entre estes e a expressão da molécula. Assim, para cumprir tais objetivos, avaliou-se a expressão da proteína HLA-G em quarenta e cinco pacientes com CDI por imunoistoquímica, e ainda, o polimorfismo de deleção e inserção de 14pb do gene HLAG, em 80 amostras de tumores parafinados, obtidas junto ao Serviço de Anatomia Patológica do Hospital Araújo Jorge e um grupo composto por 191 indivíduos saudáveis foi utilizado como controle. Todas as análises estatísticas foram feitas utilizando os programas GraphPad Instat versão 5.01 e Genepop versão 2.0. Os resultados mostraram que o grupo de pacientes encontrava-se em desequilíbrio de Hardy-Weinberg (p= 0,01), devido ao excesso de heterozigotos (p= 0,0007), não havendo diferença estatisticamente significante nas freqüências alélicas no loco HLA-G quando comparado o grupo de pacientes com o grupo controle, no entanto, houve diferença nas freqüências genotípicas ao comparar os mesmos grupos (p= 0,012), sendo a freqüência do genótipo deleção/inserção significantemente maior no grupo de pacientes. Também foi observada a expressão de HLA-G em 62% das amostras totais analisadas por imunoistoquímica e essa expressão foi apresentada principalmente, em células tumorais havendo, no entanto, também expressão pelas células do infiltrado inflamatório intratumoral (p= 0,03). As analises mostram que a expressão de HLA-G foi significantemente maior em pacientes que tiveram menor sobrevida (log rank= 0,03), após 5 anos de seguimento clínico e ainda houve correlação entre a expressão de HLA-G e aumento naincidência de metástases em linfonodos (p= 0,01). Com isso, os resultados sugerem que a expressão de HLA-G em pacientes com CDI pode estar associada à pior evolução clínica dos mesmos havendo redução na taxa de sobrevida.

Introdução: Os tumores de mama apresentam uma grande heterogeneidade molecular e clínica. Uma das classificações mais utilizadas no carcinoma de mama, baseia-se em seus aspectos moleculares e subdivide o câncer de mama em cinco grandes grupos baseados na expressão de alguns genes: luminais (A e B), super-expressor de HER-2, tipo basal e aqueles semelhantes à mama normal. Para melhor definirmos estes subgrupos de carcinomas mamários, analisamos diferentes marcadores imunoistoquímicos em dois estádios de pacientes: IIA e IIIB. Objetivo: O objetivo de nosso estudo foi avaliar quais fatores seriam importantes na determinação do prognóstico, tanto nas pacientes estadiadas como IIA quanto nas IIIB, com um período de seguimento de 120 meses, levando em conta dados clínicos e demográficos, características tumorais, tipos de tratamento, diferentes marcadores moleculares da transição epitélio-mesênquima (e-caderina, pcaderina, n-caderina, vimentina, twist, snai l, slug), o EGFR, a NOS-2 e os diferentes fenótipos (Luminal A, Luminal B, super-expressor de HER-2, basal e triplo-negativo) em câncer de mama. Pacientes e Métodos: A casuística deste estudo é constituída por 268 pacientes portadoras de tumor de mama operadas no Hospital A C Camargo, no período de 1980 a 1999. Foi realizado estudo imunoistoquímico para análise de nove marcadores moleculares e cada tumor foi classificado de acordo com a expressão do receptor de estrogênio, progesterona e expressão do HER-2 em uma das categorias luminais, basal, triplo-negativo e super-expressor de HER-2. Resultados: Observamos que a maioria dos tumores media de 2,1 a 5,0 cm (57,8%), pertenciam ao grau histológico 2 (57,1%), eram grau nuclear 3 (61,6%), possuíam de 0 a 9 mitoses por campo de grande aumento (CGA) e 59% apresentavam metástase linfonodal. As pacientes analisadas pertenciam a dois subgrupos de estadiamento, sendo que 86 casos pertenciam ao EC IIA (32,1%) e 182 ao EC IIIB (67,9%). Na análise multivariada, observamos em nosso estudo que a presença de diversos fatores clínicos e demográficos, de variáveis