Browsing by Subject "Head and Neck Neoplasms"

Now showing 1 - 17 of 17
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    ItemOpen Access
    A genome-wide association study of upper aerodigestive tract cancers conducted within the INHANCE consortium.
    (PLoS genetics, 2011-03-17) McKay, James D; Truong, Therese; Gaborieau, Valerie; Chabrier, Amelie; Chuang, Shu-Chun; Byrnes, Graham; Zaridze, David; Shangina, Oxana; Szeszenia-Dabrowska, Neonila; Lissowska, Jolanta; Rudnai, Peter; Fabianova, Eleonora; Bucur, Alexandru; Bencko, Vladimir; Holcatova, Ivana; Janout, Vladimir; Foretova, Lenka; Lagiou, Pagona; Trichopoulos, Dimitrios; Benhamou, Simone; Bouchardy, Christine; Ahrens, Wolfgang; Merletti, Franco; Richiardi, Lorenzo; Talamini, Renato; Barzan, Luigi; Kjaerheim, Kristina; Macfarlane, Gary J; Macfarlane, Tatiana V; Simonato, Lorenzo; Canova, Cristina; Agudo, Antonio; Castellsagué, Xavier; Lowry, Ray; Conway, David I; McKinney, Patricia A; Healy, Claire M; Toner, Mary E; Znaor, Ariana; Curado, Maria Paula; Koifman, Sergio; Menezes, Ana; Wünsch-Filho, Victor; Neto, José Eluf; Garrote, Leticia Fernández; Boccia, Stefania; Cadoni, Gabriella; Arzani, Dario; Olshan, Andrew F; Weissler, Mark C; Funkhouser, William K; Luo, Jingchun; Lubiński, Jan; Trubicka, Joanna; Lener, Marcin; Oszutowska, Dorota; Schwartz, Stephen M; Chen, Chu; Fish, Sherianne; Doody, David R; Muscat, Joshua E; Lazarus, Philip; Gallagher, Carla J; Chang, Shen-Chih; Zhang, Zuo-Feng; Wei, Qingyi; Sturgis, Erich M; Wang, Li-E; Franceschi, Silvia; Herrero, Rolando; Kelsey, Karl T; McClean, Michael D; Marsit, Carmen J; Nelson, Heather H; Romkes, Marjorie; Buch, Shama; Nukui, Tomoko; Zhong, Shilong; Lacko, Martin; Manni, Johannes J; Peters, Wilbert HM; Hung, Rayjean J; McLaughlin, John; Vatten, Lars; Njølstad, Inger; Goodman, Gary E; Field, John K; Liloglou, Triantafillos; Vineis, Paolo; Clavel-Chapelon, Francoise; Palli, Domenico; Tumino, Rosario; Krogh, Vittorio; Panico, Salvatore; González, Carlos A; Quirós, J Ramón; Martínez, Carmen; Navarro, Carmen; Ardanaz, Eva; Larrañaga, Nerea; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Key, Timothy; Bueno-de-Mesquita, H Bas; Peeters, Petra HM; Trichopoulou, Antonia; Linseisen, Jakob; Boeing, Heiner; Hallmans, Göran; Overvad, Kim; Tjønneland, Anne; Kumle, Merethe; Riboli, Elio; Välk, Kristjan; Vooder, Tõnu; Metspalu, Andres; Zelenika, Diana; Boland, Anne; Delepine, Marc; Foglio, Mario; Lechner, Doris; Blanché, Hélène; Gut, Ivo G; Galan, Pilar; Heath, Simon; Hashibe, Mia; Hayes, Richard B; Boffetta, Paolo; Lathrop, Mark; Brennan, Paul
    Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been successful in identifying common genetic variation involved in susceptibility to etiologically complex disease. We conducted a GWAS to identify common genetic variation involved in susceptibility to upper aero-digestive tract (UADT) cancers. Genome-wide genotyping was carried out using the Illumina HumanHap300 beadchips in 2,091 UADT cancer cases and 3,513 controls from two large European multi-centre UADT cancer studies, as well as 4,821 generic controls. The 19 top-ranked variants were investigated further in an additional 6,514 UADT cancer cases and 7,892 controls of European descent from an additional 13 UADT cancer studies participating in the INHANCE consortium. Five common variants presented evidence for significant association in the combined analysis (p ≤ 5 × 10⁻⁷). Two novel variants were identified, a 4q21 variant (rs1494961, p = 1×10⁻⁸) located near DNA repair related genes HEL308 and FAM175A (or Abraxas) and a 12q24 variant (rs4767364, p =2 × 10⁻⁸) located in an extended linkage disequilibrium region that contains multiple genes including the aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) gene. Three remaining variants are located in the ADH gene cluster and were identified previously in a candidate gene study involving some of these samples. The association between these three variants and UADT cancers was independently replicated in 5,092 UADT cancer cases and 6,794 controls non-overlapping samples presented here (rs1573496-ADH7, p = 5 × 10⁻⁸); rs1229984-ADH1B, p = 7 × 10⁻⁹; and rs698-ADH1C, p = 0.02). These results implicate two variants at 4q21 and 12q24 and further highlight three ADH variants in UADT cancer susceptibility.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Assessing Key Stakeholders' Knowledge, Needs, and Preferences for Head and Neck Cancer Survivorship Care Plans.
