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Cichowska-Cwalińska N, Bieńkowski M, Popęda M, Dróżka M, Rutkowski J, Jassem J, Zaucha R. Radiotherapy-induced dynamic changes in the lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio in patients with laryngeal cancer indicate poor prognosis. Front Oncol 2023; 13:1234953. [PMID: 37886164 PMCID: PMC10598385 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1234953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Aim We hypothesized that markers of inflammation correlate with response to radiotherapy in patients with non-metastatic laryngeal cancer (LC). Our aim was to assess peripheral and local markers of inflammation including lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), infiltrating CD8+ lymphocytes (TILsCD8), and programmed death 1 ligand (PD-L1) expression. Methods We performed a retrospective single-center analysis of LC patients administered definitive (R-RT) or postoperative radiotherapy (PORT). The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) in relation to peripheral and local inflammatory markers and their dynamic changes during RT. Results Study group included 215 patients (R-RT, n=116; PORT, n=99). The baseline (t0) NLR and LMR were significantly correlated with OS in the R-RT group. In patients with high and low NLR at t0, the five-year OS was 33% and 56% (p=0.010) and in high and low LMR at t0, the five-year OS was 56% and 27% (p=0.003), respectively. The LMR increase during R-RT predicted better prognosis: the five-year OS in high and low LMR was 57% and 31% at t2 (after 2 weeks of RT) (p=0.015), 49% and 26% at t4 (p< 0.001), and 50% and 25% at t6 (p=0.013), respectively. Multivariable analysis shows that the worse performance status (p=0.003), the presence of nodal metastases (p=0.0001), and low baseline LMR (p=0.049) in the R-RT group, and the presence of nodal metastases (p=0.035) and completion treatment on time (p=0.042) in PORT group were associated with poor prognosis. The PD-L1 expression had no significant prognostic value in any of the examined patients. Conclusion The baseline LMR and its dynamic changes during R-RT and baseline NLR are independent prognostic factors in patients with nonmetastatic LC. PD-L1 expression and number of TILsCD8 have no prognostic value in R-RT and PORT group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Cichowska-Cwalińska
- Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
- Early Phase Clinical Trials Centre, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Michał Bieńkowski
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Marta Popęda
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Magdalena Dróżka
- Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Jacek Rutkowski
- Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Jacek Jassem
- Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Renata Zaucha
- Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
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Wiśniewski K, Popęda M, Price B, Bieńkowski M, Fahlström A, Drummond K, Adamides AA. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α as potential predictors of delayed cerebral ischemia after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. J Neurosurg 2023; 139:698-707. [PMID: 36640097 DOI: 10.3171/2022.12.jns222332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) is a serious complication of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH), which is responsible for significant death and disability. The dynamic balance between the production and elimination of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in patients with DCI is suspected be shifted to favor ROS formation. The authors assessed the relationship between F2-isoprostanes (F2-IsoPs), oxidative stress biomarkers, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), which are responsible for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) production for glutathione system function, with post-aSAH DCI. METHODS The authors assessed 45 aSAH patients for F2-IsoP and G6PD concentration using commercial ELISA on days 2, 4, and 6 after aSAH. The authors examined the correlation between plasma F2-IsoP and G6PD concentrations and clinical factors with DCI occurrence and aSAH outcome. RESULTS Expectedly, the most important clinical predictors of DCI were Hunt and Hess grade and modified Fisher (mFisher) grade. Plasma F2-IsoP and G6PD concentrations were greater in aSAH patients than the control group (p < 0.01). F2-IsoP concentrations were greater and G6PD concentrations were lower in patients with DCI than those without (p < 0.01). Plasma F2-IsoP and G6PD concentrations on day 2 were correlated with DCI occurrence (p < 0.01). Plasma F2-IsoP concentrations on days 2 and 6 were correlated with outcome at 1 and 12 months (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Decreased G6PD indirectly informs the reduced antioxidant response, especially for the glutathione system. G6PD concentration was lower in patients with DCI than those without, which may explain the increased F2-IsoP concentrations. mFisher grade, plasma F2-IsoP concentration, and G6PD concentration on day 2 after aSAH, in combination, may serve as predictors of DCI. Further research is necessary to investigate the therapeutic utility of F2-IsoPs and antioxidants in clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karol Wiśniewski
- 1Department of Neurosurgery, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- 2Department of Neurosurgery and Neurooncology, Medical University of Łódź, Łódzkie, Poland
| | - Marta Popęda
- 3Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Pomorskie, Poland
| | - Benjamin Price
- 1Department of Neurosurgery, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Michał Bieńkowski
- 3Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Pomorskie, Poland
| | - Andreas Fahlström
- 1Department of Neurosurgery, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- 4Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Neurosurgery, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; and
| | - Katharine Drummond
- 1Department of Neurosurgery, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- 5Department of Surgery, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Alexios A Adamides
- 1Department of Neurosurgery, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- 5Department of Surgery, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Kunc M, Popęda M, Bieńkowski M, Braun M, Łacko A, Radecka B, Pikiel J, Litwiniuk M, Pogoda K, Niemira M, Szałkowska A, Iżycka-Świeszewska E, Cserni G, Biernat W, Senkus E. Abstract P2-23-06: Estrogen receptor-negative progesterone receptor-positive breast cancer is a molecularly distinct group characterized by the down-regulation of genes controlled by ESR1 and SUZ12. Cancer Res 2023. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.sabcs22-p2-23-06] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/06/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Background: Single hormone receptor-positive breast cancers (BCs) display two distinct phenotypes: ER+/PgR– and ER–/PgR+ further stratified by their HER2 status. Their molecular features are not well defined. Our study aimed to identify differentially expressed genes in ER–/PgR+ BCs compared to other phenotypes. Methods: Our cohort comprised 15 ER+/PgR–/HER2–, 11 ER+/PgR–/HER2+, 17 ER–/PgR+/HER2–, 9 ER–/PgR+/HER2+, 5 ER+/PgR+/HER2–, and 5 ER–/PgR–/HER2– invasive BCs collected from 9 Polish and 2 Hungarian centers. The cases were selected from a larger cohort after being matched according to grade, HER2 status, lymph nodes, and distant metastasis status. ER–/PgR+ group was thoroughly validated via immunohistochemistry [Kunc et al. 2022]. The expression of 776 genes was profiled with nCounter® Breast Cancer 360™ Panel in archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples. A gene was defined as differentially expressed between groups if it met the following criteria: the log2 fold-change in the expression of >1 or ←1 and the p-value < 0.05 (Mann-Whitney U test). Additionally, weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) was performed to identify modules of at least 15 highly correlated genes. Subsequently, the association between gene modules and PgR status in ER– subgroup was performed. Identified mRNAs were subjected to functional annotation analysis to determine the top enriched pathways. Results: ER–/PgR+ BCs were characterized by significantly lower expression of ESR1 compared to double-positive (p< 0.001) and ER+/PgR– tumors (p< 0.001), whereas PGR expression was higher compared to ER+/PgR– (p< 0.001), and no significantly different from ER+/PgR+ BCs (p=0.14). Triple-negative BCs had no detectable PGR mRNA. Four genes (MIA, ID4, FOXC1, CDC20) were consistently up-regulated and six genes (FAM214A, MLPH, NFKBIZ, FOS, SLC44A4, SPDEF) were down-regulated in ER–/PgR+/HER2– tumors compared to other HER2– subgroups. Compared to ER+/HER2– BCs, ER–/PgR+/HER2– cases showed up-regulation of 15 genes associated with response to vitamin D, response to ketone, and regulation of transcription, and downregulation of 33 genes involved in response to estrogen, negative regulation of cell population proliferation, regulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and controlled by ESR1 and SUZ12. In WGCNA analysis of the ER– subgroup, PgR status was negatively correlated with 4 gene modules and positively correlated with 1 gene module. In line with differential gene expression analysis, genes negatively correlated with ER–/PgR+ status are regulated by ESR1 and SUZ12 and are involved in the regulation of cell proliferation, extracellular matrix organization, and NOTCH1 signaling. Genes positively correlated with ER–/PgR+ status are regulated by E2F4, FOXM1, SIN3A, NFYB, E2F1, FOS, IRF1, ZMIZ1, and UBTF and participate in cell cycle, regulation of mitosis, and microtubule cytoskeleton regulation. Conclusions: ER–/PgR+ BCs display a distinct mRNA expression profile characterized by the down-regulation of genes controlled by ESR1 and SUZ12. The latter as a part of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 contributes to chromatin silencing, and some previous studies suggested its role in the regulation of steroid hormone receptors expression. Additionally, ER–/PgR+ BCs overexpress FOXC1 which is linked to more aggressive, high-grade, and treatment-resistant breast cancers. Our data indicate the need to unravel the mechanism of epigenetic regulation of PGR expression, especially its methylation status, in ER–/PgR+ breast cancer.
Citation Format: Michał Kunc, Marta Popęda, Michał Bieńkowski, Marcin Braun, Aleksandra Łacko, Barbara Radecka, Joanna Pikiel, Maria Litwiniuk, Katarzyna Pogoda, Magdalena Niemira, Anna Szałkowska, Ewa Iżycka-Świeszewska, Gabor Cserni, Wojciech Biernat, Elżbieta Senkus. Estrogen receptor-negative progesterone receptor-positive breast cancer is a molecularly distinct group characterized by the down-regulation of genes controlled by ESR1 and SUZ12 [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2022 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(5 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-23-06.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michał Kunc
- 1Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Pomorskie, Poland
| | - Marta Popęda
- 2Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Poland, Gdańsk, Pomorskie, Poland
| | - Michał Bieńkowski
- 3Department of Pathomophology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Pomorskie, Poland
| | - Marcin Braun
- 4Department of Pathology, Chair of Oncology, Medical University of Łódź, Łódź, Lodzkie, Poland
| | - Aleksandra Łacko
- 5Department of Oncology, Wrocław Medical University, Wrocław, Slaskie, Poland
| | - Barbara Radecka
- 6Oncology Department with Daily Unit, Tadeusz Koszarowski Cancer Center in Opole, Opole, Poland
| | - Joanna Pikiel
- 7Regional Oncology Center, Department of Oncology, Gdynia, Poland, Gdynia, Pomorskie, Poland
| | - Maria Litwiniuk
- 8Greater Poland Cancer Centre, Poznan; University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Wielkopolskie, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Pogoda
- 9Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Warszawa, Mazowieckie, Poland
| | | | | | | | - Gabor Cserni
- 13Institute of Pathology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary; Department of Pathology, Bács-Kiskun County Teaching Hospital, Kecskemét, Hungary, Bacs-Kiskun, Hungary
| | - Wojciech Biernat
- 14Department of Pathomophology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Pomorskie, Poland
| | - Elżbieta Senkus
- 15Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
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Nastały P, Popęda M, Smentoch J, Dzianach W, Żaczek A, Eltze E, Semjonow A, Sowa M, Miszewski K, Matuszewski M, Bednarz-Knoll N. Dissecting EGFR-AR interplay in prostate cancer progression. EUR UROL SUPPL 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/s2666-1683(22)01928-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
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Zapała Ł, Kunc M, Sharma S, Pęksa R, Popęda M, Biernat W, Radziszewski P. Immune checkpoint receptor VISTA on immune cells is associated with expression of T-cell exhaustion marker TOX and worse prognosis in renal cell carcinoma with venous tumor thrombus. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 2022:10.1007/s00432-022-04329-y. [PMID: 36042047 DOI: 10.1007/s00432-022-04329-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE The study aimed to determine the expression of VISTA and TOX within venous tumor thrombus and primary clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and to assess their prognostic value. METHODS The study enrolled 82 patients with ccRCC and coexisting venous tumor thrombus treated radically from 2012 to 2019 in two tertiary centers. Tissue microarrays were prepared and stained with respective antibodies. The expression of markers was assessed separately on tumor cells (TCs) and/or tumor-associated immune cells (TAICs). RESULTS TOX expression was positively correlated with the percentage of VISTA-positive TAICs in venous thrombus (p = 0.011), but not in the primary tumor (p = 0.674). High TOX expression was associated with a higher percentage of PD-L1-positive TAICs in both compartments (p = 0.001, p = 0.011, respectively). Positive expression of VISTA on TAICs was associated with PD-L1 expression on TCs (p = 0.005) and TAICs (p = 0.004) in the primary tumor, and only with PD-L1 on TAICs in thrombus (p = 0.006). The presence of VISTA-positive TAICs in venous thrombus was significantly more common in females (p = 0.034), and positively correlated with metastases (p = 0.028), and tumor necrosis (p = 0.013). The cases with VISTA-positive TAICs in venous tumor thrombi had significantly shorter OS than VISTA-negative cases (p = 0.041). CONCLUSION For the first time, we demonstrated the expression of VISTA- and TOX-positive TAICs in the venous tumor thrombus. We found the association between immune checkpoint receptors and T cell exhaustion markers in both tumor mass and venous thrombus. Finally, we demonstrated that abundance of VISTA-positive TAICs in venous tumor thrombus correlates with worse outcomes in ccRCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Łukasz Zapała
- Clinic of General, Oncological and Functional Urology, Medical University of Warsaw, Lindleya 4, 02-005, Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Michał Kunc
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-214, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Sumit Sharma
- Clinic of General, Oncological and Functional Urology, Medical University of Warsaw, Lindleya 4, 02-005, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Rafał Pęksa
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-214, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Marta Popęda
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-214, Gdańsk, Poland.,Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-211, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Wojciech Biernat
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-214, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Piotr Radziszewski
- Clinic of General, Oncological and Functional Urology, Medical University of Warsaw, Lindleya 4, 02-005, Warsaw, Poland
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Muchlińska A, Nagel A, Popęda M, Szade J, Niemira M, Zieliński J, Skokowski J, Bednarz-Knoll N, Żaczek AJ. Alpha-smooth muscle actin-positive cancer-associated fibroblasts secreting osteopontin promote growth of luminal breast cancer. Cell Mol Biol Lett 2022; 27:45. [PMID: 35690734 PMCID: PMC9188043 DOI: 10.1186/s11658-022-00351-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) have been shown to support tumor development in a variety of cancers. Different markers were applied to classify CAFs in order to elucidate their impact on tumor progression. However, the exact mechanism by which CAFs enhance cancer development and metastasis is yet unknown.
