Clinical usefulness of NGS multi-gene panel testing in hereditary cancer analysis.

Introduction: A considerable number of families with pedigrees suggestive of a Mendelian form of Breast Cancer (BC), Ovarian Cancer (OC), or Pancreatic Cancer (PC) do not show detectable BRCA1/2 mutations after genetic testing. The use of multi-gene hereditary cancer panels increases the possibility to identify individuals with cancer predisposing gene variants. Our study was aimed to evaluate the increase in the detection rate of pathogenic mutations in BC, OC, and PC patients when using a multi-gene panel. Methods: 546 patients affected by BC (423), PC (64), or OC (59) entered the study from January 2020 to December 2021. For BC patients, inclusion criteria were i) positive cancer family background, ii) early onset, and iii) triple negative BC. PC patients were enrolled when affected by metastatic cancer, while OC patients were all submitted to genetic testing without selection. The patients were tested using a Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) panel containing 25 genes in addition to BRCA1/2. Results: Forty-four out of 546 patients (8%) carried germline pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants (PV/LPV) on BRCA1/2 genes, and 46 (8%) presented PV or LPV in other susceptibility genes. Discussion: Our findings demonstrate the utility of expanded panel testing in patients with suspected hereditary cancer syndromes, since this approach increased the mutation detection rate of 15% in PC, 8% in BC and 5% in OC cases. In absence of multi-gene panel analysis, a considerable percentage of mutations would have been lost.

MRI-Based Radiomics Approach Predicts Tumor Recurrence in ER + /HER2 - Early Breast Cancer Patients.

Oncotype Dx Recurrence Score (RS) has been validated in patients with ER + /HER2 - invasive breast carcinoma to estimate patient risk of recurrence and guide the use of adjuvant chemotherapy. We investigated the role of MRI-based radiomics features extracted from the tumor and the peritumoral tissues to predict the risk of tumor recurrence. A total of 62 patients with biopsy-proved ER + /HER2 - breast cancer who underwent pre-treatment MRI and Oncotype Dx were included. An RS > 25 was considered discriminant between low-intermediate and high risk of tumor recurrence. Two readers segmented each tumor. Radiomics features were extracted from the tumor and the peritumoral tissues. Partial least square (PLS) regression was used as the multivariate machine learning algorithm. PLS ß-weights of radiomics features included the 5% features with the largest ß-weights in magnitude (top 5%). Leave-one-out nested cross-validation (nCV) was used to achieve hyperparameter optimization and evaluate the generalizable performance of the procedure. The diagnostic performance of the radiomics model was assessed through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. A null hypothesis probability threshold of 5% was chosen (p < 0.05). The exploratory analysis for the complete dataset revealed an average absolute correlation among features of 0.51. The nCV framework delivered an AUC of 0.76 (p = 1.1∙10-3). When combining "early" and "peak" DCE images of only T or TST, a tendency toward statistical significance was obtained for TST with an AUC of 0.61 (p = 0.05). The 47 features included in the top 5% were balanced between T and TST (23 and 24, respectively). Moreover, 33/47 (70%) were texture-related, and 25/47 (53%) were derived from high-resolution images (1 mm). A radiomics-based machine learning approach shows the potential to accurately predict the recurrence risk in early ER + /HER2 - breast cancer patients.

Prognostic relevance of DNA damage and repair biomarkers in elderly patients with hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant hormone therapy: evidence from the real-world setting.

BACKGROUND: The logic behind the outcome of endocrine therapy in breast cancer has long remained poorly understood. The prognostic role of DNA damage and repair biomarkers (DDR) was explored in postmenopausal, hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant hormone therapy (NAHT). METHODS: Data on 55 patients were included. The phosphorylated ataxia-teleangectasia and Rad3-related protein (pATR), phosphorylated ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) kinase, and phosphorylated H2A Histone Family Member X (γ-H2AX) were evaluated by immunohistochemistry in paired tissues collected at baseline and following NAHT. Biomarkers were considered both singularly and within signatures. Ki-67 percentage change was the primary biomarker endpoint. Classical endpoints were also considered. RESULTS: The most favorable Ki-67 outcome was associated with the γ-H2AX/pATM signature (p = 0.011). In models of Ki-67 reduction, 'luminal B' subtype, higher grade of anaplasia, and the γ-H2AX/pATM signature tested as significant (p < 0.05 for all). Results were confirmed in multivariate analysis. No association was observed with pathologic response. An increase of ∆γ-H2AX in paired breast tissues was associated with longer event-free survival (p = 0.027) and overall survival (p = 0.042). In Cox models, both survival outcomes were solely affected by grade of anaplasia, with less favorable prognosis in the highest grades (p < 0.05 for both). CONCLUSIONS: We report novel evidence of the prognostic role of DDR biomarkers on important patient outcomes in postmenopausal hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer patients treated with NAHT. If confirmed in future and adequately sized trials, our results may help inform therapeutic decisions and clarify underlying biological mechanisms.