    (Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education, 2019-06) Zullig, Leah L; Ramos, Katherine; Berkowitz, Callie; Miller, Julie J; Dolor, Rowena J; Koontz, Bridget F; Yousuf Zafar, S; Hutch Allen, D; Tenhover, Jennifer A; Bosworth, Hayden B
    Cancer survivorship care plans (SCPs) are endorsed to support quality care for cancer survivors, but uptake is slow. We assessed knowledge, needs, and preferences for SCP content and delivery from a wide variety of stakeholders. We focused SCP content for head and neck cancer as it is a disease prone to long-term side effects requiring management from multiple providers. We conducted telephone-based, qualitative interviews. We purposively sampled head and neck cancer survivors (n = 4), primary care physicians in the community (n = 5), and providers affiliated with a large academic medical center (n = 5) who treat head and neck cancer, cancer specialists (n = 6), and nurse practitioners/supportive care staff (n = 5). Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using direct content analysis. Few participants reported personal experience with SCPs, but most supported the concept. Several key themes emerged: (1) perceived ambiguity regarding roles and responsibilities for SCPs, (2) a need to tailor the content and language based on the intended recipient, (3) documentation process should be as automated and streamlined as possible, (4) concerns about using the SCP to coordinate with outside providers, and (5) that SCPs would have added value as a "living document." We also report SCP-related issues that are unique to serving patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer. Effort is needed to tailor SCPs for different recipients and optimize their potential for successful implementation, impact on care outcomes, and sustainability. Many cancer survivors may not receive a SCP as part of routine care. Survivors could engage their health care team by requesting a SCP.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Association between a rare novel TP53 variant (rs78378222) and melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck and lung cancer susceptibility in non-Hispanic Whites.
    (Journal of cellular and molecular medicine, 2013-07) Guan, Xiaoxiang; Wang, Li-E; Liu, Zhensheng; Sturgis, Erich M; Wei, Qingyi
    Recently, several studies have investigated the association between a newly reported rare functional single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TP53 (rs78378222) and cancer risk, but generated inconsistent findings. The present study further investigated this association with risk of melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (SCCHN) and lung cancer. Using volunteers of non-Hispanic Whites recruited for three large case-control studies, we genotyped the TP53 rs78378222 SNP in 1329 patients with melanoma, 1096 with SCCHN, 1013 with lung cancer and 3000 cancer-free controls. Overall, we did not observe any variant homozygotes in this study population, nor significant associations between the TP53 rs78378222AC genotype or C allele and risk for melanoma (P = 0.680 and 0.682 respectively) and lung cancer (P = 0.379 and 0.382 respectively), but a protection against SCCHN (P = 0.008 and 0.008 respectively), compared with the AA genotype or A allele. An additional meta-analysis including 19,423 cancer patients and 54,050 controls did not support such a risk association either. Our studies did not provide statistical evidence of an association between this rare TP53 variant and increased risk of melanoma, nor of lung cancer, but a possible protection against SCCHN.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Association between novel PLCE1 variants identified in published esophageal cancer genome-wide association studies and risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
    (BMC cancer, 2011-06-20) Ma, Hongxia; Wang, Li-E; Liu, Zhensheng; Sturgis, Erich M; Wei, Qingyi
    Phospholipase C epsilon 1 (PLCE1) (an effector of Ras) belonging to the phospholipase family plays crucial roles in carcinogenesis and progression of several cancers, including squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP, rs2274223) in PLCE1 has been identified as a novel susceptibility locus in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA) that share similar risk factors with SCCHN. Therefore, we investigated the association between potentially functional SNPs in PLCE1 and susceptibility to SCCHN.We genotyped three potentially functional SNPs (rs2274223A/G, rs3203713A/G and rs11599672T/G) of PLCE1 in 1,098 SCCHN patients and 1,090 controls matched by age and sex in a non-Hispanic white population.Although none of three SNPs was alone significantly associated with overall risk of SCCHN, their combined effects of risk alleles (rs2274223G, rs3203713G and rs11599672G) were found to be associated with risk of