Methods Alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) was examined immunohistochemically in intratumoral CAFs of nonmetastatic breast cancers and correlated with clinicopathological data. Four CAF cell lines were isolated from patients with luminal breast cancer (lumBC) and classified according to the presence of α-SMA protein. Conditioned medium (CM) from CAF cultures was used to assess the influence of CAFs on lumBC cell lines: MCF7 and T47D cells using Matrigel 3D culture assay. To identify potential factors accounting for promotion of tumor growth by α-SMAhigh CAFs, nCounter PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel (NanoString) was used. Results In luminal breast cancer, presence of intratumoral CAFs expressing high level of α-SMA (13% of lumBC group) correlated with poor prognosis (p = 0.019). In in vitro conditions, conditioned medium obtained from primary cultures of α-SMA-positive CAFs isolated from luminal tumors was observed to enhance growth of lumBC cell line colonies in 3D Matrigel, in contrast to CM derived from α-SMA-negative CAFs. Multigene expression analysis indicated that osteopontin (OPN) was overexpressed in α-SMA-positive CAFs in both clinical samples and in vitro models. OPN expression was associated with higher percentage of Ki67-positive cells in clinical material (p = 0.012), while OPN blocking in α-SMA-positive CAF-derived CM attenuated growth of lumBC cell line colonies in 3D Matrigel. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate that α-SMA-positive CAFs might enhance tumor growth via secretion of OPN. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s11658-022-00351-7.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Muchlińska
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-211, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Anna Nagel
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-211, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Marta Popęda
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-211, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Jolanta Szade
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-214, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Magdalena Niemira
- Clinical Research Centre, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-276, Bialystok, Poland
| | - Jacek Zieliński
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-214, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Jarosław Skokowski
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-214, Gdansk, Poland.,Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure Poland (BBMRI.PL), 80-211, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Natalia Bednarz-Knoll
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-211, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Anna J Żaczek
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-211, Gdansk, Poland.
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Senkus-Konefka E, Popęda M, Kunc M, Bieńkowski M, Braun M, Lacko A, Radecka B, Pikiel J, Litwiniuk M, Pogoda K, Iżycka-Świeszewska E, Zaczek AJ, Biernat W. miRNA signatures of prognostic significance in single hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. J Clin Oncol 2022. [DOI: 10.1200/jco.2022.40.16_suppl.e12544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
e12544 Background: Single hormone receptor-positive breast cancer – ER+/PgR– and ER–/PR+, is a distinct entity with vastly undiscovered biology. This study aimed at exploring miRNA profiles of primary tumors of single hormone receptor-positive phenotype and their association with overall survival (OS). Methods: The study group comprised 32 breast cancer patients, collected at 3 Polish centers, with single hormone receptor-positive phenotype, including 14 ER+/PgR– and 18 ER–/PR+ cases, thoroughly characterized for ER (clones: 1D5, EP1 and SP1) and PgR (clone: 636) expression. Expression of 798 miRNAs was profiled using nCounter Human v3 miRNA Expression Assay (NanoString) in each primary tumor sample (FFPE), data available at NCBI GEO (GSE155362). Normalized miRNAs counts were analyzed for the association with OS. Gene targets of miRNAs showing prognostic significance were identified using miRNET 2.0, while their annotation with Gene Ontology Biological Processes was determined with DAVID Bioinformatics Resources 6.8 tool. The results were validated using MINDACT trial dataset [Cardoso et al. 2016]: single hormone receptor-positive (central assessment) cases of ductal histology (including 392 ER+/PgR– and 15 ER–/PR+ cases) where analysed for the prognostic value of gene expression of the identified miRNAs targets. Results: In our cohort, 7 miRNAs showed an association with OS (log-rank test): positive for four: hsa-miR-25-3p (p=0.013), hsa-miR-150-5p (p=0.015), hsa-miR-148a-3p (p=0.038) and hsa-miR-497-5p (p=0.044); and negative for three: hsa-miR-517c-3p (p=0.017), hsa-miR-4284 (p=0.018) and hsa-miR-301a-5p (p=0.029). According to miRNET 2.0, the 4 and 3 prognostic miRNAs have 3801 and 544 gene targets, respectively. The genes targeted by positively associated miRNAs were involved in transcription regulation, vesicle-mediated transport and protein stabilization, while the targets of negatively associated miRNAs were related with mRNA polyadenylation, DNA replication and regulation of DNA-templated transcription. Next, genes targeted by most of miRNAs from either group were identified: 11 targets of positive miRNAs (CANX, CBX5, HIPK1, PDE4DIP, PPM1A, REL, SETD5, SP1, XYLT2, ZMAT3, ZNF460) and 6 targets of negative miRNAs (ARL10, DNAJC28, MTHFD1L, PRPF6, RHOF, TSPAN6). The genes were tested for the association with OS in single hormone receptor-positive subgroup of the MINDACT cohort, with the following significant findings in multivariate analysis including N stage and Ki67 status: PDE4DIP (HR=2.84, p=0.011), CBX5 (HR=2.08, p=0.026) and PRPF6 (HR=0.44, p=0.045). Conclusions: This study identifies 7 miRNAs and their gene targets with a potential prognostic significance in single hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Thus, several miRNA-mRNA axes merit further investigation both at molecular level and in a separate patient cohort to validate their clinical utility.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marta Popęda
- Medical University of Gdansk, Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Gdansk, Poland, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Michał Kunc
