The natural history of EGFR and EGFRvIII in glioblastoma patients

BACKGROUND: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is over expressed in approximately 50–60% of glioblastoma (GBM) tumors, and the most common EGFR mutant, EGFRvIII, is expressed in 24–67% of cases. This study was designed to address whether over expressed EGFR or EGFRvIII is an actual independent prognostic indicator of overall survival in a uniform body of patients in whom gross total surgical resection (GTR; ≥ 95% resection) was not attempted or achieved. METHODS: Biopsed or partially/subtotally resected GBM patients (N = 54) underwent adjuvant conformal radiation and chemotherapy. Their EGFR and EGFRvIII status was determined by immunohistochemistry and Kaplan-Meier estimates of overall survival were obtained. RESULTS: In our study of GBM patients with less than GTR, 42.6% (n = 23) failed to express EGFR, 25.9% (n = 14) had over expression of the wild-type EGFR only and 31.5 % (n = 17) expressed the EGFRvIII. Patients within groups expressing the EGFR, EGFRvIII, or lacking EGFR expression did not differ in age, Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) score, extent of tumor resection. They all had received postoperative radiation and chemotherapy. The median overall survival times for patients with tumors having no EGFR expression, over expressed EGFR only, or EGFRvIII were 12.3 (95% CI, 8.04–16.56), 11.03 (95% CI, 10.18–11.89) and 14.07 (95% CI, 7.39–20.74) months, respectively, log rank test p > 0.05). Patients with tumors that over expressed the EGFR and EGFRvIII were more likely to present with ependymal spread, 21.4% and 35.3% respectively, compared to those patients whose GBM failed to express either marker, 13.0%, although the difference was not statistically significant. There was no significant difference in multifocal disease or gliomatosis cerebri among EGFR expression groups. CONCLUSION: The over expressed wild-type EGFR and EGFRvIII are not independent predictors of median overall survival in the cohort of patients who did not undergo extensive tumor resection

Síndrome de Cockayne: Informe de un caso: revisión de la literatura

El Síndrome de Cockayne (CS) es un desorden genético con un patrón de herencia autosómico recesivo que fue descrito por primera vez en 1936 por Cockayne. Los pacientes con este síndrome presentan detención del crecimiento, talla baja, envejecimiento prematuro, anormalidades neurológicas, fotosensibilidad, retraso en la erupción de los dientes primarios, ausencia congénita de dientes permanentes, macrodoncia parcial, atrofia de los procesos alveolares y caries dental. Puede ser causado por mutación en dos genes, el CKN1 (ERCC8) y el ERCC6, localizados en los cromosomas 5 y 10 respectivamente; originando dos tipos: CS-A que tienen mutación en ERCC8 y CS-B con mutación en ERCC6, este último provoca sensibilidad a la luz ultravioleta, secundaria a una deficiencia en la reparación de DNA. También se ha asociado el síndrome a mutaciones de los genes XPB, XPD y XPG. En el presente reporte se informa de un paciente de 9 años con cuatro meses de edad. En la exploración física se registró talla de 94 cm, peso de 8.6 kg y perímetro cefálico de 42 cm. TA 120/80. Hábito caquéctico, problemas posturales con encorvamiento, así como microcefalia, cara ovalada, ojos hundidos, nariz delgada y afilada, falta de grasa en la cara, más notorio en el tercio medio y orejas grandes que le confieren una apariencia de 'pajarito'. Se observa marcada fotosensibilidad en toda la piel expuesta al sol. Presenta retraso psicomotor y mental. Intrabucalmente se aprecia higiene deficiente, gingivitis, caries cervical, hipoplasia del esmalte, mala posición dentaria de los incisivos laterales superiores e inferiores, y macrodoncia de los dientes centrales superiores, el izquierdo presenta una lesión por caries. Radiográficamente se observa ausencia congénita de los dientes 14, 23, 24 e hipoplasia mandibular. El objetivo de este trabajo es dar a conocer a la comunidad odontológica las características del síndrome de Cockayne a través de un caso clínico.Cockayne's syndrome is a genetic disorder with a recessive autosomal inheritance, described first by Cockayne in 1936. Patients with this syndrome present failure to thrive, short stature, premature aging, neurological alterations, photosensitivity, delayed eruption of the primary teeth, congenitally absent of some permanent teeth, partial macrodontia, atrophy of the alveolar process and caries. It could be caused by two gene mutations, CNK1 (ERCC8) and ERCC6, located on the 5 and 10 chromosomes respectively, causing two variations of Cockayne's syndrome, CS-A, secondary to a ERCC8 mutation and CS-B with ERCC6 mutation, the last one causes hypersensitivity to the ultraviolet light secondary to a DNA repair defect. The syndrome is also associated with mutations of the XPB, XPD and XPG genes. In this report we present a 9 year and 4 month old patient. He had a height of 94 cm, weight of 8.6 Kg, head circumference of 42 cm. and blood pressure of 120/80. Cachectic habitus, kyphosis, microcephaly, oval face, sunken eyes, a thin and beaklike nose, lack of subcutaneous facial fat (especially in the middle of the face), and large ears give the patient a birdlike appearance. It is notorious the photosensitivity in all the sun-exposed skin. The patient also displays delayed psychomotor skills and mental retardation. In the oral cavity we found deficient hygiene, gingivitis, cervical caries, enamel hipoplasia, abnormal position of the upper and inferior lateral incisors, macrodontia of the upper central teeth, the left one presented a caries. In the x-ray we observed congenital absence of 14, 23 and 24 teeth and mandibular hipoplasia. The aim of this review is to show the dentistry community the characteristics of the Cockayne's syndrome by means of a clinical case

