Genomics and premalignant breast lesions: clues to the development and progression of lobular breast cancer

Advances in genomic technology have improved our understanding of the genetic events that parallel breast cancer development. Because almost all mammary carcinomas develop in the terminal duct lobular units of the breast, understanding the events involved in mammary gland development make it possible to recognize those events that, when altered, contribute to breast neoplasia. In this review we focus on lobular carcinomas, discussing the pathology, development, and progression of premalignant lobular lesions from a genomic point of view. We highlight studies utilizing genomic approaches and describe how these investigations have furthered our understanding of the complexity of premalignant breast lesions

PIK3CA mutations are common in lobular carcinoma in situ, but are not a biomarker of progression

Sample and data collection were funded by Cancer Research UK. Analysis was funded by Breast Cancer Now, the Rosetrees Trust, Guys & St Thomas’ Charity (CanHelp) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre based at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London

The t(14;18)(q32;q21) characterizes a subset of patients with diffuse large-B cell lymphoma of germinal center origin with poor outcome: report from the International DLBCL Rituximab-CHOP Consortium Program Study

Oral Sessions - 622. Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma - Biology, excluding Therapy: Clinical Determinants and MicroenvironmentOpen Access JournalThis journal issue is proceedings of ASH Conference 2011INTRODUCTION: Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) has a highly variable outcome, and individual risk assessment is largely based on clinical features. Gene expression profiling (GEP) stratifies patients into those with germinal center B-cell (GCB) and activated B-cell subtype (ABC) subtype with different prognoses. These groups have been shown to predict prognosis in patients treated with CHOP or R-CHOP. Conversely, the role of other recognized prognostic markers, such as BCL2 gene abnormalities or Bcl2 expression has been questioned in the new therapeutic era. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 438 patients treated with R-CHOP for de novo DLBCL, we analyzed the tumors by immunohistochemistry for Bcl2 protein expression and by interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for BCL2 translocation and other abnormalities. All cases were successfully studied by GEP. The cutoff for Bcl2 protein expression, 60%, used as prognostic factor was determined using receiver operating characteristic curves. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were assessed. RESULTS: The t(14;18)(q32;q21) was detected in 82 cases (18.7%) and BCL2 gains occurred in 63 cases (14.3%). Both t(14;18) and BCL2 gains strongly correlated with higher levels of Bcl2 protein expression (p60%) tumors had significantly inferior PFS in the GCB subgroup (p=0.03), but not in the ABC subgroup (p=0.54). Multivariate analysis revealed that the presence of the t(14;18), but not Bcl2 protein expression, was independent of the International Prognostic Index in predicting outcome of our patients. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with the GCB subtype and t(14;18) exhibit a significantly worse prognosis than patients without t(14;18) when treated with R-CHOP. The assessment of t(14;18) by FISH approach not only functions as a valuable prognosticator for individual risk estimation in GCB-DLBCL patients in addition to the established parameters, but also provides valuable result for therapeutic intervention.link_to_OA_fulltex