- Medical University of Gdańsk, Department of Pathomorphology, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Michał Bieńkowski
- Medical University of Gdansk, Department of Pathomorphology, Gdansk, Poland, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Marcin Braun
- Medical University of Łódź, Chair of Oncology, Department of Pathology, Łódź, Poland
| | - Aleksandra Lacko
- Lower Silesian Oncology Centre- Breast Unit, Wrocław Medical University- Department of Oncology, Wroclaw, Poland., Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Barbara Radecka
- Tadeusz Koszarowski Cancer Center, Department of Clinical Oncology; University of Opole, Institute of Medical Sciences, Department of Oncology, Opole, Poland
| | - Joanna Pikiel
- Regional Oncology Center, Department of Oncology, Gdynia, Poland
| | - Maria Litwiniuk
- Greater Poland Cancer Centre, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Pogoda
- Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Ewa Iżycka-Świeszewska
- Medical University of Gdańsk, Department of Pathology and Neuropathology, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Anna Joanna Zaczek
- Medical University of Gdansk, Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Gdansk, Poland, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Wojciech Biernat
- Medical University of Gdansk, Department of Pathomorphology, Gdansk, Poland., Gdańsk, Poland
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Zapała Ł, Kunc M, Sharma S, Pęksa R, Popęda M, Biernat W, Radziszewski P. Evaluation of PD-L1 (E1L3N, 22C3) expression in venous tumor thrombus is superior to its assessment in renal tumor in predicting overall survival in renal cell carcinoma. Urol Oncol 2022; 40:200.e1-200.e10. [DOI: 10.1016/j.urolonc.2022.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Revised: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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9
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Nastały P, Smentoch J, Popęda M, Martini E, Maiuri P, Żaczek AJ, Sowa M, Matuszewski M, Szade J, Kalinowski L, Niemira M, Brandt B, Eltze E, Semjonow A, Bednarz-Knoll N. Low Tumor-to-Stroma Ratio Reflects Protective Role of Stroma against Prostate Cancer Progression. J Pers Med 2021; 11:1088. [PMID: 34834440 PMCID: PMC8622253 DOI: 10.3390/jpm11111088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2021] [Revised: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 10/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Tumor-to-stroma ratio (TSR) is a prognostic factor that expresses the relative amounts of tumor and intratumoral stroma. In this study, its clinical and molecular relevance was evaluated in prostate cancer (PCa). The feasibility of automated quantification was tested in digital scans of tissue microarrays containing 128 primary tumors from 72 PCa patients stained immunohistochemically for epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), followed by validation in a cohort of 310 primary tumors from 209 PCa patients. In order to investigate the gene expression differences between tumors with low and high TSR, we applied multigene expression analysis (nCounter® PanCancer Progression Panel, NanoString) of 42 tissue samples. TSR scores were categorized into low (<1 TSR) and high (≥1 TSR). In the pilot cohort, 31 patients (43.1%) were categorized as low and 41 (56.9%) as high TSR score, whereas 48 (23.0%) patients from the validation cohort were classified as low TSR and 161 (77.0%) as high. In both cohorts, high TSR appeared to indicate the shorter time to biochemical recurrence in PCa patients (Log-rank test, p = 0.04 and p = 0.01 for the pilot and validation cohort, respectively). Additionally, in the multivariate analysis of the validation cohort, TSR predicted BR independent of other factors, i.e., pT, pN, and age (p = 0.04, HR 2.75, 95%CI 1.07-7.03). Our data revealed that tumors categorized into low and high TSR score show differential expression of various genes; the genes upregulated in tumors with low TSR score were mostly associated with extracellular matrix and cell adhesion regulation. Taken together, this study shows that high stroma content can play a protective role in PCa. Automatic EpCAM-based quantification of TSR might improve prognostication in personalized medicine for PCa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulina Nastały
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland; (P.N.); (J.S.); (M.P.); (A.J.Ż.)
- FIRC (Italian Foundation for Cancer Research), Institute of Molecular Oncology (IFOM), 20139 Milan, Italy; (E.M.); (P.M.)
| | - Julia Smentoch
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland; (P.N.); (J.S.); (M.P.); (A.J.Ż.)
| | - Marta Popęda
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland; (P.N.); (J.S.); (M.P.); (A.J.Ż.)
| | - Emanuele Martini
- FIRC (Italian Foundation for Cancer Research), Institute of Molecular Oncology (IFOM), 20139 Milan, Italy; (E.M.); (P.M.)
| | - Paolo Maiuri
- FIRC (Italian Foundation for Cancer Research), Institute of Molecular Oncology (IFOM), 20139 Milan, Italy; (E.M.); (P.M.)
| | - Anna J. Żaczek
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland; (P.N.); (J.S.); (M.P.); (A.J.Ż.)
| | - Marek Sowa
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-214 Gdańsk, Poland; (M.S.); (M.M.)
| | - Marcin Matuszewski
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-214 Gdańsk, Poland; (M.S.); (M.M.)
| | - Jolanta Szade
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-214 Gdańsk, Poland;
| | - Leszek Kalinowski
- Department of Medical Laboratory Diagnostics-Biobank, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland;
- Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure (BBMRI.pl), 80-214 Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Magdalena Niemira
- Clinical Research Centre, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-276 Bialystok, Poland;
| | - Burkhard Brandt
- Institute of Clinical Chemistry, University Medical Centre Schleswig-Holstein, 24105 Kiel, Germany;
| | - Elke Eltze
- Institute of Pathology Saarbruecken-Rastpfuhl, 66113 Saarbruecken, Germany;
| | - Axel Semjonow
- Department of Urology, Prostate Center, University Clinic Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany;
| | - Natalia Bednarz-Knoll
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland; (P.N.); (J.S.); (M.P.); (A.J.Ż.)
