Characterization of Macrophages and Osteoclasts in the Osteosarcoma Tumor Microenvironment at Diagnosis: New Perspective for Osteosarcoma Treatment?

Biological and histopathological techniques identified osteoclasts and macrophages as targets of zoledronic acid (ZA), a therapeutic agent that was detrimental for patients in the French OS2006 trial. Conventional and multiplex immunohistochemistry of microenvironmental and OS cells were performed on biopsies of 124 OS2006 patients and 17 surgical (“OSNew”) biopsies respectively. CSF-1R (common osteoclast/macrophage progenitor) and TRAP (osteoclast activity) levels in serum of 108 patients were correlated to response to chemotherapy and to prognosis. TRAP levels at surgery and at the end of the protocol were significantly lower in ZA+ than ZA− patients (padj = 0.0011; 0.0132). For ZA+-patients, an increase in the CSF-1R level between diagnosis and surgery and a high TRAP level in the serum at biopsy were associated with a better response to chemotherapy (p = 0.0091; p = 0.0251). At diagnosis, high CD163+ was associated with good prognosis, while low TRAP activity was associated with better overall survival in ZA− patients only. Multiplex immunohistochemistry demonstrated remarkable bipotent CD68+/CD163+ macrophages, homogeneously distributed throughout OS regions, aside osteoclasts (CD68+/CD163−) mostly residing in osteolytic territories and osteoid-matrix-associated CD68−/CD163+ macrophages. We demonstrate that ZA not only acts on harmful osteoclasts but also on protective macrophages, and hypothesize that the bipotent CD68+/CD163+ macrophages might present novel therapeutic targets

Sphingomyelin Synthase 1 (SMS1) Downregulation Is Associated With Sphingolipid Reprogramming and a Worse Prognosis in Melanoma

Sphingolipid (SL) metabolism alterations have been frequently reported in cancer including in melanoma, a bad-prognosis skin cancer. In normal cells, de novo synthesized ceramide is mainly converted to sphingomyelin (SM), the most abundant SL, by sphingomyelin synthase 1 (SMS1) and, albeit to a lesser extent, SMS2, encoded by the SGMS1 and SGMS2 genes, respectively. Alternatively, ceramide can be converted to glucosylceramide (GlcCer) by the GlcCer synthase (GCS), encoded by the UGCG gene. Herein, we provide evidence for the first time that SMS1 is frequently downregulated in various solid cancers, more particularly in melanoma. Accordingly, various human melanoma cells displayed a SL metabolism signature associated with (i) a robust and a low expression of UGCG and SGMS1/2, respectively, (ii) higher in situ enzyme activity of GCS than SMS, and (iii) higher intracellular levels of GlcCer than SM. SMS1 was expressed at low levels in most of the human melanoma biopsies. In addition, several mutations and increased CpG island methylation in the SGMS1 gene were identified that likely affect SMS1 expression. Finally, low SMS1 expression was associated with a worse prognosis in metastatic melanoma patients. Collectively, our study indicates that SMS1 downregulation in melanoma enhances GlcCer synthesis, triggering an imbalance in the SM/GlcCer homeostasis, which likely contributes to melanoma progression. Evaluating SMS1 expression level in tumor samples might serve as a biomarker to predict clinical outcome in advanced melanoma patients

Incidence of major smoking-related cancers: trends among adults aged 20-44 in France from 1982 to 2012.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco is currently the largest risk factor for cancers of the lung, lip/oral cavity/pharynx (LOCP) and esophagus. Variations in tobacco consumption over time have led to changes in cancer incidence in the general population. Data on the incidence of cancers at these sites in adults aged 20-44 years old are scarce. Our objective was to provide estimates of incidence trends for these cancers in France among this age group over the last 30 years. METHODS: Observed incidence data over the period 1982-2010 for the 20-44 age group were provided from six cancer registries (eight for esophagus) covering approximately 6% of the French population. Age-period-cohort models were used on the observed period, and estimates of cancer incidence for France in 2012 were provided on the basis of short-term predictions. RESULTS: In men, a sharp decline was observed over time for LOCP and esophageal cancers, while lung cancer saw only a slight decline. In women, a large increase was seen in lung cancer incidence, while LOCP cancer incidence did not vary significantly. CONCLUSION: Smoking behaviors among adults aged 20-44 impact incidence trends in cancers of the lung, LOCP and esophagus, although other factors are involved, particularly in LOCP and esophageal cancers. Our results highlight the importance of preventative efforts which particularly target women aged 20-44. Efforts to curb tobacco smoking in men should also be pursued

Radiomics-Based Detection of Radionecrosis Using Harmonized Multiparametric MRI

International audienceIn this study, a radiomics analysis was conducted to provide insights into the differentiation of radionecrosis and tumor progression in multiparametric MRI in the context of a multicentric clinical trial. First, the sensitivity of radiomic features to the unwanted variability caused by different protocol settings was assessed for each modality. Then, the ability of image normalization and ComBat-based harmonization to reduce the scanner-related variability was evaluated. Finally, the performances of several radiomic models dedicated to the classification of MRI examinations were measured. Our results showed that using radiomic models trained on harmonized data achieved better predictive performance for the investigated clinical outcome (balanced accuracy of 0.61 with the model based on raw data and 0.72 with ComBat harmonization). A comparison of several models based on information extracted from different MR modalities showed that the best classification accuracy was achieved with a model based on MR perfusion features in conjunction with clinical observation (balanced accuracy of 0.76 using LASSO feature selection and a Random Forest classifier). Although multimodality did not provide additional benefit in predictive power, the model based on T1-weighted MRI before injection provided an accuracy close to the performance achieved with perfusion

