Effect of antitumor treatments on triple-negative breast cancer patients: A PRISMA-compliant network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Firocoxib as a Potential Neoadjuvant Treatment in Canine Patients with Triple-Negative Mammary Gland Tumors

This study aimed to investigate the pro-apoptotic effects of NSAID (Previcox^®) in vitro and in vivo. Two CMT cell lines, one from the primary tumor and one from bone metastasis, were treated with firocoxib and MTT assay was performed to determine the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) value. The firocoxib IC₅₀ for the cell lines UNESP-CM5 and UNESP-MM1 were 25.21 µM and 27.41 µM, respectively. The cell lines were then treated with the respective firocoxib IC₅₀ concentrations and annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) assay was performed, to detect the induction of apoptosis in both cells (Annexin+/PI+). We conducted an in vivo study involving female dogs affected by CMT and divided them into control and treatment groups. For both groups, a biopsy was performed on day 0 (D0) and a mastectomy was performed on day 14 (D14). In the treatment group, after biopsy on D0, the patients received Previcox^® 5 mg/kg PO once a day until mastectomy was performed on D14. COX-2/caspase-3 double immunostaining was performed on samples from D0 and D14, revealing no difference in the control group. In contrast, in the treatment group Previcox^® increased the number of COX-2 positive apoptotic cells. Therefore, firocoxib can induce apoptosis in CMT cells in vitro and in vivo, and Previcox^® can be a potential neoadjuvant treatment for patients with mammary cancer.

Utilizing Data Visualization to Identify Survival and Treatment Differences Between Women With De Novo and Recurrent Metastatic Breast Cancer

INTRODUCTION

De novo stage IV metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and recurrent MBC are considered the same when determining guideline-based care, but differences in treatment patterns exist. Data visualization can be used to understand these differences and optimize treatment delivery.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This retrospective study evaluated treatment patterns for de novo and recurrent MBC using the American Society of Clinical Oncology's CancerLinQ Discovery database. Spatiotemporal graphics depicting treatment data were generated for MBC subtype and stratified by de novo and recurrent MBC. Descriptive statistics for categorical and continuous variables were calculated.

RESULTS

We identified 1668 patients diagnosed and treated for MBC: 391 patients with HER2⁺ MBC, 767 patients with HR⁺/HER2- MBC, and 510 patients with triple-negative MBC. Median survival from MBC diagnosis for patients with de novo MBC and recurrent MBC was 1.4 years (interquartile range, 0.6-3.0) and 1.8 years (interquartile range, 0.7-4.5), respectively. Both patients with de novo and recurrent HER2⁺ MBC were often treated with continuous HER2-targeted therapy. Patients with de novo HR⁺/HER2- MBC often received chemotherapy followed by hormone therapy. This contrasted with treatment trends observed among patients with recurrent HR⁺/HER2- MBC who, after receiving chemotherapy, seldom went on to receive hormone therapy. Patients diagnosed with triple-negative MBC displayed less heterogeneous treatment trends.

CONCLUSION

There are observable differences in survival and practice patterns between de novo and recurrent MBC. Visualization techniques are effective in assessing large databases and could give researchers and clinicians a clearer understanding of how survival differs by disease subtype, diagnosis status, and practice patterns.

TrkA overexpression in non-tumorigenic human breast cell lines confers oncogenic and metastatic properties

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

TrkA overexpression occurs in over 20% of breast cancers, including triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC), and has recently been recognized as a potential driver of carcinogenesis. Recent clinical trials of pan-Trk inhibitors have demonstrated targeted activity against tumors harboring NTRK fusions, a relatively rare alteration across human cancers. Despite this success, current clinical trials have not investigated TrkA overexpression as an additional therapeutic target for pan-Trk inhibitors. Here, we evaluate the cancerous phenotypes of TrkA overexpression relative to NTRK1 fusions in human cells and assess response to pharmacologic Trk inhibition.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN/METHODS

To evaluate the clinical utility of TrkA overexpression, a panel of TrkA overexpressing cells were developed via stable transfection of an NTRK1 vector into the non-tumorigenic breast cell lines, MCF10A and hTERT-IMEC. A panel of positive controls was generated via stable transfection with a CD74-NTRK1 fusion vector into MCF10A cells. Cells were assessed via various in vitro and in vivo analyses to determine the transformative potential and targetability of TrkA overexpression.

RESULTS

TrkA overexpressing cells demonstrated transformative phenotypes similar to Trk fusions, indicating increased oncogenic potential. TrkA overexpressing cells demonstrated growth factor-independent proliferation, increased PI3Kinase and MAPKinase pathway activation, anchorage-independent growth, and increased migratory capacity. These phenotypes were abrogated by the addition of the pan-Trk inhibitor, larotrectinib. In vivo analysis demonstrated increased tumorgenicity and metastatic potential of TrkA overexpressing breast cancer cells.

CONCLUSIONS

Herein, we demonstrate TrkA overexpressing cells show increased tumorgenicity and are sensitive to pan-Trk inhibitors. These data suggest that TrkA overexpression may be an additional target for pan-Trk inhibitors and provide a targeted therapy for breast cancer patients.