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10
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Kunc M, Popęda M, Biernat W, Senkus E. Lost but Not Least-Novel Insights into Progesterone Receptor Loss in Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13194755. [PMID: 34638241 PMCID: PMC8507533 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13194755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Revised: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Estrogen receptor α (ERα) and progesterone receptor (PgR) are crucial prognostic and predictive biomarkers that are usually co-expressed in breast cancer (BC). However, 12-24% of BCs present ERα(+)/PgR(-) phenotype at immunohistochemical evaluation. In fact, BC may either show primary PgR(-) status (in chemonaïve tumor sample), lose PgR expression during neoadjuvant treatment, or acquire PgR(-) phenotype in local relapse or metastasis. The loss of PgR expression in ERα(+) breast cancer may signify resistance to endocrine therapy and poorer outcomes. On the other hand, ERα(+)/PgR(-) BCs may have a better response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy than double-positive tumors. Loss of PgR expression may be a result of pre-transcriptional alterations (copy number loss, mutation, epigenetic modifications), decreased transcription of the PGR gene (e.g., by microRNAs), and post-translational modifications (e.g., phosphorylation, sumoylation). Various processes involved in the down-regulation of PgR have distinct consequences on the biology of cancer cells. Occasionally, negative PgR status detected by immunohistochemical analysis is paradoxically associated with enhanced transcriptional activity of PgR that might be inhibited by antiprogestin treatment. Identification of the mechanism of PgR loss in each patient seems challenging, yet it may provide important information on the biology of the tumor and predict its responsiveness to the therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michał Kunc
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-214 Gdańsk, Poland; (M.K.); (W.B.)
| | - Marta Popęda
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-211 Gdańsk, Poland;
| | - Wojciech Biernat
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-214 Gdańsk, Poland; (M.K.); (W.B.)
| | - Elżbieta Senkus
- Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-214 Gdańsk, Poland
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +48-58-584-4481
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11
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Markiewicz A, Topa J, Popęda M, Szade J, Skokowski J, Wełnicka-Jaśkiewicz M, Żaczek A. Activation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition process during breast cancer progression - the impact of molecular subtype and stromal composition. Acta Biochim Pol 2021; 68:385-392. [PMID: 34432400 DOI: 10.18388/abp.2020_5719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Breast cancer (BC) is a heterogeneous disease with different molecular subtypes, which can be defined by oestrogen (ER), progesterone (PR) and human epidermal growth factor (HER2) receptors' status as luminal, HER2+ and triple negative (TNBC). Molecular subtypes also differ in their epithelial-mesenchymal phenotype, which might be related to their aggressiveness, as activation of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is linked with increased ability of cancer cells to survive and metastasize. Nevertheless, the reverse process of mesenchymal-epithelial transition was shown to be required to sustain metastatic colonization. In this study we aimed to analyse activation of the EMT process in primary tumours (PT), which have (N+) or have not (N-) colonized the lymph nodes, as well as the lymph nodes metastases (LNM) themselves in 88 BC patients. We showed that luminal N- PT have the lowest activation of the EMT process (27%), in comparison to N+ PT (48%, p=0.06). On the other hand, TNBC do not show statistically significant EMT activation at the stage before lymph colonization (N-, 83%) and after colonization of the lymph nodes (N+, 63%, p=0.58). TNBC are also the least plastic (unable to change the EMT phenotype) in terms of turning EMT on or off between matched PT and LNM (0% EMT plasticity in TNBC vs 36% plasticity in luminal tumours). Moreover, in TNBC activation of EMT was correlated with increased cell division rate of the PT- in mesenchymal TNBC PT median Ki-67 was 45% in comparison to 10% in epithelial TNBC PT (p=0.002), whereas in PT of luminal subtypes Ki-67 did not differ between epithelial and mesenchymal phenotypes. Profiling of immunotranscriptome of epithelial and mesenchymal luminal BC with Nanostring technology revealed that N- PT with epithelial phenotype were enriched in inflammatory response signatures, whereas N+ mesenchymal cancers showed elevated MHC class II antigen presentation. Overall, activation of EMT changes during cancer progression and metastatic colonization of the lymph nodes depending on the PT molecular subtype and is related to differences in stromal signatures. Activation of EMT is associated with colonizing phenotype in luminal PT and proliferative phenotype of TNBC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Markiewicz
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdańsk and Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Justyna Topa
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdańsk and Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Marta Popęda
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdańsk and Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Jolanta Szade
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Jarosław Skokowski
- 1Department of Surgical Oncology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland; 2Department of Medical Laboratory Diagnostics-Biobank, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland; 3Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure Gdańsk, Poland
| | | | - Anna Żaczek
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdańsk and Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
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12
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Supernat A, Popęda M, Pastuszak K, Best MG, Grešner P, Veld SI', Siek B, Bednarz-Knoll N, Rondina MT, Stokowy T, Wurdinger T, Jassem J, Żaczek AJ. Transcriptomic landscape of blood platelets in healthy donors. Sci Rep 2021; 11:15679. [PMID: 34344933 PMCID: PMC8333095 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-94003-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Blood platelet RNA-sequencing is increasingly used among the scientific community. Aberrant platelet transcriptome is common in cancer or cardiovascular disease, but reference data on platelet RNA content in healthy individuals are scarce and merit complex investigation. We sought to explore the dynamics of platelet transcriptome. Datasets from 204 healthy donors were used for the analysis of splice variants, particularly with regard to age, sex, blood storage time, unit of collection or library size. Genes B2M, PPBP, TMSB4X, ACTB, FTL, CLU, PF4, F13A1, GNAS, SPARC, PTMA, TAGLN2, OAZ1 and OST4 demonstrated the highest expression in the analysed cohort, remaining substantial transcription consistency. CSF3R gene was found upregulated in males (fold change 2.10, FDR q < 0.05). Cohort dichotomisation according to the median age, showed upregulated KSR1 in the older donors (fold change 2.11, FDR q < 0.05). Unsupervised hierarchical clustering revealed two clusters which were irrespective of age, sex, storage time, collecting unit or library size. However, when donors are analysed globally (as vectors), sex, storage time, library size, the unit of blood collection as well as age impose a certain degree of between- and/or within-group variability. Healthy donor platelet transcriptome retains general consistency, with very few splice variants deviating from the landscape. Although multidimensional analysis reveals statistically significant variability between and within the analysed groups, biologically, these changes are minor and irrelevant while considering disease classification. Our work provides a reference for studies working both on healthy platelets and pathological conditions affecting platelet transcriptome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Supernat
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdańsk and Medical University of Gdańsk, Dębinki 1, 80-211, Gdańsk, Poland.