Cockayne?s Syndrome : A case report. Literature review

El Síndrome de Cockayne (CS) es un desorden genético con un patrón de herencia autosómico recesivo que fue descrito por primera vez en 1936 por Cockayne. Los pacientes con este síndrome presentan detención del crecimiento, talla baja, envejecimiento prematuro, anormalidades neurológicas, fotosensibilidad, retraso en la erupción de los dientes primarios, ausencia congénita de dientes permanentes, macrodoncia parcial, atrofia de los procesos alveolares y caries dental. Puede ser causado por mutación en dos genes, el CKN1 (ERCC8) y el ERCC6, localizados en los cromosomas 5 y 10 respectivamente; originando dos tipos: CS-A que tienen mutación en ERCC8 y CS-B con mutación en ERCC6, este último provoca sensibilidad a la luz ultravioleta, secundaria a una deficiencia en la reparación de DNA. También se ha asociado el síndrome a mutaciones de los genes XPB, XPD y XPG. En el presente reporte se informa de un paciente de 9 años con cuatro meses de edad. En la exploración física se registró talla de 94 cm, peso de 8.6 kg y perímetro cefálico de 42 cm. TA 120/80. Hábito caquéctico, problemas posturales con encorvamiento, así como microcefalia, cara ovalada, ojos hundidos, nariz delgada y afilada, falta de grasa en la cara, más notorio en el tercio medio y orejas grandes que le confieren una apariencia de ?pajarito?. Se observa marcada fotosensibilidad en toda la piel expuesta al sol. Presenta retraso psicomotor y mental. Intrabucalmente se aprecia higiene deficiente, gingivitis, caries cervical, hipoplasia del esmalte, mala posición dentaria de los incisivos laterales superiores e inferiores, y macrodoncia de los dientes centrales superiores, el izquierdo presenta una lesión por caries. Radiográficamente se observa ausencia congénita de los dientes 14, 23, 24 e hipoplasia mandibular. El objetivo de este trabajo es dar a conocer a la comunidad odontológica las características del síndrome de Cockayne a través de un caso clínico