SCCHN in a locus-dose effect manner (Ptrend=0.046), particularly for non-oropharyngeal tumors (Ptrend=0.017); specifically, rs2274223 was associated with a significantly increased risk (AG vs. AA: adjusted OR=1.29, 95% CI=1.01-1.64; AG/GG vs. AA: adjusted OR=1.30, 95% CI=1.03-1.64), while rs11599672 was associated with a significantly decreased risk (GG vs. TT: adjusted OR=0.54, 95% CI=0.34-0.86; TG/GG vs. TT: adjusted OR=0.76, 95% CI=0.61-0.95).Our findings suggest that PLCE1 variants may have an effect on risk of SCCHN associated with tobacco and alcohol exposure, particularly for those tumors arising at non-oropharyngeal sites. These findings, although need to be validated by larger studies, are consistent with those in esophageal and gastric cancers.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Association between single nucleotide polymorphisms in ERCC4 and risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
    (PloS one, 2012-01) Yu, Hongping; Liu, Zhensheng; Huang, Yu-Jing; Yin, Ming; Wang, Li-E; Wei, Qingyi
    Excision repair cross-complementation group 4 gene (ERCC4/XPF) plays an important role in nucleotide excision repair and participates in removal of DNA interstrand cross-links and DNA double-strand breaks. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ERCC4 may impact repair capacity and affect cancer susceptibility.In this case-control study, we evaluated associations of four selected potentially functional SNPs in ERCC4 with risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) in 1,040 non-Hispanic white patients with SCCHN and 1,046 cancer-free matched controls. We found that the variant GG genotype of rs2276466 was significantly associated with a decreased risk of SCCHN (OR = 0.69, 95% CI 0.50-0.96), and that the variant TT genotype of rs3136038 showed a borderline significant decreased risk with SCCHN (OR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.58-1.01) in the recessive model. Such protective effects were more evident in oropharyngeal cancer (OR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.40-0.92 for rs2276466; OR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.48-0.98 for rs3136038). No significant associations were found for the other two SNPs (rs1800067 and rs1799798). In addition, individuals with the rs2276466 GG or with the rs3136038 TT genotypes had higher levels of ERCC4 mRNA expression than those with the corresponding wild-type genotypes in 90 Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines derived from Caucasians.These results suggest that these two SNPs (rs2276466 and rs3136038) in ERCC4 may be functional and contribute to SCCHN susceptibility. However, our findings need to be replicated in further large epidemiological and functional studies.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Associations between expression levels of nucleotide excision repair proteins in lymphoblastoid cells and risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
    (Molecular carcinogenesis, 2018-06) Han, Peng; Liu, Hongliang; Shi, Qiong; Liu, Zhensheng; Troy, Jesse D; Lee, Walter T; Zevallos, Jose P; Li, Guojun; Sturgis, Erich M; Wei, Qingyi
    Squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (SCCHN) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide, and nucleotide excision repair (NER) is involved in SCCHN susceptibility. In this analysis of 349 newly diagnosed SCCHN patients and 295 cancer-free controls, we investigated whether expression levels of eight core NER proteins were associated with risk of SCCHN. We quantified NER protein expression levels in cultured peripheral lymphocytes using a reverse-phase protein microarray. Compared with the controls, SCCHN patients had statistically significantly lower expression levels of ERCC3 and XPA (P = 0.001 and 0.001, respectively). After dividing the subjects by controls' median values of expression levels, we found a dose-dependent association between an increased risk of SCCHN and low expression levels of ERCC3 (adjusted OR, 1.75, and 95% CI: 1.26-2.42; Ptrend  = 0.008) and XPA (adjusted OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.35-2.60; Ptrend  = 0.001). We also identified a significant multiplicative interaction between smoking status and ERCC3 expression levels (P = 0.014). Finally, after integrating demographic and clinical variables, we found that the addition of ERCC3 and XPA expression levels to the model significantly improved the sensitivity of the expanded model on SCCHN risk. In conclusion, reduced protein expression levels of ERCC3 and XPA were associated with an increased risk of SCCHN. However, these results need to be confirmed in additional large studies.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Coordinated activation of candidate proto-oncogenes and cancer testes antigens via promoter demethylation in head and neck cancer and lung cancer.