histopatológicas, formas de tratamento, os diversos marcadores moleculares não parecem conferir um pior prognóstico às pacientes do grupo IIA. Neste grupo, os fatores que mostraram estar associados a um pior prognóstico foram o fato destas pacientes pertencerem ao padrão fenotípico triplo negativo ou ao padrão basal. Quando realizamos a análise multivariada para avaliação do risco de óbito em 120 meses, observamos que no estádio IIIB, o padrão fenotípico luminal A, luminal B, super-expressor de HER-2 e triplo-negativo, não esteve relacionado com óbito. O risco de óbito esteve associado com a presença de metástase linfonodal e a não realização de quimioterapia adjuvante. Conclusão: Com estes achados podemos concluir que os padrões fenotípicos basal e triplo-negativo estão relacionados com uma pior sobrevida nas pacientes IIA. Entretanto, os subtipos de câncer de mama não estão relacionados com o prognóstico no grupo de mulheres do estádio IIIB. A presença de metástase nos linfonodos e a não realização de quimioterapia adjuvante são fatores de risco para estas mulheres. / Introduction: The breast cancer is a great molecular and clinical heterogeneous disease. One of the most used breast cancer classification involves molecular events and classify breast cancer into distinct groups based on gene expression patterns: luminal (A and B), overexpression of HER-2, basal and and normal breast like. Once the breast subgroups have been identified, we used a large panel of different tumour markers, to differenciated to groups of patients: IIA and IIIB. Objectives: The aim of our study was to identify which factors could be necessary to determine the prognosis, in both patients group (IIA and IIIB), until 10 years of follow-up, when we consider clinical and demographics aspects, histopathologic characteristics of the tumour, treatment, molecular markers of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (e-cadherin, p-cadherin, n-cadherin, vimentin, twist, snai l, slug), EGFR and NOS 2 and molecular subgroups (luminal A, luminal B, basal, triplenegative and overexpressor of HER-2), in breast cancer. Patients and Methods: Cases for this study were selected from Hospital A C Camargo, and included 268 patients with diagnosis of breast cancer submitted to surgery between 1980 and 1999. We applied immunohistochemical to analyse nine different molecular markers and each tumour was classified according to estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and HER-2 expression in one of the molecular cathegories. Results: We observed that the size of most tumours varied 2.1 to 5.0 cm (57.8%), that they had histologic grade 2 (57.1%), nuclear grade 3 (61.6%), they showed 0 to 9 m mitoses and 59% had dissemination to lymph nodes. Eighty six patients were staged as IIA (32.1%) and 182 were staged as IIIB (67.9%). The multivarieted analysis showed that different clinical and demographics factors, histopathologic characteristics of the tumour, different treatment and some molecular markers didnt confer a worse prognostic to patients staged as IIA. The factors that showed an association with a worse prognosis were: tumor belongs to triple-negative or basal phenotype. When we realize the multivarieted analysis in stage IIIB, to look for the death risk in ten years, we observed that luminal A or B, over expression of HER-2 and triplenegative phenotype, didnt had any relation with death. The death risk was associated with dissemination to lymph nodes and with no adjuvant chemotherapy. Conclusion: We concluded that in stage IIA, the factors that showed an association with a worse prognosis were triple-negative or basal phenotype. And that the phenotype subgroups were not related to prognoses in stage IIIB and that the presence of lymph node dissemination and no adjuvant chemotherapy were risk factors for these patients.