Association between neuroendocrine tumor of the ileum and two colonic primary malignancies. A case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: A high rate of association between neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) and secondary primary malignancy (SPM) has been described in literature and this association can occur either in a synchronous or a metachronous presentation. A wide range of hypothesis has been postulated to explain the high rate of association between NETs and SPM, without definitive conclusions. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of an ileal neuroendocrine tumor found incidentally at the histologic examination of the surgical specimen in a 72 years old male underwent to right hemi colectomy for two colic adenomatous polips with high grade dysplasia. CONCLUSION: Large multicentric epidemiological studies should be considered to assess the association between NETs and SPM. KEY WORDS: Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), Progression-Free Survival (PFS), Secondary primary malignancy (SPM).

Predictive significance of DNA damage and repair biomarkers in triple-negative breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy: An exploratory analysis.

Response of cancer cells to chemotherapy-induced DNA damage is regulated by the ATM-Chk2 and ATR-Chk1 pathways. We investigated the association between phosphorylated H2AX (γ-H2AX), a marker of DNA double-strand breaks that trigger the ATM-Chk2 cascade, and phosphorylated Chk1 (pChk1), with pathological complete response (pCR) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. γ-H2AX and pChk1 were retrospectively assessed by immunohistochemistry in a series of pretreatment biopsies related to 66 patients. In fifty-three tumors hormone receptor status was negative in both the diagnostic biopsies and residual cancers, whereas in 13 cases there was a slight hormone receptor expression that changed after chemotherapy. Internal validation was carried out. In the entire cohort elevated levels of γ-H2AX, but not pChk1, were associated with reduced pCR rate (p = 0.009). The association tested significant in both uni- and multivariate logistic regression models (OR 4.51, 95% CI: 1.39-14.66, p = 0.012, and OR 5.07, 95% CI: 1.28-20.09, p = 0.021, respectively). Internal validation supported the predictive value of the model. The predictive ability of γ-H2AX was further confirmed in the multivariate model after exclusion of tumors that underwent changes in hormone receptor status during chemotherapy (OR 7.07, 95% CI: 1.39-36.02, p = 0.018). Finally, in residual diseases a significant decrease of γ-H2AX levels was observed (p < 0.001). Overall, γ-H2AX showed ability to predict pCR in TNBC and deserves larger, prospective studies.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the colon with synchronous liver metastasis: a rare case report mimicking metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Primary colorectal lymphoma represents a rare minority among the colonic neoplasms. Early diagnosis is often difficult because of unspecific symptoms, with subsequent delays in diagnosis and management. We describe a rare case of colonic lymphoma presenting with synchronous liver metastasis. CASE PRESENTATION: A 70-year-old male with a 6-mo history of vague abdominal pain, constipation and melena was referred to our hospital. Computed tomography scan of abdomen revealed the presence of a mass along the proximal ascending colon. Colonoscopy biopsy showed external compression of the cecum with two ulcerations of mucosa, but it was not consistent for a definitive diagnosis. Because the difficulties in the preoperative pathological diagnosis, the high risk of bowel obstruction and the correlated hemorrhagic risk, the patient underwent a right hemicolectomy associated with locoregional lymphadenectomy and liver resection.The surgically resected right colon and liver tumors were all immunohistochemically diagnosed as diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL). The patient refused any other antineoplastic treatment; he is alive and free of disease at 3 years after initial diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Primary colonic lymphomas represent a rare minority among the colonic neoplasms. Their correct pre-operative identification is crucial for the design of treatment. This case highlights the difficulty in diagnosing of primary colonic lymphoma. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a colonic lymphoma presenting with a colonic mass and a synchronous liver metastasis.

Long-term outcome of neoadjuvant endocrine therapy with aromatase inhibitors in elderly women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are more effective than tamoxifen as neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (NET) for hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer. Here we report the surgical and long-term outcome of elderly postmenopausal patients with locally advanced, HR-positive breast cancer treated with preoperative AIs. METHODS: Between January 2003 and December 2012, 144 postmenopausal patients inoperable with breast conservative surgery (BCS) received letrozole, anastrozole, or exemestane as NET. Patients underwent breast surgery and received adjuvant AIs. Adjuvant systemic therapy, chemotherapy and/or trastuzumab, and adjuvant radiotherapy were administered as appropriate, but limited to high-risk patients with few or no comorbidities. RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 49 months, 4 (3.0 %) patients had local relapse, 18 (12.5 %) had distant metastases, and 24 (17.0 %) died. BCS was performed in 121 (84.0 %) patients. A tumor size <3 cm and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) negativity were predictors of BCS. The achievement of BCS and grade G1 were significantly associated with longer disease-free survival (DFS) (p = 0.009 and p = 0.01, respectively) and overall survival (p = 0.002 and p = 0.005, respectively). Residual tumor ≤2 cm (yT0-yT1) in the longest diameter after NET was also statistically associated with longer DFS (p = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this retrospective study indicate that elderly breast cancer patients with a tumor size <3 cm at diagnosis and HER2 negativity have a higher probability of achieving BCS after NET. Moreover, patients treated with BCS and with grade G1 tumor have a reduced risk of recurrence and death in the long-term follow-up.