    (PLoS One, 2009) Smith, Ian M; Glazer, Chad A; Mithani, Suhail K; Ochs, Michael F; Sun, Wenyue; Bhan, Sheetal; Vostrov, Alexander; Abdullaev, Ziedulla; Lobanenkov, Victor; Gray, Andrew; Liu, Chunyan; Chang, Steven S; Ostrow, Kimberly L; Westra, William H; Begum, Shahnaz; Dhara, Mousumi; Califano, Joseph
    BACKGROUND: Epigenetic alterations have been implicated in the pathogenesis of solid tumors, however, proto-oncogenes activated by promoter demethylation have been sporadically reported. We used an integrative method to analyze expression in primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and pharmacologically demethylated cell lines to identify aberrantly demethylated and expressed candidate proto-oncogenes and cancer testes antigens in HNSCC. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We noted coordinated promoter demethylation and simultaneous transcriptional upregulation of proto-oncogene candidates with promoter homology, and phylogenetic footprinting of these promoters demonstrated potential recognition sites for the transcription factor BORIS. Aberrant BORIS expression correlated with upregulation of candidate proto-oncogenes in multiple human malignancies including primary non-small cell lung cancers and HNSCC, induced coordinated proto-oncogene specific promoter demethylation and expression in non-tumorigenic cells, and transformed NIH3T3 cells. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Coordinated, epigenetic unmasking of multiple genes with growth promoting activity occurs in aerodigestive cancers, and BORIS is implicated in the coordinated promoter demethylation and reactivation of epigenetically silenced genes in human cancers.
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    ItemOpen Access
    EGFR phosphorylation of DCBLD2 recruits TRAF6 and stimulates AKT-promoted tumorigenesis.
    (The Journal of clinical investigation, 2014-09) Feng, Haizhong; Lopez, Giselle Y; Kim, Chung Kwon; Alvarez, Angel; Duncan, Christopher G; Nishikawa, Ryo; Nagane, Motoo; Su, An-Jey A; Auron, Philip E; Hedberg, Matthew L; Wang, Lin; Raizer, Jeffery J; Kessler, John A; Parsa, Andrew T; Gao, Wei-Qiang; Kim, Sung-Hak; Minata, Mutsuko; Nakano, Ichiro; Grandis, Jennifer R; McLendon, Roger E; Bigner, Darell D; Lin, Hui-Kuan; Furnari, Frank B; Cavenee, Webster K; Hu, Bo; Yan, Hai; Cheng, Shi-Yuan
    Aberrant activation of EGFR in human cancers promotes tumorigenesis through stimulation of AKT signaling. Here, we determined that the discoidina neuropilin-like membrane protein DCBLD2 is upregulated in clinical specimens of glioblastomas and head and neck cancers (HNCs) and is required for EGFR-stimulated tumorigenesis. In multiple cancer cell lines, EGFR activated phosphorylation of tyrosine 750 (Y750) of DCBLD2, which is located within a recently identified binding motif for TNF receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6). Consequently, phosphorylation of DCBLD2 Y750 recruited TRAF6, leading to increased TRAF6 E3 ubiquitin ligase activity and subsequent activation of AKT, thereby enhancing EGFR-driven tumorigenesis. Moreover, evaluation of patient samples of gliomas and HNCs revealed an association among EGFR activation, DCBLD2 phosphorylation, and poor prognoses. Together, our findings uncover a pathway in which DCBLD2 functions as a signal relay for oncogenic EGFR signaling to promote tumorigenesis and suggest DCBLD2 and TRAF6 as potential therapeutic targets for human cancers that are associated with EGFR activation.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Factors for Differential Outcome Across Cancers in Clinical Molecule-Targeted Fluorescence Imaging.