<p>The incidence of breast cancer is rising steadily in Sweden and the proportion of carcinoma in situ (CIS) has increased appreciably, most likely due to mammography screening. The aim of this study was twofold: (1) to examine risk factors for subsequent invasive breast carcinoma and breast cancer death after primary ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and (2) to study the biology in the progress between in situ and invasive carcinoma.</p><p> In a cohort-study based on 3,398 women with a primary CIS reported to the Swedish Cancer Registry (SCR) 1980-1992, women diagnosed in 1989-1992 ran a relative risk of 0.1 (CI 95%, 0.0-0.9) from dying of breast cancer as compared with women diagnosed in 1980-1982. Women in counties with mammography screening ran a relative risk of 0.2 (CI 95%, 0.0-2.1) for breast cancer death in comparison with women in non-screening counties.</p><p> In a case-control study derived from all 4,661 women with primary CIS reported to the SCR 1960-1992, we investigated risk factors for subsequent invasive breast carcinoma (n=118) and breast cancer death (n=39). Large size and multifocality were found to increase the risk for breast cancer death. Postoperative radiotherapy and mastectomy lowered the risk for ipsilateral invasive cancer.</p><p> The standardised incidence rates (SIR) for invasive breast cancer were estimated in the cohort from 1980-1992. The SIR after primary DCIS and primary lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) was 4.5 (CI 95%, 3.7-5.5) and 4.0 (CI 95%, 2.1-7.5), respectively.</p><p> New histopathological classification systems for DCIS were evaluated in 195 women consecutively diagnosed with primary DCIS between 1986-1994. One group with highly differentiated lesions was defined with the EORTC classification system and had an excellent prognosis.</p><p> Histopathological grade and expression of p53, c-erbB-2, Ki 67, hormone receptors, Bcl-2 and angiogenesis were compared in 626 women with either a pure DCIS, a small invasive carcinoma or a lesion with both an invasive and in situ component. When grade was taken into account, no change in tumour markers could be detected that signalled the progression from an in situ stage to invasiveness. All tumour markers correlated to grade and their distribution was very similar in the two components of mixed lesions.</p>

The incidence of breast cancer is rising steadily in Sweden and the proportion of carcinoma in situ (CIS) has increased appreciably, most likely due to mammography screening. The aim of this study was twofold: (1) to examine risk factors for subsequent invasive breast carcinoma and breast cancer death after primary ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and (2) to study the biology in the progress between in situ and invasive carcinoma. In a cohort-study based on 3,398 women with a primary CIS reported to the Swedish Cancer Registry (SCR) 1980-1992, women diagnosed in 1989-1992 ran a relative risk of 0.1 (CI 95%, 0.0-0.9) from dying of breast cancer as compared with women diagnosed in 1980-1982. Women in counties with mammography screening ran a relative risk of 0.2 (CI 95%, 0.0-2.1) for breast cancer death in comparison with women in non-screening counties. In a case-control study derived from all 4,661 women with primary CIS reported to the SCR 1960-1992, we investigated risk factors for subsequent invasive breast carcinoma (n=118) and breast cancer death (n=39). Large size and multifocality were found to increase the risk for breast cancer death. Postoperative radiotherapy and mastectomy lowered the risk for ipsilateral invasive cancer. The standardised incidence rates (SIR) for invasive breast cancer were estimated in the cohort from 1980-1992. The SIR after primary DCIS and primary lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) was 4.5 (CI 95%, 3.7-5.5) and 4.0 (CI 95%, 2.1-7.5), respectively. New histopathological classification systems for DCIS were evaluated in 195 women consecutively diagnosed with primary DCIS between 1986-1994. One group with highly differentiated lesions was defined with the EORTC classification system and had an excellent prognosis. Histopathological grade and expression of p53, c-erbB-2, Ki 67, hormone receptors, Bcl-2 and angiogenesis were compared in 626 women with either a pure DCIS, a small invasive carcinoma or a lesion with both an invasive and in situ component. When grade was taken into account, no change in tumour markers could be detected that signalled the progression from an in situ stage to invasiveness. All tumour markers correlated to grade and their distribution was very similar in the two components of mixed lesions.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has an extremely poor prognosis. To improve the prognosis, novel molecular markers and targets for earlier diagnosis and adjuvant and/or neoadjuvant treatment are needed. Recent advances in human genome research and high-throughput molecular technologies make it possible to cope with the molecular complexity of malignant tumors. With DNA array technology, mRNA expression levels of thousand of genes can be measured simultaneously in a single assay. As several studies using microarrays in PDAC have already been published, this review attempts to compare the published data and therefore to validate the results. In addition, the applied techniques are discussed in the context of pancreatic malignancies. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), one of the most aggressive human malignancies, is thought to be initiated by KRAS activation. Here, we find that transcriptional activation mediated by the GLI family of transcription factors, although dispensable for pancreatic development, is required for KRAS induced pancreatic transformation. Inhibition of GLI using a dominant-negative repressor (Gli3T) inhibits formation of precursor Pancreatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia (PanIN) lesions in mice, and significantly extends survival in a mouse model of PDAC. Further, ectopic activation of the GLI1/2 transcription factors in mouse pancreas accelerates KRAS driven tumor formation and reduces survival, underscoring the importance of GLI transcription factors in pancreatic tumorigenesis. Interestingly, we find that although canonical GLI activity is regulated by the Hedgehog ligands, in the context of PDAC, GLI transcription factors initiate a unique ligand-independent transcriptional program downstream of KRAS, that involves regulation of the RAS, PI3K/AKT, and NF-кB pathways. We identify I-kappa-B kinase epsilon (IKBKE) as a PDAC specific target of GLI, that can also regulate GLI transcriptional activity via positive feedback mechanism involving regulation of GLI subcellular localization. Using human PDAC cells, and an in vivo model of pancreatic neoplasia, we establish IKBKE as a novel regulator pf pancreatic tumorigenesis that acts as an effector of KRAS/GLI, and mediates pancreatic transformation. We show that genetic knockout of Ikbke leads to a dramatic inhibition of initiation and progression of pancreatic intraepithelial viii neoplasia (PanIN) lesions in mice carrying pancreas specific activation of oncogenic Kras. Furthermore, we find that although IKBKE is a known NF-кB activator, it only modestly regulates NF-кB activity in PDAC. Instead, we find that IKBKE strongly promotes AKT phosphorylation in PDAC in vitro and in vivo, and that IKBKE mediates reactivation of AKT post-inhibition of mTOR. We also show that while mTOR inhibition alone does not significantly affect pancreatic tumorigenesis, combined inhibition of IKBKE and mTOR has a synergistic effect leading to significant decrease tumorigenicity of PDAC cells. Together, our findings identify GLI/IKBKE signaling as an important oncogenic effector pathway of KRAS in PDAC that regulates tumorigenicity, cell proliferation, and apoptosis via regulation of AKT and NF-кB signaling. We provide proof of concept for therapeutic targeting of GLI/IKBKE in PDAC, and support the evaluation of IKBKE as a therapeutic target in treatment of pancreatic cancer, and IKBKE inhibition as a strategy to improve efficacy of mTOR inhibitors in the clinic.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common form of pancreatic cancer, develops through progression of premalignant pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasias (PanINs). In mouse-models, KRAS-activation in acinar cells induced an acinar-to-ductal metaplasia (ADM), and mutation of the Kras oncogene is believed to initiate PanIN formation. ADM is also promoted by pancreatic injury, which cooperates with activated KRAS to stimulate PanIN and PDAC formation from metaplastic ducts. Our lab, and others, have shown that the downstream PI3K/AKT pathway is important for KRAS-mediated proliferation and survival in vitro and in vivo. Prior studies have demonstrated that full activation of AKT requires both PDK1- mediated phosphorylation of AKTT308 and mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2)-mediated phosphorylation of AKTS473. Given the importance of the PI3K/AKT signaling axis, I hypothesized that mTORC2 is required for KRAS-driven pancreatic tumorigenesis and investigated this relationship in mice by combining pancreasspecific expression of an activated KRASG12D molecule with deletion of the essential mTORC2 subunit RICTOR. In the context of activated KRAS, Rictor-null pancreata developed fewer PanIN lesions; these lesions lacked mTORC2 signaling and their proliferation and progression were impaired. Higher levels of nuclear cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors (CDKIs) were maintained in Rictor-null lesions, and nuclear BMI1, a known regulator of the CDKI Cdkn2a, inversely correlated with their expression.Rictor was not required for KRAS-driven ADM following acute pancreatitis, however the inverse correlation between CDKIs and BMI1 was maintained in this system. Treatment of PDX-Cre;KRASG12D/+;Trp53R172H/+ mice with an mTORC1/2 inhibitor delayed tumor formation, and prolonged the survival of mice with late stage PDAC. Knockdown of Rictor in established PDAC cell lines impaired proliferation and anchorage independent growth supporting a role for mTORC2 in fully transformed cells. These data suggest that mTORC2 cooperates with activated KRAS in the initiation and progression of PanIN lesions and is required for the transformation and maintenance of PDAC. My work illustrates phenotypic differences between pancreatic loss of Rictor and PDK1 in the context of KRAS, broadens our understanding of this signaling node and suggests that mTORC2 may potentially be a viable target for PDAC therapies.