Oral pathology in a group of Mexican patients with genetic diseases

Dejando de lado la patología infecciosa y traumática, la gran mayoría de las patologías odontológicas, tienen una base genética, en algunas de ellas identificada, en otras no. Para los estomatólogos es de gran importancia conocer las características clínicas y el tipo de alteración que acompañan a los síndromes de etiología genética, para poder ofrecer a los pacientes un tratamiento apropiado y multidisciplinario. Objetivo: Búsqueda intencional y descripción de la patología bucal en pacientes con diversas enfermedades genéticas. Diseño del estudio: Se realizó un estudio observacional y descriptivo reuniendo a 62 pacientes de la consulta de Genética del Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación durante 4 meses. Se tomaron en cuenta, además de las manifestaciones bucales y la enfermedad genética relacionada a las mismas, el sexo, la edad, la presencia o no de consanguinidad, y endogamia, así como la localización de la manifestación bucal. La mayoría de los pacientes que presentan patología genética no tienen tratamiento curativo, pero sí podrán realizarse otros tratamientos para mejorar su calidad de vida, entre estos se cuentan los diversos tratamientos odontológicos. Resultados: Los padecimientos diagnosticados con mayor frecuencia fueron neuropatías periféricas hereditarias, displasias esqueléticas, malformaciones de miembros y distrofias musculares. Se describieron diversas manifestaciones que fueron registradas y agrupadas de acuerdo a su localización. Conclusiones: En la actualidad se busca conocer la etiología genética de todos los padecimientos para buscar tratamientos específicos y prevenir su aparición, hechos que revolucionarán la práctica médica y la odontológica

Comparative histological and immunohistochemical study of ameloblastomas and ameloblastic carcinomas

This study aimed to compare the histological and immunohistochemical characteristics of ameloblastomas (AM) and ameloblastic carcinomas (AC). Fifteen cases of AM and 9 AC were submitted to hematoxilin and eosin and immunohistochemical analysis with the following antibodies: cytokeratins 5,7,8,14 and 19, Ki-67, p53, p63 and the cellular adhesion molecules CD138 (Syndecan-1), E-cadherin and ?-catenin. The mean score of the expression of Ki-67 and p53 labelling index (LIs) were compared between the groups using the t test. A value of p<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. All cases were positive for CKs 5, 14 and 19, but negative for CKs 7 and 8. CKs 5 and 19 were positive mainly in the central regions of the ameloblastic islands, while the expression in AC was variable in intensity and localization. CK14 was also variably expressed in both AM and AC. Ki-67 (P=.001) and p53 (P=.004) immunoexpression was higher in AC. All cases were positive for p63, but values were higher in AC. CD138 was mainly expressed in peripheral cells of AM, with a weak positivity in the central areas, while it was positive in most areas of ACs, except in less differentiated regions, where expression was decreased or lost. E-cadherin and ?-catenin were weakly positive in both AM and AC. These results shows that Ki-67, p53 and p63 expression was higher in AC as compared to AM, suggesting that these markers can be useful when considering diagnosis of malignancy, and perhaps could play a role in malignant transformation of AM. Pattern of expression of CKs 5 and 19 in AC were different to those found in AM, suggesting genetic alterations of these proteins in malignant cells. It was confirmed that CK19 is a good marker for benign odontogenic tumors, such as AM, but it is variably expressed in malignant cases

Exploratory Analysis of the Copy Number Alterations in Glioblastoma Multiforme

The Cancer Genome Atlas project (TCGA) has initiated the analysis of multiple samples of a variety of tumor types, starting with glioblastoma multiforme. The analytical methods encompass genomic and transcriptomic information, as well as demographic and clinical data about the sample donors. The data create the opportunity for a systematic screening of the components of the molecular machinery for features that may be associated with tumor formation. The wealth of existing mechanistic information about cancer cell biology provides a natural reference for the exploratory exercise.Glioblastoma multiforme DNA copy number data was generated by The Cancer Genome Atlas project for 167 patients using 227 aCGH experiments, and was analyzed to build a catalog of aberrant regions. Genome screening was performed using an information theory approach in order to quantify aberration as a deviation from a centrality without the bias of untested assumptions about its parametric nature. A novel Cancer Genome Browser software application was developed and is made public to provide a user-friendly graphical interface in which the reported results can be reproduced. The application source code and stand alone executable are available at (http://code.google.com/p/cancergenome) and (http://bioinformaticstation.org), respectively.The most important known copy number alterations for glioblastoma were correctly recovered using entropy as a measure of aberration. Additional alterations were identified in different pathways, such as cell proliferation, cell junctions and neural development. Moreover, novel candidates for oncogenes and tumor suppressors were also detected. A detailed map of aberrant regions is provided

Mir-21-Sox2 Axis Delineates Glioblastoma Subtypes with Prognostic Impact.

