Analysis of plasma from prostate cancer patients links decreased carnosine dipeptidase 1 levels to lymph node metastasis

There is a need for a better differentiation of aggressive tumors in prostate cancer to design a tailored treatment for each patient, preferably by a minimally invasive analysis of blood samples. In a previous study, we discovered a decrease of plasma levels of carnosine dipeptidase 1 (CNDP1) in association with aggressive prostate cancer. Now this relation has been investigated and characterized further by generating several new antibodies for extended analysis of CNDP1 in plasma. Multi-antibody sandwich assays were developed and applied to 1214 samples from two Swedish cohorts that confirmed decreased levels of CNDP1 in plasma from patients with advanced disease. Therein, data from CNDP1 assays allowed a better differentiation between tumor N stages than clinical tPSA, but did not when classifying T or M stages. Further investigations can now elucidate mechanisms behind decreasing levels of CNDP1 in plasma and primary in regards to lymph node metastasis

Integration of genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic data identifies two biologically distinct subtypes of invasive lobular breast cancer

Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) is the second most frequently occurring histological breast cancer subtype after invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), accounting for around 10% of all breast cancers. The molecular processes that drive the development of ILC are still largely unknown. We have performed a comprehensive genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of a large ILC patient cohort and present here an integrated molecular portrait of ILC. Mutations in CDH1 and in the PI3K pathway are the most frequent molecular alterations in ILC. We identified two main subtypes of ILCs: (i) an immune related subtype with mRNA up-regulation of PD-L1, PD-1 and CTLA-4 and greater sensitivity to DNA-damaging agents in representative cell line models; (ii) a hormone related subtype, associated with Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), and gain of chromosomes 1q and 8q and loss of chromosome 11q. Using the somatic mutation rate and eIF4B protein level, we identified three groups with different clinical outcomes, including a group with extremely good prognosis. We provide a comprehensive overview of the molecular alterations driving ILC and have explored links with therapy response. This molecular characterization may help to tailor treatment of ILC through the application of specific targeted, chemo- and/or immune-therapies