    (Journal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine, 2022-11) Zhou, Quan; van den Berg, Nynke S; Kang, Wenying; Pei, Jacqueline; Nishio, Naoki; van Keulen, Stan; Engelen, Myrthe A; Lee, Yu-Jin; Hom, Marisa; Vega Leonel, Johana CM; Hart, Zachary; Vogel, Hannes; Cayrol, Romain; Martin, Brock A; Roesner, Mark; Shields, Glenn; Lui, Natalie; Gephart, Melanie Hayden; Raymundo, Roan C; Yi, Grace; Granucci, Monica; Grant, Gerald A; Li, Gordon; Rosenthal, Eben L
    Clinical imaging performance using a fluorescent antibody was compared across 3 cancers to elucidate physical and biologic factors contributing to differential translation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression to macroscopic fluorescence in tumors. Methods: Thirty-one patients with high-grade glioma (HGG, n = 5), head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC, n = 23), or lung adenocarcinoma (LAC, n = 3) were systemically infused with 50 mg of panitumumab-IRDye800 1-3 d before surgery. Intraoperative open-field fluorescent images of the surgical field were acquired, with imaging device settings and operating room lighting conditions being tested on tissue-mimicking phantoms. Fluorescence contrast and margin size were measured on resected specimen surfaces. Antibody distribution and EGFR immunoreactivity were characterized in macroscopic and microscopic histologic structures. The integrity of the blood-brain barrier was examined via tight junction protein (Claudin-5) expression with immunohistochemistry. Stepwise multivariate linear regression of biologic variables was performed to identify independent predictors of panitumumab-IRDye800 concentration in tissue. Results: Optimally acquired at the lowest gain for tumor detection with ambient light, intraoperative fluorescence imaging enhanced tissue-size dependent tumor contrast by 5.2-fold, 3.4-fold, and 1.4-fold in HGG, HNSCC, and LAC, respectively. Tissue surface fluorescence target-to-background ratio correlated with margin size and identified 78%-97% of at-risk resection margins ex vivo. In 4-μm-thick tissue sections, fluorescence detected tumor with 0.85-0.89 areas under the receiver-operating-characteristic curves. Preferential breakdown of blood-brain barrier in HGG improved tumor specificity of intratumoral antibody distribution relative to that of EGFR (96% vs. 80%) despite its reduced concentration (3.9 ng/mg of tissue) compared with HNSCC (8.1 ng/mg) and LAC (6.3 ng/mg). Cellular EGFR expression, tumor cell density, plasma antibody concentration, and delivery barrier were independently associated with local intratumoral panitumumab-IRDye800 concentration, with 0.62 goodness of fit of prediction. Conclusion: In multicancer clinical imaging of a receptor-ligand-based molecular probe, plasma antibody concentration, delivery barrier, and intratumoral EGFR expression driven by cellular biomarker expression and tumor cell density led to heterogeneous intratumoral antibody accumulation and spatial distribution whereas tumor size, resection margin, and intraoperative imaging settings substantially influenced macroscopic tumor contrast.
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    Genetic variants of NOXA and MCL1 modify the risk of HPV16-associated squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
    (BMC cancer, 2012-05) Zhou, Ziyuan; Sturgis, Erich M; Liu, Zhensheng; Wang, Li-E; Wei, Qingyi; Li, Guojun
    The cooperation between phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate induced protein 1 (NOXA) and myeloid cell leukemia 1 (MCL1) is critical in the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. Human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16), by inducing p53 and pRb-E2F degradation, may play an essential role in development of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) through NOXA-MCL1 axis-mediated apoptosis. Therefore, genetic variants of NOXA and MCL1 may modify the SCCHN risk associated with HPV16 seropositivity.HPV16 serology was obtained by immunoadsorption assay. Four functional SNPs in the promoter of NOXA (rs9957673, rs4558496) and MCL1 (rs9803935, rs3738485) were genotyped for 380 cases and 335 frequency-matched cancer-free controls of non-Hispanic whites.Associations between the four polymorphisms and SCCHN risk were not significant, while we observed a significantly joint effect on SCCHN risk between the polymorphisms and HPV16 seropositivity. Notably, this effect modification was particularly pronounced for oropharyngeal cancer in subgroups including never smokers, never drinkers and younger subjects.Our results suggested that polymorphisms of NOXA and MCL1 may modify the risk of HPV16-associated oropharyngeal cancer. The further identification of population subgroups at higher risk provides evidence that HPV-targeting treatment may help benefit SCCHN. However, larger studies are needed to validate our findings.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Genetic variants of p27 and p21 as predictors for risk of second primary malignancy in patients with index squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck.
