sLex expression in invasive micropapillary breast carcinoma is associated with poor prognosis and can be combined with MUC1/EMA as a supplementary diagnostic indicator

Metabolome Sequencing Reveals that Protein Arginine-N-Methyltransferase 1 Promotes the Progression of Invasive Micropapillary Carcinoma of the Breast and Predicts a Poor Prognosis

Invasive micropapillary carcinoma (IMPC) of the breast is a special histopathologic type of cancer with a high recurrence rate and the biological features of invasion and metastasis. Previous spatial transcriptome studies indicated extensive metabolic reprogramming in IMPC, which contributes to tumor cell heterogeneity. However, the impact of metabolome alterations on IMPC biological behavior is unclear. Herein, endogenous metabolite-targeted metabolomic analysis was done on frozen tumor tissue samples from 25 patients with breast IMPC and 34 patients with invasive ductal carcinoma not otherwise specified (IDC-NOS) by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. An IMPC-like state, which is an intermediate transitional morphologic phenotype between IMPC and IDC-NOS, was observed. The metabolic type of IMPC and IDC-NOS was related to breast cancer molecular type. Arginine methylation modification and 4-hydroxy-phenylpyruvate metabolic changes play a major role in the metabolic reprogramming of IMPC. High protein arginine-N-methyltransferase (PRMT) 1 expression was an independent factor related to the poor prognosis of patients with IMPC in terms of disease-free survival. PRMT1 promoted H4R3me2a, which induced tumor cell proliferation via cell cycle regulation and facilitated tumor cell metastasis via the tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway. This study identified the metabolic type-related features and intermediate transition morphology of IMPC. The identification of potential targets of PRMT1 has the potential to provide a basis for the precise diagnosis and treatment of breast IMPC.

Glycosylation Alterations in Cancer Cells, Prognostic Value of Glycan Biomarkers and Their Potential as Novel Therapeutic Targets in Breast Cancer

Although we are lately witnessing major improvements in breast cancer treatment and patient outcomes, there is still a significant proportion of patients not receiving efficient therapy. More precisely, patients with triple-negative breast cancer or any type of metastatic disease. Currently available prognostic and therapeutic biomarkers are not always applicable and oftentimes lack precision. The science of glycans is a relatively new scientific approach to better characterize malignant transformation and tumor progression. In this review, we summarize the most important information about glycosylation characteristics in breast cancer cells and how different glycoproteins and enzymes involved in glycosylation could serve as more precise biomarkers, as well as new therapeutic targets.

COX-2 expression in mammary invasive micropapillary carcinoma is associated with prognostic factors and acts as a potential therapeutic target in comparative oncology

Pure human and canine mammary invasive micropapillary carcinoma is a rare malignant epithelial tumor accounting for 0.9 to 2% of all invasive mammary carcinomas and present a high rate of lymphatic invasion and metastasis, with unfavorable prognosis. Surgery and chemotherapy are standard treatments for almost all mammary cancer in both species, as well as hormonal and target therapies available for human patients. However, depending on the patient's clinical staging, satisfactory therapeutic results for invasive micropapillary carcinoma are a challenge due to its high capacity of invasion and metastasis. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) isoform is an important enzyme stimulated by cytokines, growth factors and oncogenes activation to synthetizes prostaglandins in inflammatory process. COX-2 overexpression is associated with angiogenesis and invasion and contributes to cancer development, disease progression, tumor recurrence and regional lymph node metastasis in human and canine mammary carcinomas. This enzyme can be targeted by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and its inhibition can reduce tumor growth and metastasis in several cancer types. Given the similarity between both species, the present study aims to elucidate the involvement of COX-2 mRNA and protein expression in canine (cIMPC) and human (hIMPC) pure invasive mammary micropapillary carcinoma, with clinicopathological and survival data. Twenty-nine cases of cIMPC and 17 cases of hIMPC were analyzed regarding histologic type, grade, age, tumor size, lymph node condition, extracapsular extension, inflammatory infiltrate and immunophenotype. When available, information on adjuvant treatment, recurrence, metastasis and overall survival were collected. The present study demonstrated COX-2 protein expression in 65.5% of cIMPC and 92.3% of hIMPC, and an association with more advanced histological grades in bitches and higher Ki67 in women. COX-2 mRNA expression was significantly higher in cIMPC than in hIMPC, and its expression was not associated with COX-2 protein expression in both species. COX-2 mRNA expression was associated with negative-ER hIMPC as well as higher Ki67. cIMPC demonstrated proportional early development, more regional metastasis, and a prevalence of negative estrogen receptor, than hIMPC. This is the first time COX-2 expression is associated with negative prognostic factors in both cIMPC and hIMPC, besides the overexpression of COX-2 protein in such unfavorable histological type, which suggests that COX-2 can act as a potential target in IMPC.

Bisimidazolium Salt Glycosyltransferase Inhibitors Suppress Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression In Vitro and In Vivo

Hepatocellular carcinoma is a leading cause of cancer death, and the disease progression has been related to glycophenotype modifications. Previously synthesized bisimidazolium salts (C20 and C22) have been shown to selectively inhibit the activity of glycosyltransferases in cultured cancer cell homogenates. The current study investigated the anticancer effects of C20/C22 and the possible pathways through which these effects are achieved. The therapeutic value of C20/C22 in terms of inhibiting cancer cell proliferation, metastasis, and angiogenesis, as well as inducing apoptosis, were examined with hepatic cancer cell line HepG2 and a xenograft mouse model. C20/C22 treatment downregulated the synthesis of SLex and Ley sugar epitopes and suppressed selectin-mediated cancer cell metastasis. C20/C22 inhibited HepG2 proliferation, induced cell-cycle arrest, increased intracellular ROS level, led to ER stress, and eventually induced apoptosis through the intrinsic pathway. Furthermore, C20/C22 upregulated the expressions of death receptors DR4 and DR5, substantially increasing the sensitivity of HepG2 to TRAIL-triggered apoptosis. In vivo, C20/C22 effectively inhibited tumor growth and angiogenesis in the xenograft mouse model without adverse effects on major organs. In summary, C20 and C22 are new promising anti-hepatic cancer agents with multiple mechanisms in controlling cancer cell growth, metastasis, and apoptosis, and they merit further development into anticancer drugs.

Micropapillary Breast Carcinoma: From Molecular Pathogenesis to Prognosis

Invasive micropapillary carcinoma (IMPC) of the breast is an infrequent type of breast cancer often discussed for its potency for lymphovascular invasion and difficulty in accurate imaging estimation. Micropapillary carcinomas are noted to be present as larger tumors, of higher histological grade and a notably higher percentage of disease-positive lymph nodes. Hormonal and HER-2 positivity in IMPC is also commoner when compared to other NST carcinomas. IMPC occurs either as a pure form or more often as a component of mixed Non-Specific Type (NST) carcinoma. The latest data suggest that despite having comparable survival rates to other histological subtypes of breast carcinoma, effective surgical treatment often requires extended surgical margins and vigilant preoperative axillary staging due to an increased incidence of lymph node invasion, and locoregional recurrence. Moreover, the presence of micropapillary in situ components within tumors also seems to alter tumor aggression and influence the nodal disease stage. In this review, we present an overview of the current literature of micropapillary carcinoma of the breast from biology to prognosis, focusing on biological differences and treatment.