Citations

Abstract In breast adipose tissue, macrophages that encircle damaged adipocytes form “crown-like structures of breast” (CLS-B). Although CLS-B have been associated with breast cancer, their role in benign breast disease (BBD) and early carcinogenesis is not understood. We evaluated breast biopsies from three age-matched groups (n = 86 each, mean age 55 years), including normal tissue donors of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Tissue Bank (KTB), and subjects in the Mayo Clinic Benign Breast Disease Cohort who developed cancer (BBD cases) or did not develop cancer (BBD controls, median follow-up 14 years). Biopsies were classified into histologic categories, and CD68-immunostained tissue sections were evaluated for the frequency and density of CLS-B. Our data demonstrate that CLS-B are associated with BBD: CLS-B–positive samples were significantly less frequent among KTB biopsies (3/86, 3.5%) than BBD controls (16/86 = 18.6%, P = 0.01) and BBD cases (21/86 = 24%, P = 0.002). CLS-B were strongly associated with body mass index (BMI); BMI < 25: 7% CLS-B positive, BMI 25–29: 13%, and BMI ≥ 30: 29% (P = 0.0005). Among BBD biopsies, a high CLS-B count [>5 CLS-B/sample: 10.5% (BBD cases) vs 4.7% (BBD controls), P = 0.007] conferred a breast cancer OR of 6.8 (95% CI, 1.4–32.4), P = 0.02, after adjusting for adipose tissue area (cm2), histologic impression, and BMI. As high CLS-B densities are independently associated with an increased breast cancer risk, they may be a promising histologic marker of breast cancer risk in BBD. Cancer Prev Res; 11(2); 113–9. ©2017 AACR.

Abstract Metabolic reprogramming plays a critical role in carcinogenesis, in part due its ability to promote immune suppressive properties within tumors. Agents that specifically target crucial metabolic enzymes utilized by cancer are been actively investigated. However, it is unclear whether inhibition of fatty acid metabolism in tumors affects their immunogenicity. Here, we show for the first time that inhibition of stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1), a key enzyme involved in fatty-acid synthesis and a potential prognostic marker for human cancers, increases the immunogenicity of poorly immunogenic tumors. The enhanced immune activation is accompanied by upregulated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and is dependent on the translocation of ER protein calreticulin to the tumor cell surface. Inhibition of SCD1 increased both recruitment and activation of immune cells in vivo, which when combined with PD-1 blockade resulted in potent and durable anti-tumor T cell responses. Together, our results indicate that inhibition of tumorigenic de novo lipogenesis represents a novel approach to enhance T cell based cancer immunotherapy. Citation Format: Christina Anna Elizabeth Von Roemeling, Thomas Caulfield, Yaqing Qie, Derek C. Radisky, Xiujie Liu, Yuanxin Chen, Joshua Knight, John Copland, Betty Kim. Blockade of stearoyl CoA desaturase 1 promotes immunogenic clearance of tumors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-189. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-LB-189

Abstract Benign breast disease, a known risk factor for subsequent breast cancer, includes a histological spectrum of lesions that can be subdivided based on the overall impression into non-proliferative lesions, proliferative lesions without atypia, and atypical hyperplasia. Yet little is known about the molecular characteristics of benign breast tissue from African American women, who suffer from disproportionately high breast cancer mortality rates. 72 breast samples from African American women were obtained. RNA was extracted from archival formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) blocks. Gene expression profiling was performed on these samples using the Affymetrix HTA2.0 exon array chip. A fit linear model using generalized least squares identified probe sets with differential expression in benign-in situ and benign-invasive breast cancer paired lesions. 36 benign and 36 breast cancer paired lesions were included in the study. In the benign-in situ set (n=20), 978 probe sets were differentially expressed (threshold: fold-change, 1.50; p < 0.05). Probe sets mapped to 125 annotated genes, of which 69 (55.2%) were involved in cancer. The benign-invasive set (n=52) identified 351 differentially expressed probe sets that mapped to 84 annotated genes, of which 61 (72.6%) had known cancer significance. Genes involved in cellular growth and proliferation were significantly over-expressed in both benign-in situ and benign-invasive lesions (p-values < 0.0104). In the population of 36 paired samples, differentially expressed genes were found to regulate the estrogen receptor (ESR1) through distinct network associations. Many genes are differentially expressed by benign and breast cancer lesions, and in situ/invasive histology contribute to the distinct molecular characteristics and pathways of breast malignancy. Our findings highlight the first study to assess expression profiling of paired benign and breast cancer lesions among African American women. Citation Format: Andreana Natalie Holowatyj, Julie J. Ruterbusch, Rouba Ali-Fehmi, Sudeshna Bandyopadhyay, Christine Mehner, Melody Stallings Mann, Gregory Dyson, Derek Radisky, Michele L. Cote. Expression profiling of paired benign and breast cancer lesions in African American women [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4253. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-4253