    (Molecular cancer, 2012-03-26) Wang, Zhongqiu; Sturgis, Erich M; Zhang, Fenghua; Lei, Dapeng; Liu, Zhensheng; Xu, Li; Song, Xicheng; Wei, Qingyi; Li, Guojun
    Cell cycle deregulation is common in human cancer, and alterations of p27 and p21, two critical cell cycle regulators, have been implicated in the development of many human malignancies. Therefore, we hypothesize that p27 T109G polymorphism individually or in combination with p21 (C98A and C70T) polymorphisms modifies risk of second primary malignancy (SPM) in patients with index squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (SCCHN).A cohort of 1,292 patients with index SCCHN was recruited between May 1995 and January 2007 at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and followed for SPM occurrence. Patients were genotyped for the three polymorphisms. A log-rank test and Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare SPM-free survival and SPM risk.We found that patients with p27 109 TG/GG, p21 98 CA/AA and p21 70 CT/TT variant genotypes had a worse SPM-free survival and an increased SPM risk than those with the corresponding p27109 TT, p21 98 CC, and p21 70 CC common genotypes, respectively. After combining the three polymorphisms, there was a trend for significantly increased SPM risk with increasing number of the variant genotypes (Ptrend = 0.0002). Moreover, patients with the variant genotypes had an approximately 2.4-fold significantly increased risk for SPM compared with those with no variant genotypes (HR, 2.4, 95% CI, 1.6-3.6).These results suggest that p27 T109G polymorphism individually or in combination with p21 (C98A and C70T) polymorphisms increases risk of SPM in patients with index SCCHN.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Modifying effect of mouse double minute-2 promoter variants on risk of recurrence for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of oropharynx.
    (Scientific reports, 2017-01-03) Zhang, Yang; Sturgis, Erich M; Li, Yuncheng; Wei, Qingyi; Huang, Zhigang; Li, Guojun
    Functional mouse double minute-2 (MDM2) promoter variants may alter MDM2 expression and thus affect radiotherapy response and prognosis of squamous cell carcinoma of oropharynx (SCCOP). Thus we assessed association of 2 functional MDM2 promoter variants with recurrence risk of SCCOP. The disease-free survival (DFS) of patients with MDM2rs2279744 TT or MDM2rs937283 AA genotypes was significantly reduced compared with that of patients with corresponding GT/GG or AG/GG genotypes. Multivariable analysis showed patients with TT or AA genotypes had a significantly higher risk of SCCOP recurrence than those with corresponding GT/GG or AG/GG genotypes did. Furthermore, patients with combined risk genotypes of the 2 polymorphisms had significantly worse DFS and a higher recurrence risk than patients with fewer combined risk genotypes did (Ptrend < 0.001). Compared with patients with 0 risk genotypes, patients with 1 or 2 risk genotypes had an approximately 3- or 11-fold increased risk of SCCOP recurrence, respectively. Notably, for both individual and combined polymorphisms, the above similar recurrence risks were particularly higher among patients with human papilloma virus (HPV)-positive tumors. Taken together, our findings suggest that MDM2 promoter variants individually, or more likely jointly, play a role in determining the risk of recurrence of SCCOP, particularly HPV-positive SCCOP.
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    Novel Manganese-Porphyrin Superoxide Dismutase-Mimetic Widens the Therapeutic Margin in a Preclinical Head and Neck Cancer Model.
    (International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 2015-11) Ashcraft, Kathleen A; Boss, Mary-Keara; Tovmasyan, Artak; Roy Choudhury, Kingshuk; Fontanella, Andrew N; Young, Kenneth H; Palmer, Gregory M; Birer, Samuel R; Landon, Chelsea D; Park, Won; Das, Shiva K; Weitner, Tin; Sheng, Huaxin; Warner, David S; Brizel, David M; Spasojevic, Ivan; Batinic-Haberle, Ines; Dewhirst, Mark W

    Purpose

    To test the effects of a novel Mn porphyrin oxidative stress modifier, Mn(III) meso-tetrakis(N-n-butoxyethylpyridinium-2-yl)porphyrin (MnBuOE), for its radioprotective and radiosensitizing properties in normal tissue versus tumor, respectively.