In den letzten Jahren ergaben sich zunehmend deutliche Hinweise, dass das Immunsystem eine wesentliche Rolle bei der Entstehung und dem Fortschreiten von Tumoren sowie beim Ansprechen auf verschiedene Therapieverfahren spielt. Fridman und Kollegen haben den Weg für die Untersuchung der Bedeutung von Immunzellen im klinischen Kontext geebnet, indem sie zeigten, dass eine erhöhte Infiltration von CD3+ und CD8+ T-Lymphozyten im invasiven Randbereich und im Tumorzentrum mit einer verlängerten Überlebenszeit von Patienten mit kolorektalem Karzinom (CRC) verbunden ist. Folglich wurde eine höhere Frequenz intratumoraler CD8+ T-Zellen, die für ihr zytotoxisches Potenzial und ihre Fähigkeit zur direkten Eliminierung von Tumorzellen bekannt sind, bei vielen Tumorarten mit einer besseren Prognose in Verbindung gebracht. Im Gegensatz dazu wurde eine erhöhte intratumorale Dichte von M2-polarisierten Makrophagen, die typischerweise durch einen tumorfördernden Phänotyp gekennzeichnet sind, mit einem schlechteren klinischen Verlauf in Verbindung gebracht. Des Weiteren korrelierte der Grad der Infiltration von tumorassoziierten Immunzellen auch mit dem Ansprechen auf verschiedene Tumortherapien, einschließlich Immun-Checkpoint-Inhibitoren (CPI). So war zum Beispiel eine höhere Frequenz Melanom-infiltrierenden CD8+ T-Zellen vor Therapiebeginn prädiktiv für Patienten, die auf eine CPI-Therapie ansprachen. Darüber hinaus konnte gezeigt werden, dass die CPI-Behandlung zu einer Erhöhung der intratumoralen Dichte von T-Zellen führt, was positiv mit der Regression des Tumors korreliert. Andere Immunzellen, darunter M1-Makrophagen, B-Zellen und aktivierte CD4+ T-Gedächtniszellen, wurden ebenfalls mit dem Ansprechen auf die Therapie und dem verlängerten Überleben von Melanom- und Urothelkrebspatienten in Verbindung gebracht. Somit sind die Frequenz, der Subtyp und die funktionelle Ausrichtung von Immunzellen eng mit der Tumorentstehung, dem Fortschreiten des Tumors und dem Ansprechen auf die Therapie assoziiert. Dendritische Zellen (DCs), die eine zentrale Rolle bei der Induktion und Regulation der angeborenen und adaptiven Immunität spielen, können die Intensität und Qualität der gegen den Tumor gerichteten T-Zell-Antworten erheblich beeinflussen. Darüber hinaus kann ihr Zusammenspiel mit Natürlichen Killerzellen und B-Zellen die Antitumorimmunität weiter modulieren. Unreife oder ungenügend aktivierte DCs wirken immunsuppressiv und fördern das Tumorwachstum. Trotz ihrer wesentlichen Rolle bei der Initiierung und Gestaltung der tumorgerichteten Immunität sowie ihrer aus therapeutischer Sicht attraktiven funktionellen Plastizität sind verschiedene humane DC-Subpopulationen in humanen Tumorgeweben wenig untersucht worden. Darüber hinaus wurde ihre Modulation durch Tumortherapien, wie beispielsweise die neoadjuvante Radiochemotherapie (nRCT), bisher kaum erforscht. Das Hauptziel dieser Arbeit war es, neue Erkenntnisse über die Tumorimmunarchitektur vom duktalen Adenokarzinom