Comparison of Variable Selection Methods for Time-to-Event Data in High-Dimensional Settings

National audienceOver the last decades, molecular signatures have become increasingly important in oncology and are opening up a new area of personalized medicine. Nevertheless, biological relevance and statistical tools necessary for the development of these signatures have been called into question in the literature. Here, we investigate six typical selection methods for high-dimensional settings and survival endpoints, including LASSO and some of its extensions, component-wise boosting, and random survival forests (RSF). A resampling algorithm based on data splitting was used on nine high-dimensional simulated datasets to assess selection stability on training sets and the intersection between selection methods. Prognostic performances were evaluated on respective validation sets. Finally, one application on a real breast cancer dataset has been proposed. The false discovery rate (FDR) was high for each selection method, and the intersection between lists of predictors was very poor. RSF selects many more variables than the other methods and thus becomes less efficient on validation sets. Due to the complex correlation structure in genomic data, stability in the selection procedure is generally poor for selected predictors, but can be improved with a higher training sample size. In a very high-dimensional setting, we recommend the LASSO-pcvl method since it outperforms other methods by reducing the number of selected genes and minimizing FDR in most scenarios. Nevertheless, this method still gives a high rate of false positives. Further work is thus necessary to propose new methods to overcome this issue where numerous predictors are present. Pluridisciplinary discussion between clinicians and statisticians is necessary to ensure both statistical and biological relevance of the predictors included in molecular signatures

The RND1 Small GTPase: Main Functions and Emerging Role in Oncogenesis

The Rho GTPase family can be classified into classic and atypical members. Classic members cycle between an inactive Guanosine DiPhosphate -bound state and an active Guanosine TriPhosphate-bound state. Atypical Rho GTPases, such as RND1, are predominantly in an active GTP-bound conformation. The role of classic members in oncogenesis has been the subject of numerous studies, while that of atypical members has been less explored. Besides the roles of RND1 in healthy tissues, recent data suggest that RND1 is involved in oncogenesis and response to cancer therapeutics. Here, we present the current knowledge on RND1 expression, subcellular localization, and functions in healthy tissues. Then, we review data showing that RND1 expression is dysregulated in tumors, the molecular mechanisms involved in this deregulation, and the role of RND1 in oncogenesis. For several aggressive tumors, RND1 presents the features of a tumor suppressor gene. In these tumors, low expression of RND1 is associated with a bad prognosis for the patients. Finally, we highlight that RND1 expression is induced by anticancer agents and modulates their response. Of note, RND1 mRNA levels in tumors could be used as a predictive marker of both patient prognosis and response to anticancer agents

Sphingosine 1-phosphate signaling through its receptor S1P5 promotes chromosome segregation and mitotic progression

International audienceSphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1) promotes cell proliferation and survival, and its abundance is often increased in tumors. SphK1 produces the signaling lipid sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), which activates signaling cascades downstream five G protein-coupled receptors (S1P1-5) to modulate vascular and immune system function and promote proliferation. We identified a new function of the SphK1-S1P pathway specifically in the control of mitosis. SphK1 depletion in HeLa cells caused prometaphase arrest, whereas its overexpression or activation accelerated mitosis. Increasing the abundance of S1P promoted mitotic progression, overrode the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC), and led to chromosome segregation defects. S1P was secreted through the transporter SPNS2 and stimulated mitosis by binding to and activating S1P5 on the extracellular side, which then activated the intracellular phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-AKT pathway. Knockdown of S1P5 prevented the S1P-induced spindle defect phenotype. RNA interference assays revealed that the mitotic kinase Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) was an important effector of S1P-S1P5 signaling-induced mitosis in HeLa cells. Our findings identify an extracellular signal and the downstream pathway that promotes mitotic progression and may indicate potential therapeutic targets to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells

hnRNP H/F drive RNA G-quadruplex-mediated translation linked to genomic instability and therapy resistance in glioblastoma

RNA G-quadruplexes (RG4s) are four-stranded structures known to control mRNA translation of cancer relevant genes. RG4 formation is pervasive in vitro but not in cellulo, indicating the existence of poorly characterized molecular machinery that remodels RG4s and maintains them unfolded. Here, we performed a quantitative proteomic screen to identify cytosolic proteins that interact with a canonical RG4 in its folded and unfolded conformation. Our results identified hnRNP H/F as important components of the cytoplasmic machinery modulating the structural integrity of RG4s, revealed their function in RG4-mediated translation and uncovered the underlying molecular mechanism impacting the cellular stress response linked to the outcome of glioblastoma

Early Circulating Tumour DNA Variations Predict Tumour Response in Melanoma Patients Treated with Immunotherapy

Antibodies targeting immune checkpoints were recently approved for metastatic melanoma. However, not all patients will respond to the treatment and some will experience grade III–IV immune-related adverse events. Therefore, early identification of non-responder patients would greatly aid clinical practice. Detection of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) is a non-invasive approach to monitor tumour response. Digital droplet PCR was used to quantify BRAF and NRAS mutations in the plasma of patients with metastatic melanoma treated with immunotherapy. In 16 patients, ctDNA variations mirrored tumour response (p = 0.034) and ctDNA augmentation during follow-up detected tumour progression with 100% specificity. In 13 patients, early ctDNA variation was associated with clinician decision at first evaluation (p = 0.0046), and early ctDNA increase with shorter progression-free survival (median 21 vs. 145 days; p = 0.001). Monitoring ctDNA variations early during immunotherapy may help clinicians rapidly to discriminate non-responder patients, allow early adaptation of therapeutic strategies, and reduce exposure to ineffective, expensive treatment