| | - Marta Popęda
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdańsk and Medical University of Gdańsk, Dębinki 1, 80-211, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Krzysztof Pastuszak
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdańsk and Medical University of Gdańsk, Dębinki 1, 80-211, Gdańsk, Poland.,Department of Algorithms and Systems Modelling, Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, Gdańsk University of Technology, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Myron G Best
- Department of Neurosurgery, Brain Tumor Center Amsterdam, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Brain Tumor Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Grešner
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdańsk and Medical University of Gdańsk, Dębinki 1, 80-211, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Sjors In 't Veld
- Department of Neurosurgery, Brain Tumor Center Amsterdam, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Brain Tumor Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Bartłomiej Siek
- Department of History and Philosophy of Medical Sciences, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Natalia Bednarz-Knoll
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdańsk and Medical University of Gdańsk, Dębinki 1, 80-211, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Matthew T Rondina
- University of Utah Molecular Medicine Program, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.,Department of Internal Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.,George E. Wahlen Veterans Affairs Medical Center Department of Internal Medicine and the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), Salt Lake City, UT, USA.,Department of Pathology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Tomasz Stokowy
- Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Thomas Wurdinger
- Department of Neurosurgery, Brain Tumor Center Amsterdam, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Brain Tumor Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jacek Jassem
- Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Anna J Żaczek
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdańsk and Medical University of Gdańsk, Dębinki 1, 80-211, Gdańsk, Poland
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13
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Pęksa R, Kunc M, Popęda M, Piątek M, Bieńkowski M, Żok J, Starzyńska A, Perdyan A, Sowa M, Duchnowska R, Biernat W. Combined Assessment of Immune Checkpoint Regulator VISTA on Tumor-Associated Immune Cells and Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Identifies Advanced Germ Cell Tumors with Higher Risk of Unfavorable Outcomes. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13081750. [PMID: 33916925 PMCID: PMC8067539 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13081750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Revised: 03/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Testicular germ cell tumors (GCTs) are the most common malignancies in young males. The current treatment regimens are usually highly effective and curative. Nevertheless, a portion of patients presents with recurrence or succumbs due to the disease. There is an undoubtful necessity to investigate new prognostic markers to stratify the risk of such events. The current study aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of markers of the tumor microenvironment and systemic inflammation markers in GCTs. We found that low expression of immune checkpoint proteins VISTA (V-domain Ig suppressor of T cell activation) and PD-L1 (programmed death-ligand 1) on tumor-associated immune cells and elevated inflammatory marker platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio are associated with a higher risk of events in testicular GCTs. It indicates a role of both local anti-tumor immune response and systemic inflammation in these tumors. Abstract In the current study, we aimed to investigate whether expression of immune checkpoint proteins (V-domain Ig suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA) and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1)) and markers of systemic inflammation could predict progression/relapse and death in the cohort of 180 patients with testicular germ-cell tumors (GCTs). Expression of PD-L1 and VISTA was assessed by immunohistochemistry utilizing tissue microarrays. To estimate systemic inflammation neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were calculated. We found high PD-L1 and VISTA expression on tumor-associated immune cells (TAICs) in 89 (49.44%) and 63 (37.22%) of GCTs, respectively, whereas tumor cells besides trophoblastic elements were almost uniformly negative. High PD-L1 was associated with seminomatous histology and lower stage. Relapses in stage I patients occurred predominantly in cases with low numbers of PD-L1 and VISTA-expressing TAICs. In stage II/III disease, the combination of low VISTA-expressing TAICs and high PLR was identified as predictor of shorter event-free survival (HR 4.10; 1.48–11.36, p = 0.006) and overall survival (HR 15.56, 95% CI 1.78–135.51, p = 0.001) independently of tumor histology and location of metastases. We demonstrated that the assessment of immune checkpoint proteins on TAICs may serve as a valuable prognostic factor in patients with high-risk testicular GCTs. Further study is warranted to explore the predictive utility of these biomarkers in GCTs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafał Pęksa
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80214 Gdansk, Poland; (M.K.); (M.B.); (W.B.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +48-58-349-3750
| | - Michał Kunc
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80214 Gdansk, Poland; (M.K.); (M.B.); (W.B.)
| | - Marta Popęda
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80211 Gdansk, Poland;
| | - Michał Piątek
- Department of Clinical Oncology/Chemotherapy, St Barbara Regional Specialist Hospital No 5, 41200 Sosnowiec, Poland;
| | - Michał Bieńkowski
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80214 Gdansk, Poland; (M.K.); (M.B.); (W.B.)
| | - Jolanta Żok
- Department of Oncology, Regional Oncology Center in Gdansk, 80219 Gdansk, Poland;
| | - Anna Starzyńska
- Department of Oral Surgery, Medical University of Gdansk, 80211 Gdansk, Poland;
| | - Adrian Perdyan
- Student Scientific Circle of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80214 Gdansk, Poland;
| | - Marek Sowa
- Department of Urology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80214 Gdansk, Poland;
| | - Renata Duchnowska
- Department of Oncology, Military Institute in Warsaw, 01755 Warsaw, Poland;
| | - Wojciech Biernat
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80214 Gdansk, Poland; (M.K.); (M.B.); (W.B.)
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14
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Kunc M, Popęda M, Szałkowska A, Niemira M, Bieńkowski M, Pęksa R, Łacko A, Radecka BS, Braun M, Pikiel J, Litwiniuk M, Pogoda K, Iżycka-Świeszewska E, Krętowski A, Żaczek AJ, Biernat W, Senkus-Konefka E. microRNA Expression Profile in Single Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancers is Mainly Dependent on HER2 Status-A Pilot Study. Diagnostics (Basel) 2020; 10:diagnostics10090617. [PMID: 32825530 PMCID: PMC7555149 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics10090617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2020] [Revised: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PgR) receptors and HER2 are crucial in the assessment of breast cancer specimens due to their prognostic and predictive significance. Single hormone receptor-positive breast cancers are less common and their clinical course is less favorable than ER(+)/PgR(+) tumors. Their molecular features, especially microRNA (miRNA) profiles, have not been investigated to date. Tumor specimens from 36 chemonaive breast cancer patients with known ER and PgR status (18 ER(+)/PgR(−) and 18 ER(−)/PgR(+) cases) were enrolled to the study. The expression of 829 miRNAs was evaluated with nCounter Human v3 miRNA expression Assay (NanoString). miRNAs differentiating between ER/PgR/HER2 phenotypes were selected based on fold change (FC) calculated for the mean normalized counts of each probe in compared groups. The differences were estimated with Student’s t-test or Two-Way ANOVA (considering also the HER2 status). The results were validated using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset. Following quality control of raw data, fourcases were excluded due to low sample quality, leaving 14 ER(+)/PgR(−) and 18 ER(−)/PgR(+) cases. After correction for multiple comparisons, we did not find miRNA signature differentiating between ER(−)/PgR(+) and ER(+)/PgR(−) breast cancers. However, a trend for differing expression (p-value ≤ 0.05; FDR > 0.2; ANOVA) in eight miRNAs was observed. The ER(+)/PgR(−) group demonstrated elevated levels of four miRNAs—miR-30a-5p, miR-29c-3p, miR-141-3p and miR-423-5p—while the ER(−)/PgR(+) tumors were enriched in another four miRNAs—miR-514b-5p, miR-424-5p, miR-495-3p, and miR-92a-3p. For one of the miRNAs—miR-29c-3p—the association with the ER(+)/PgR(−) phenotype was confirmed in the TCGA cohort (p-value = 0.024; t-test). HER2 amplification/overexpression in the NanoString cohort was related to significant differences observed in 33 miRNA expression levels (FDR ≤ 0.2; ANOVA). The association with HER2 status was confirmed in the TCGA cohort for four miRNAs (miR-1180-3p, miR-223-3p, miR-30d-5p, and miR-195-5p). The main differences in miRNA expression amongst single hormone receptor-positive tumors were identified according to their HER2 status. However, ER(+)/PgR(−) cases tended to express higher levels of miRNAs associated with ER-positivity (miR-30a-5p, miR-29c-3p, miR-141-3p), whereas ER(−)/PgR(+) cancers showed elevated levels of miRNAs characteristic for double- and triple-negative tumors (miR-92a-3p, miR-424-5p). Further studies are necessary to comprehensively analyze miRNA signatures characteristic of ER(−)/PgR(+) and ER(+)/PgR(−) tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michał Kunc
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-214 Gdańsk, Poland; (M.K.); (M.B.); (R.P.); (W.B.)