des Pankreas (PDAC) und CRC zu gewinnen, wobei der Schwerpunkt auf T-Zellen und DCs lag. Zunächst wurde der Kenntnisstand über PDAC-infiltrierende CD3+ T-Zellen erweitert, indem verschiedene Oberflächenmoleküle, wie der “inducible T cell costimulator” (ICOS), das “programmed cell death protein 1” (PD-1) und das “lymphocyteactivation gene 3” (LAG-3) evaluiert wurden, die sich als wichtige therapeutische Ziele für diese Tumorentität erweisen könnten. Des Weiteren wurden PDAC-assoziierte T-Zellen im Rahmen einer neoadjuvanten Chemotherapie phänotypisch charakterisiert und das Vorhandensein, die Lokalisierung und die klinischen Assoziationen verschiedener DC-Untergruppen in der Mikroumgebung des PDAC-Tumors untersucht. Ein weiteres Ziel bestand darin, die Häufigkeit, Verteilung und klinische Relevanz plasmazytoider DCs (pDCs) in CRCs sowie deren Modulation durch eine neoadjuvante nRCT zu analysieren. Zur Untersuchung dieser Fragestellungen wurden sowohl klassische immunhistochemische und Immunfluoreszenz-Färbungen als auch Multiplex-Immunfluoreszenz-Färbungen von Formalin-fixierten und Paraffin-eingebetteten Tumorgewebeproben durchgeführt. Dabei zeigte sich, dass ein erhöhter Anteil an LAG-3+ T-Zellen ein unabhängiger prognostischer Marker für ein kürzeres krankheitsfreies Überleben bei PDAC darstellt, was LAG-3-basierte Therapiestrategien zu attraktiven Optionen für diesen Tumortyp macht. Darüber hinaus wurde nachgewiesen, dass eine neoadjuvante Chemotherapie PDAC-assoziierte T-Zellen in Richtung eines proinflammatorischen Profils verschiebt, das durch mehr Effektor CD4+ T-Helferzellen (ThZellen), weniger regulatorische T-Zellen (Tregs), eine erhöhte Sekretion von Tumornekrosefaktor-alpha und Interleukin (IL)-2 sowie eine verminderte Produktion von IL-4 und IL-10 gekennzeichnet ist. Diese Erkenntnis könnte die Entwicklung kombinatorischer Strategien unterstützen, einschließlich neoadjuvanter Chemotherapie und Immuntherapie, um bei PDACPatienten eine verstärkte Antitumorimmunität zu induzieren. Neben der verbesserten Charakterisierung von PDAC-infiltrierenden T-Zellen ergab sich, dass konventionelle DCs vom Typ 1 und Typ 2 (cDC1s und cDC2s) sowie pDCs wichtige Bestandteile der PDAC-Immunarchitektur sind und dass die räumliche Verteilung dieser DCSubtypen in Bezug auf Tumorgröße und klinisches Überleben von Bedeutung ist. Während eine höhere Häufigkeit von in den Tumorzellverband eindringenden (IET)-cDC1s und -cDC2s mit dem pT1-Stadium im Vergleich zum pT2-Stadium und dem UICC-I-Stadium im Vergleich zum UICC-IIStadium assoziiert war, konnte für die im Tumorstroma (TS) lokalisierten cDC kein solcher Zusammenhang festgestellt werden. Darüber hinaus korrelierte eine höhere Dichte von TScDC1s und -pDCs sowie von IET-cDC2s positiv mit einem besseren krankheitsfreien Überleben. Hervorzuheben ist, dass sich eine höhere Frequenz der TS-infiltrierenden cDC1s und pDCs als unabhängige prognostische Marker für ein besseres klinisches Überleben erwiesen. In weiteren