    Methods and materials

    Murine oral mucosa and salivary glands were treated with a range of radiation doses with or without MnBuOE to establish the dose-effect curves for mucositis and xerostomia. Radiation injury was quantified by intravital near-infrared imaging of cathepsin activity, assessment of salivation, and histologic analysis. To evaluate effects of MnBuOE on the tumor radiation response, we administered the drug as an adjuvant to fractionated radiation of FaDu xenografts. Again, a range of radiation therapy (RT) doses was administered to establish the radiation dose-effect curve. The 50% tumor control dose values with or without MnBuOE and dose-modifying factor were determined.

    Results

    MnBuOE protected normal tissue by reducing RT-mediated mucositis, xerostomia, and fibrosis. The dose-modifying factor for protection against xerostomia was 0.77. In contrast, MnBuOE increased tumor local control rates compared with controls. The dose-modifying factor, based on the ratio of 50% tumor control dose values, was 1.3. Immunohistochemistry showed that MnBuOE-treated tumors exhibited a significant influx of M1 tumor-associated macrophages, which provides mechanistic insight into its radiosensitizing effects in tumors.

    Conclusions

    MnBuOE widens the therapeutic margin by decreasing the dose of radiation required to control tumor, while increasing normal tissue resistance to RT-mediated injury. This is the first study to quantitatively demonstrate the magnitude of a single drug's ability to radioprotect normal tissue while radiosensitizing tumor.
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    On the sensitivity of TG-119 and IROC credentialing to TPS commissioning errors.
    (Journal of applied clinical medical physics, 2016-01-08) McVicker, Drew; Yin, Fang-Fang; Adamson, Justus D
    We investigate the sensitivity of IMRT commissioning using the TG-119 C-shape phantom and credentialing with the IROC head and neck phantom to treatment planning system commissioning errors. We introduced errors into the various aspects of the commissioning process for a 6X photon energy modeled using the analytical anisotropic algorithm within a commercial treatment planning system. Errors were implemented into the various components of the dose calculation algorithm including primary photons, secondary photons, electron contamination, and MLC parameters. For each error we evaluated the probability that it could be committed unknowingly during the dose algorithm commissioning stage, and the probability of it being identified during the verification stage. The clinical impact of each commissioning error was evaluated using representative IMRT plans including low and intermediate risk prostate, head and neck, mesothelioma, and scalp; the sensitivity of the TG-119 and IROC phantoms was evaluated by comparing dosimetric changes to the dose planes where film measurements occur and change in point doses where dosimeter measurements occur. No commissioning errors were found to have both a low probability of detection and high clinical severity. When errors do occur, the IROC credentialing and TG 119 commissioning criteria are generally effective at detecting them; however, for the IROC phantom, OAR point-dose measurements are the most sensitive despite being currently excluded from IROC analysis. Point-dose measurements with an absolute dose constraint were the most effective at detecting errors, while film analysis using a gamma comparison and the IROC film distance to agreement criteria were less effective at detecting the specific commissioning errors implemented here.
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    Pre-miRNA variants as predictors of clinical outcome in patients with squamous cell carcinomas of the nonoropharynx.
    (Oncotarget, 2016-05) Wang, Chengyuan; Sturgis, Erich M; Chen, Xingming; Zheng, Hongliang; Wei, Qingyi; Li, Guojun
    Functional polymorphisms of miRNAs may affect the function and target expression of miRNAs, which can, in turn, affect the biological activity, etiology, and prognosis of cancer. We hypothesized that four common polymorphisms in pre-miRNAs (hsa-mir-146a rs2910164 G > C, hsa-mir-196a2 rs11614913 C > T, hsa-mir-149 rs2292832 G > T, and hsa-mir-499 rs3746444 A > G) are associated with survival in SCCNOP. We used univariate and multivariable Cox models to evaluate the associations between the four polymorphisms and survival. We found that hsa-mir-149 rs2292832 and hsa-mir-499 rs3746444 had statistically significant associations with survival, but hsa-mir-146a rs2910164 and hsa-mir-196a2 rs11614913 did not. Patients having the hsa-mir-149 CC and hsa-mir-499 TT wild-type genotypes had significantly better overall, disease-specific, and disease-free survival compared with those who had the corresponding variant CT/TT and CT/CC genotypes, respectively. Furthermore, these genotypes were significantly associated with reduced risk of overall death, death owing to disease, and recurrence after adjustment for important prognostic confounders, indicating that these pre-miRNA polymorphisms may be prognostic biomarkers for SCCNOP. Moreover, the stratified analyses based on smoking status and treatment indicated that the effects of hsa-mir-149 and hsa-mir-499 polymorphisms on survival were more pronounced in ever smokers and patients treated with chemoradiation. Our findings support that the hsa-mir-149 rs2292832 and hsa-mir-499 rs3746444 polymorphisms play a significant role in the prognosis of SCCNOP, especially in smokers and patients treated with chemoradiation. Prospective studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these findings.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Significance of microRNA-related variants in susceptibility to recurrence of oropharyngeal cancer patients after definitive radiotherapy.