| | - Marta Popęda
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-211 Gdansk, Poland; (M.P.); (A.J.Ż.)
| | - Anna Szałkowska
- Clinical Research Centre, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-276 Bialystok, Poland; (A.S.); (M.N.); (A.K.)
| | - Magdalena Niemira
- Clinical Research Centre, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-276 Bialystok, Poland; (A.S.); (M.N.); (A.K.)
| | - Michał Bieńkowski
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-214 Gdańsk, Poland; (M.K.); (M.B.); (R.P.); (W.B.)
| | - Rafał Pęksa
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-214 Gdańsk, Poland; (M.K.); (M.B.); (R.P.); (W.B.)
| | - Aleksandra Łacko
- Department of Oncology, Wroclaw Medical University, 53-413 Wroclaw, Poland;
- Department of Oncology, Breast Unit, Lower Silesian Oncology Centre, 53-413 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Barbara S. Radecka
- Department of Oncology, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Opole, 45-052 Opole, Poland;
- Department of Clinical Oncology, Tadeusz Koszarowski Cancer Center in Opole, 45-061 Opole, Poland
| | - Marcin Braun
- Department of Pathology, Chair of Oncology, Medical University of Lodz, 92-213 Lodz, Poland;
| | - Joanna Pikiel
- Department of Oncology, Szpital Morski, 81-519 Gdynia, Poland;
| | - Maria Litwiniuk
- Department of Oncologic Pathology and Prophylaxis, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 61-866 Poznan, Poland;
| | - Katarzyna Pogoda
- Department of Breast Cancer and Reconstructive Surgery, Maria Sklodowska Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, 02-781 Warsaw, Poland;
| | - Ewa Iżycka-Świeszewska
- Department of Pathology & Neuropathology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-211 Gdansk, Poland;
| | - Adam Krętowski
- Clinical Research Centre, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-276 Bialystok, Poland; (A.S.); (M.N.); (A.K.)
| | - Anna J. Żaczek
- Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-211 Gdansk, Poland; (M.P.); (A.J.Ż.)
| | - Wojciech Biernat
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-214 Gdańsk, Poland; (M.K.); (M.B.); (R.P.); (W.B.)
| | - Elżbieta Senkus-Konefka
- Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-214 Gdansk, Poland
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +48-58-584-4481
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15
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Bieńkowski M, Pęksa R, Popęda M, Kołaczkowska M, Frankiewicz A, Żaczek AJ, Gruchała M, Biernat W, Siondalski P. Liquid biopsy for minimally invasive heart transplant monitoring: a pilot study. J Clin Pathol 2019; 73:507-510. [PMID: 31806731 DOI: 10.1136/jclinpath-2019-205926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2019] [Revised: 10/21/2019] [Accepted: 11/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Heart transplantation allows for a long-term management of patients with end-stage heart failure. After the surgery, organ rejection is monitored with endomyocardial biopsy, which is an invasive, but not always informative procedure. Therefore, there is a pressing need for a new, safe, yet reliable, diagnostic method. Here, we present a pilot study confronting liquid biopsy based on donor-specific cell-free DNA with the protocol endomyocardial biopsy. METHODS The study was performed on 21 blood samples matched with endomyocardial biopsy (graded according to acute cellular rejection scale) from nine patients after heart transplantation. Genotyping was performed on genomic DNA from donors and recipients for 10 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Cell-free DNA isolated from plasma was analysed with digital droplet PCR to detect donor-specific alleles. RESULTS From 21 analysed endomyocardial biopsies, 4 were graded as 0R and 17 as 1R. Liquid biopsy was successfully performed in each sample for all informative SNPs (median of 3 per patient). We observed a high homogeneity of the results between SNPs in each sample (interclass correlation coefficient of >0.9). CONCLUSIONS There is a undeniable need for an alternative, non-invasive diagnostic procedure of early transplant rejection and investigation of donor-derived cell-free DNA seems to be the promising choice. The very high sensitivity is particularly enticing to consider liquid biopsy as a potential screening tool. Its minimal invasiveness may allow for more frequent examination and, thus, tighter monitoring. The reliable assessment of its clinical utility requires an adequately powered and properly designed multicentre study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michał Bieńkowski
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Rafał Pęksa
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Marta Popęda
- Laboratory of Cell Biology, Department of Medical Biotechnology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdańsk and Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Magdalena Kołaczkowska
- Department of Cardiac & Vascular Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Anna Frankiewicz
- 1st Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Anna J Żaczek
- Laboratory of Cell Biology, Department of Medical Biotechnology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdańsk and Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Marcin Gruchała
- 1st Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Wojciech Biernat
- Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Piotr Siondalski
- Department of Cardiac & Vascular Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
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Płuciennik E, Nowakowska M, Gałdyszyńska M, Popęda M, Bednarek AK. The influence of the WWOX gene on the regulation of biological processes during endometrial carcinogenesis. Int J Mol Med 2016; 37:807-15. [PMID: 26820701 DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2016.2469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2015] [Accepted: 01/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of WW domain containing oxidoreductase (WWOX) downregulation in biological cancer-related processes in normal (non-malignant) and cancer endometrial cell lines. We created an in vitro model using the normal endometrial cell line, THESC, and 2 endometrial cancer cell lines with varying degrees of differentiation, the Ishikawa (well-differentiated) and the MFE296 (moderately differentiated) cells, in which the WWOX tumor suppressor gene was silenced using Gipz lentiviral shRNA. In this model, we examined the changes in invasiveness via biological assays, such as zymography, migration through a basement membrane, the adhesion of cells to extracellular matrix proteins, anchorage-independent growth and colony formation assay. We also evaluated the correlation between the mRNA expression of the WWOX gene and genes involved in the processes of carcinogenesis, namely catenin beta-1 (CTNNB1) and zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) (gene transcription), cadherin 1 (CDH1) and ezrin (EZR) (cell adhesion), vimentin (VIM) (structural proteins), as well as phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) (tumor suppression) and secreted protein, acidic, cysteine-rich (osteonectin) (SPARC) (SPARC) (cell growth regulation) by RT-qPCR. Downregulation of the WWOX gene in the moderately differentiated MFE296 cell line caused decreased migratory capacity, and a reduction of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) activity. However, these cells grew in semisolid medium and exhibited higher expression of CDH1 and EZR (cell adhesion) and secreted protein, acidic, cysteine-rich (osteonectin) (SPARC) (cell growth regulation). Moreover, in the well-differentiated endometrial cancer (Ishikawa) cell line, WWOX gene silencing resulted in an increased ability of the cells to proliferate indefinitely. Additionally, WWOX regulated changes in adhesion potential in both the normal and cancer cell lines. Our results suggest that the WWOX tumor suppressor gene modulated the processes of cell motility, cell adhesion, gene expression and remodeling in endometrial cell lines.