Cyclin D1 is Associated with Radiosensitivity of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells to Proton Beam Irradiation
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
Authors: Choi, Changhoon; Park, Sohee; Cho, Won Kyung; Choi, Doo Ho
Abstract
Proton therapy offers a distinct physical advantage over conventional X-ray therapy, but its biological advantages remain understudied. In this study, we aimed to identify genetic factors that contribute to proton sensitivity in breast cancer (BC). Therefore, we screened relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of 230 MeV protons, compared to 6 MV X-rays, in ten human BC cell lines, including five triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines. Clonogenic survival assays revealed a wide range of proton RBE across the BC cell lines, with one out of ten BC cell lines having an RBE significantly different from the traditional generic RBE of 1.1. An abundance of cyclin D1 was associated with proton RBE. Downregulation of RB1 by siRNA or a CDK4/6 inhibitor increased proton sensitivity but not proton RBE. Instead, the depletion of cyclin D1 increased proton RBE in two TNBC cell lines, including MDA-MB-231 and Hs578T cells. Conversely, overexpression of cyclin D1 decreased the proton RBE in cyclin D1-deficient BT-549 cells. The depletion of cyclin D1 impaired proton-induced RAD51 foci formation in MDA-MB-231 cells. Taken together, this study provides important clues about the cyclin D1-CDK4-RB1 pathway as a potential target for proton beam therapy in TNBC.
Cell-free DNA profiling in retinoblastoma patients with advanced intraocular disease: An MSKCC experience
CANCER MEDICINE
Authors: Kothari, Prachi; Marass, Francesco; Yang, Julie L.; Stewart, Caitlin M.; Stephens, Dennis; Patel, Juber; Hasan, Maysun; Jing, Xiaohong; Meng, Fanli; Enriquez, Jeanette; Huberman, Kety; Viale, Agnes; Francis, Jasmine H.; Berger, Michael F.; Shukla, Neerav; Abramson, David H.; Dunkel, Ira J.; Tsui, Dana W. Y.
Abstract
Purpose The enucleation rate for retinoblastoma has dropped from over 95% to under 10% in the past 10 years as a result of improvements in therapy. This reduces access to tumor tissue for molecular profiling, especially in unilateral retinoblastoma, and hinders the confirmation of somaticRB1mutations necessary for genetic counseling. Plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) has provided a platform for noninvasive molecular profiling in cancer, but its applicability in low tumor burden retinoblastoma has not been shown. We analyzed cfDNA collected from 10 patients with available tumor tissue to determine whether sufficient tumorderived cfDNA is shed in plasma from retinoblastoma tumors to enable noninvasiveRB1mutation detection. Methods Tumor tissue was collected from eye enucleations in 10 patients diagnosed with advanced intra-ocular unilateral retinoblastoma, three of which went on to develop metastatic disease. TumorRB1mutation status was determined using an FDA-cleared tumor sequencing assay, MSK-IMPACT. Plasma samples were collected before eye enucleation and analyzed with a customized panel targeting all exons ofRB1. Results Tumor-guided genotyping detected 10 of the 13 expected somaticRB1mutations in plasma cfDNA in 8 of 10 patients (average variant allele frequency 3.78%). Without referring toRB1status in the tumor, de novo mutation calling identified 7 of the 13 expected RB1 mutations (in 6 of 10 patients) with high confidence. Conclusion Plasma cfDNA can detect somaticRB1mutations in patients with unilateral retinoblastoma. Since intraocular biopsies are avoided in these patients because of concern about spreading tumor, cfDNA can potentially offer a noninvasive platform to guide clinical decisions about treatment, follow-up schemes, and risk of metastasis.