Abstract Background: The Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) model predicts invasive breast cancer risk in women with Benign Breast Disease (BBD), and recently incorporated BBD histology into the model. The BCSC has been validated in the Mayo Mammography Health Study, but has yet to be examined in Mayo Clinic’s BBD cohort. The Benign Breast Disease to Breast Cancer (BBD-BC) model predicts risk of both invasive and in situ breast cancer. Here we compare the performance of the BCSC and BBD-BC in Mayo Clinic’s BBD cohort. Methods: Eligible women underwent a breast biopsy with benign findings at the Mayo Clinic between years 1997-2001 and had a 4-view screening mammogram within six months of biopsy. Clinical BI-RADS density assessments using the 4th edition American College of Radiology were available on all mammograms, and were coded as almost entirely fat, scattered fibroglandular densities, heterogeneously dense, and extremely dense. Risk at 5 and 10 years of invasive cancer only (BCSC model) or both invasive and in situ cancer (BBD-BC model) were estimated. In situ cancers were censored at time of diagnosis for both models. Concordance statistics, i.e. model discrimination (higher is better), for each model were calculated using a Cox proportional hazards model with predicted risk as the sole predictor, and were compared using permutation tests. The ratio of total predicted (sum of predicted risk) to observed number of invasive breast cancers was used to assess model calibration. Calibration was not formally compared across models due to differences in how DCIS was treated in the development of each (BCSC censored; BBD-BC event). Results: 999 women met inclusion criteria. BI-RADS density was categorized as fatty in 46 (4.6%), scattered densities in 372 (37.2%), heterogeneously dense in 423 (42.3%), and extremely dense in 158 (15.8%). 62 invasive cancers occurred over a median 13.3yrs of follow-up, with 16 (25.8%) and 48 (77.4%) of the cancers occurring with-in 5 and 10 years. The concordance of the BCSC at 5 years was 0.550 (95% CI 0.409—0.691), compared to 0.719 (95% CI 0.578—0.860) for the BBD-BC (p-value=0.005). At 10 years the BCSC concordance was not significantly different from the BBD-BC, at 0.624 (95% CI 0.542—0.706) and 0.662 (95% CI 0.580—0.744), respectively (p-value=0.306). The BCSC over predicted the number invasive cancers in the BBD cohort at 5 years (predicted-to-observed=1.54; 95% CI 1.01—2.70), but was well calibrated at 10 years (1.06; 95% CI 0.83, 1.47). Conclusions: The BCSC model performed reasonably well in the BBD Cohort 10 years post-biopsy, but overestimated risk at 5 years. Additional study is needed to improve models for prediction of breast cancer risk among women with BBD. Citation Format: Ryan D. Frank, Celine M. Vachon, Stacey J. Winham, Robert A. Vierkant, Marlene H. Frost, Derek C. Radisky, Daniel W. Visscher, Amy C. Degnim. Validation of the BCSC model within the Mayo Benign Breast Disease Cohort [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5299. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5299

Abstract Breast tumors are stiff and hypoxic. Nevertheless, it remains unclear how stiff and hypoxic conditions within the tumor microenvironment promote breast cancer progression. Using an innovative engineered culture model to recapitulate these features, we found that, under stiff and hypoxic conditions, breast cancer cells have enhanced integrin-linked kinase (ILK) expression and acquire cancer stem cell (CSC)-like traits, suggesting tissue stiffness and oxygen tension can modulate ILK expression to induce breast CSC formation. Knocking down ILK impairs the mechanosensing of invasive breast cancer cells on stiff microenvironments, inhibits CSC markers and properties. In contrast, ectopic expression of ILK promotes breast CSC formation. In addition to promoting CSC-like phenotype, microarray analysis reveals that stiff and hypoxic microenvironments also regulate genes involved in mRNA processing, splicing and the spliceosome. These data suggest that the non-cellular compartment of the tumor microenvironment, namely tissue mechanics and oxygen tension, can promote breast cancer progression by controlling mechanotransduction and post-transcriptional regulation of breast cancer cells. Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting. Citation Format: Mei-Fong Pang, Derek C. Radisky, Celeste M. Nelson. Role of tissue stiffness and oxygen tension in promoting breast cancer stem cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5943. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5943

Abstract This study investigates how increased stiffness of the tumor microenvironment can induce cellular multinucleation, an easily observable marker of polyploidy. Up to 37% percent of tumors exhibit whole-genome doubling, which typically precedes other somatic copy number alterations. Additionally, induction of tetraploidy in human cells promotes increased tolerance for mutation, resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs, and transformation in culture. Tumors are inherently stiffer than normal tissue, and this property has been shown to affect cell growth and proliferation. Similarly, cell cycle errors have long been linked to chromosomal abnormalities. Here, we used engineered two-dimensional substrata that mimic the stiffness of tumor and normal microenvironments to investigate how matrix stiffness regulates multinucleation in mammary epithelial cells. Multinucleation was quantified by staining with Hoescht to visualize the nuclei. Timelapse microscopy enabled visualization of the process by which cells become multinucleated. Changes in gene expression were determined by quantitative RT-PCR. Cells cultured on “stiff” substrata, representing tumor tissue, showed a nearly 14-fold increase in multinucleation compared to cells cultured on “soft” substrata, representing normal tissue. We found that multinucleation was regulated in part by signaling downstream of matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP3), which is commonly upregulated in cancer and known to induce epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). This signaling depended on expression of the Rac1 splice variant, Rac1b, production of ROS, and expression of Snail. Under all conditions, cells cultured on soft substrata maintained a low frequency of multinucleation. Multinucleation on stiff substrata primarily resulted from midbody abscission failure. A soft microenvironment protected the stability of the genome in epithelial cells by preventing midbody stability, which depended on septin 4, a novel target of Snail. Importantly, we found that transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ), another EMT-inducer, also caused multinucleation downstream of Snail, which was prevented by culture on soft substrata. Our data thus suggest that tissue stiffening during tumorigenesis synergizes with oncogenic signaling to promote genomic abnormalities that drive cancer progression. Further, our results suggest that EMT-related signaling pathways are associated with disease progression not necessarily because they induce metastasis, but because they induce genomic instability. Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting. Citation Format: Allison K. Simi, Alisya A. Anlas, Sherry X. Zhang, Tiffaney Hsia, Derek C. Radisky, Celeste M. Nelson. A soft microenvironment protects from failure of midbody abscission and multinucleation downstream of EMT initiators [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5914. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5914