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Płuciennik
- Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Medical University of Lodz, 90-752 Lodz, Poland
| | - M Nowakowska
- Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Medical University of Lodz, 90-752 Lodz, Poland
| | - M Gałdyszyńska
- Department of Comparative Endocrinology, Medical University of Lodz, 90-752 Lodz, Poland
| | - M Popęda
- Faculty of Biomedical Sciences and Postgraduate Education, Medical University of Lodz, 90-752 Lodz, Poland
| | - A K Bednarek
- Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Medical University of Lodz, 90-752 Lodz, Poland
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17
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Płuciennik E, Nowakowska M, Pospiech K, Stępień A, Wołkowicz M, Gałdyszyńska M, Popęda M, Wójcik-Krowiranda K, Bieńkiewicz A, Bednarek AK. The role of WWOX tumor suppressor gene in the regulation of EMT process via regulation of CDH1-ZEB1-VIM expression in endometrial cancer. Int J Oncol 2015; 46:2639-48. [PMID: 25892250 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2015.2964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2015] [Accepted: 03/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
This study defines the role of WWOX in the regulation of epithelial to mesenchymal transition. A group of 164 endometrial adenocarcinoma patients was studied as well as an ECC1 well-differentiated steroid-responsive endometrial cell line, which was transducted with WWOX cDNA by a retroviral system. The relationship between WWOX gene and EMT marker (CDH1, VIM, ZEB1, SNAI1) expression on mRNA (RT-qPCR) and protein levels (western blotting) was evaluated. The EMT processes were also analysed in vitro by adhesion of cells to extracellular matrix proteins, migration through a basement membrane, anchorage-independent growth and MMP activity assay. DNA microarrays (HumanOneArray™) were used to determine WWOX-dependent pathways in an ECC1 cell line. A positive correlation was observed between WWOX and ZEB1, and a negative correlation between CDH1 and VIM. WWOX expression was found to inversely correlate with the risk of recurrence of tumors in patients. However, in the WWOX-expressing ECC1 cell line, WWOX expression was found to be inversely related with VIM and positively with CDH1. The ECC1/WWOX cell line variant demonstrated increased migratory capacity, with increased expression of metalloproteinases MMP2/MMP9. However, these cells were not able to form colonies in suspension and revealed decreased adhesion to fibronectin and fibrinogen. Microarray analysis demonstrated that WWOX has an impact on the variety of cellular pathways including the cadherin and integrin signalling pathways. Our results suggest that the WWOX gene plays a role in the regulation of EMT processes in endometrial cancer by controlling the expression of proteins associated with cell motility, thus influencing tissue remodeling, with the suppression of mesenchymal markers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elżbieta Płuciennik
- Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Medical University of Lodz, PL 90-752 Lodz, Poland
| | - Magdalena Nowakowska
- Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Medical University of Lodz, PL 90-752 Lodz, Poland
| | - Karolina Pospiech
- Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Medical University of Lodz, PL 90-752 Lodz, Poland
| | - Anna Stępień
- Laboratory of Clinical and Transplant Immunology and Genetics, Copernicus Memorial Hospital in Lodz, PL 90-752 Lodz, Poland
| | - Mateusz Wołkowicz
- Bio-Tech Consulting Sp. z o.o, Faculty of Biomedical Science and Postgraduate Education, Medical University of Lodz, PL 90-752 Lodz, Poland
| | - Małgorzata Gałdyszyńska
- Faculty of Biomedical Sciences and Postgraduate Education, Medical University of Lodz, PL 90-752 Lodz, Poland
| | - Marta Popęda
- Faculty of Biomedical Sciences and Postgraduate Education, Medical University of Lodz, PL 90-752 Lodz, Poland
| | | | - Andrzej Bieńkiewicz
- Clinical Division of Gynecological Oncology, Medical University of Lodz, PL 90-752 Lodz, Poland
| | - Andrzej K Bednarek
- Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Medical University of Lodz, PL 90-752 Lodz, Poland
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Abstract
Multidrug Resistance (MDR) is defined as insensitivity to administered medicines that are structurally unrelated and have different molecular targets. Cancers possess numerous mechanisms of drug resistance, involving various aspects of cell biology. A pivotal role in this phenomenon is played by proteins--enzymatic or structural parts of the cell. Membrane transporters, including the main members of ABC protein family--P-gp, MRP1 and BCRP, as well as LRP, which builds structure of vaults, determine the multidrug-resistant phenotype by decreasing drug concentration within the cell or modifying its distribution to intracellular compartments. The π isoform of protein enzyme--glutathione S-transferase (GSTP-1), is responsible for excessive intensity of detoxification of cytostatics. A common example of altered drug target site that does not respond to chemotherapy is topoisomerase II α (TopoIIa). Alterations of programmed cell death result from expression of metallothionein (MT)--inhibitor of the process, and cytokeratin 18 (CK18), which, if in high concentration, also prevents apoptosis of cells. Several methods of decreasing activity of these proteins have been developed, aiming to overcome MDR in cancer cells. However, for a variety of reasons, their clinical suitability is still very low, leading to continuous increase in death rate among patients. This paper presents current state of knowledge on the most important examples of proteins responsible for MDR of cancer cells and molecular mechanisms of their action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Popęda
- Wydział Nauk Biomedycznych i Kształcenia Podyplomowego, Uniwersytet Medyczny w Łodzi
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