Untersuchungen konnten pDCs auch in allen analysierten Gewebeproben von Kolonkarzinom-Patienten nachgewiesen werden. Dabei waren höhere pDC-Dichten signifikant mit weniger fortgeschrittenen Tumorstadien und einem verbesserten progressionsfreien und Gesamtüberleben assoziiert. Darüber hinaus ergab sich, dass eine erhöhte pDC-Infiltration ein unabhängiger Prädiktor für ein besseres progressionsfreies Überleben bei Kolonkarzinom-Patienten ist. Diese Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass Kolonkarzinom-infiltrierende pDCs eine antitumorale Wirkung vermitteln. Um diesen Aspekt weiter zu untersuchen, wurden räumliche Analysen durchgeführt und gezeigt, dass Kolonkarzinom-infiltrierende pDCs bevorzugt in der Nähe von CD8+ T-Zellen im Vergleich zu Tregs im TS lokalisiert sind. Weiterhin konnten pDCs erstmals in der T-Zell-Zone von Kolonkarzinom-assoziierten tertiären lymphatischen Strukturen (TLS) nachgewiesen werden, denen eine große Bedeutung bei der Initiierung und Regulierung der adaptiven Antitumorimmunität zugesprochen wird. Interessanterweise wies ein relevanter Anteil der pDCs in unmittelbarer Nähe von Granzym B (GrzB)-exprimierenden CD8+ T-Zellen im TS sowie CD4+ Th-Zellen im TLS einen aktivierten Phänotyp auf, was durch die nukleäre Lokalisation des Interferon-Regulationsfaktors 7 nachgewiesen wurde. Dies ist eine weitere mögliche Erklärung für den positiven Zusammenhang zwischen einer höheren pDC-Dichte und einem besseren klinischen Verlauf. Bei der Untersuchung des Einflusses einer nRCT auf Rektumkarzinom-infiltrierende pDCs zeigte sich, dass diese Therapie einen Einfluss auf deren Häufigkeit und deren Phänotyp hat. So wurde eine signifikant höhere Frequenz von pDCs in nRCT-behandelten gegenüber unbehandelten Tumoren sowie ein erhöhter Anteil an reifen und aktivierten pDCs nach nRCT beobachtet, was den klinischen Nutzen dieser Therapieoption für Rektumkarzinompatienten teilweise erklären könnte. Insgesamt liefert diese Arbeit neue Informationen über die Immunarchitektur sowohl vom PDAC als auch vom CRC. Insbesondere die PDAC-assoziierten LAG-3+ T-Zellen, cDC1s und pDCs erwiesen sich als potenzielle prognostische Marker für das Überleben und sind vielversprechende therapeutische Ziele für diese Tumorentitäten. Darüber hinaus wurde gezeigt, dass eine höhere Frequenz von Kolonkarzinom-infiltrierenden pDCs positiv und signifikant mit einem verbesserten klinischen Verlauf assoziiert ist und die potentiellen antitumoralen Effekte der pDCs auf ihrer Interaktion mit zytotoxischen GrzB+CD8+ T-Zellen im TS und Effektor CD4+ Th-Zellen im TLS beruhen. Des Weiteren ergaben sich Hinweise, dass eine neoadjuvante Therapie die Häufigkeit und/oder den Phänotyp von PDAC-assoziierten T-Zellen und von Rektumkarzinom-infiltrierenden pDCs erheblich modulieren kann. Insgesamt können diese Erkenntnisse einen wesentlichen Beitrag zur Identifizierung neuer prognostischer Marker und Konzeption optimierter Therapiestrategien für Tumorpatienten leisten.