UNLABELLED: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive human brain tumor. Although several molecular subtypes of GBM are recognized, a robust molecular prognostic marker has yet to be identified. Here, we report that the stemness regulator Sox2 is a new, clinically important target of microRNA-21 (miR-21) in GBM, with implications for prognosis. Using the MiR-21-Sox2 regulatory axis, approximately half of all GBM tumors present in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and in-house patient databases can be mathematically classified into high miR-21/low Sox2 (Class A) or low miR-21/high Sox2 (Class B) subtypes. This classification reflects phenotypically and molecularly distinct characteristics and is not captured by existing classifications. Supporting the distinct nature of the subtypes, gene set enrichment analysis of the TCGA dataset predicted that Class A and Class B tumors were significantly involved in immune/inflammatory response and in chromosome organization and nervous system development, respectively. Patients with Class B tumors had longer overall survival than those with Class A tumors. Analysis of both databases indicated that the Class A/Class B classification is a better predictor of patient survival than currently used parameters. Further, manipulation of MiR-21-Sox2 levels in orthotopic mouse models supported the longer survival of the Class B subtype. The MiR-21-Sox2 association was also found in mouse neural stem cells and in the mouse brain at different developmental stages, suggesting a role in normal development. Therefore, this mechanism-based classification suggests the presence of two distinct populations of GBM patients with distinguishable phenotypic characteristics and clinical outcomes. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Molecular profiling-based classification of glioblastoma (GBM) into four subtypes has substantially increased our understanding of the biology of the disease and has pointed to the heterogeneous nature of GBM. However, this classification is not mechanism based and its prognostic value is limited. Here, we identify a new mechanism in GBM (the miR-21-Sox2 axis) that can classify ∼50% of patients into two subtypes with distinct molecular, radiological, and pathological characteristics. Importantly, this classification can predict patient survival better than the currently used parameters. Further, analysis of the miR-21-Sox2 relationship in mouse neural stem cells and in the mouse brain at different developmental stages indicates that miR-21 and Sox2 are predominantly expressed in mutually exclusive patterns, suggesting a role in normal neural development

Targeted Sequencing in Chromosome 17q Linkage Region Identifies Familial Glioma Candidates in the Gliogene Consortium

Glioma is a rare, but highly fatal, cancer that accounts for the majority of malignant primary brain tumors. Inherited predisposition to glioma has been consistently observed within non-syndromic families. Our previous studies, which involved non-parametric and parametric linkage analyses, both yielded significant linkage peaks on chromosome 17q. Here, we use data from next generation and Sanger sequencing to identify familial glioma candidate genes and variants on chromosome 17q for further investigation. We applied a filtering schema to narrow the original list of 4830 annotated variants down to 21 very rare (,0.1% frequency), non-synonymous variants. Our findings implicate the MYO19 and KIF18B genes and rare variants in SPAG9 and RUNDC1 as candidates worthy of further investigation. Burden testing and functional studies are planned

Identification of a CpG Island Methylator Phenotype that Defines a Distinct Subgroup of Glioma

SummaryWe have profiled promoter DNA methylation alterations in 272 glioblastoma tumors in the context of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We found that a distinct subset of samples displays concerted hypermethylation at a large number of loci, indicating the existence of a glioma-CpG island methylator phenotype (G-CIMP). We validated G-CIMP in a set of non-TCGA glioblastomas and low-grade gliomas. G-CIMP tumors belong to the proneural subgroup, are more prevalent among lower-grade gliomas, display distinct copy-number alterations, and are tightly associated with IDH1 somatic mutations. Patients with G-CIMP tumors are younger at the time of diagnosis and experience significantly improved outcome. These findings identify G-CIMP as a distinct subset of human gliomas on molecular and clinical grounds