    (Oncotarget, 2016-06) Chen, Xingming; Sturgis, Erich M; Wang, Chengyuan; Cao, Xiaoli; Li, Yuncheng; Wei, Qingyi; Li, Guojun
    Common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in miRNAs may affect miRNA functions and their target expression and thus may affect biological activities and cancer etiology as well as prognosis. Thus, we determined whether the 9 SNPs in microRNAs modify the risk of recurrence of squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx (SCCOP) in a cohort of 1008 patients. The log-rank test and multivariate Cox models were used to evaluate the associations. We found that the SNPs in the miRNA146, miRNA196, and Gemin3 were associated with a significantly reduced and increased risk of SCCOP recurrence after multivariate adjustment (aHR, 0.6, 95%CI, 0.4-0.9, aHR, 2.1, 95%CI, 1.6-2.8, and aHR, 0.6, 95%CI, 0.5-0.9, respectively). Furthermore, the similar effect of these 3 SNPs on SCCOP recurrence risk was found in HPV-positive SCCOP patients only. However, no significant associations were found for other SNPs. To evaluate the aggregate effects of these SNPs, we performed a combined risk genotype analysis. We found that, compared with the low-risk reference group with less than 4 risk genotypes, the medium-risk group with 4 or 5 risk genotypes exhibited a 1.7-fold (1.2-2.4) increased risk whereas the high-risk group with more than 5 risk genotypes exhibited a 3.0-fold (1.7-4.2) increased risk (Ptrend < 0.001). Such combined effects were particularly pronounced in HPV-positive SCCOP patients. Taken together, this is the first study with a large cohort of SCCOP patients showing that miRNA-related genetic variants may modify risk of SCCOP recurrence individually and jointly. Larger studies are needed to validate these results.
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    Site disparities in apoptotic variants as predictors of risk for second primary malignancy in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
    (BMC cancer, 2016-02-08) Sun, Yan; Yu, Wenbin; Sturgis, Erich M; Peng, Wei; Lei, Dapeng; Wei, Qingyi; Song, Xicheng; Li, Guojun
    FAS/FASL promoter variants are considered in altering transcriptional activity of those genes and consequently alter regulation of cell death. However, no studies have investigated whether tumor sites contribute to the association between FAS/FASL polymorphisms and risk for second primary malignancy (SPM).In this study, FAS670 A > G, FAS1377 G > A, FASL124 A > G, and FASL844C > T polymorphisms were genotyped in 752 OPC and 777 non-OPC patients. Both univariate and multivariable cox proportional hazard models were used to assess the associations.The univariate and multivariable analyses showed that patients with index OPC and FASL844 CT/TT genotype had significantly increased risk of SPM (cHR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.1-5.8, P = 0.043 and aHR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.2-6.0, P = 0.032) compared with those with FASL844 CC genotype as the reference group, while index non-OPC patients with FAS670 AG/GG and FasL844 CT/TT genotypes had significantly increased risk of SPM (cHR, 2.2 and 1.8; 95% CI, 1.2-5.7 and 1.1-3.2; and P = 0.04 and 0.041, respectively and aHR, 2.4 and 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1-5.1 and 1.0-3.0; and P = 0.043 and 0.049, respectively) compared with their corresponding AA and CC genotypes . Moreover, patients carrying more FAS/FASL variants significantly increased risk of SPM among index non-OPC patients. The stratified analysis showed that smoking status differently modified the associations between FAS/FASL polymorphisms and risk of SPM among index non-OPC from OPC patients.These results suggested that FAS/FASL polymorphisms might significantly modify SPM risk among patients with SCCHN in a tumor site-specific manner.