EGFR gene copy number decreases during anti-EGFR antibody therapy in colorectal cancer
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene copy number (GCN) increase is associated with a favorable anti-EGFR antibody treatment response in RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer. However, there are limited and comparative data regarding the EGFR GCN in primary colorectal cancer tumors and corresponding metastases or the effect of anti-EGFR antibody treatment on EGFR GCN in recurrent disease. In addition, little is known about the potential EGFR GCN changes during anti-EGFR therapy in comparison with other treatment regimens. EGFR GCN was analyzed by EGFR immunohistochemistry-guided silver in situ hybridization in primary and corresponding recurrent local or metastatic tumors from 8…
Epidemiological, clinical and molecular characterization of Lynch‐like syndrome: A population‐based study
Colorectal carcinomas that are mismatch repair (MMR)‐deficient in the absence of MLH1 promoter methylation or germline mutations represent Lynch‐like syndrome (LLS). Double somatic events inactivating MMR genes are involved in the etiology of LLS tumors. Our purpose was to define the clinical and broader molecular hallmarks of LLS tumors and the population incidence of LLS, which remain poorly characterized. We investigated 762 consecutive colorectal carcinomas operated in Central Finland in 2000–2010. LLS cases were identified by a stepwise protocol based on MMR protein expression, MLH1 methylation and MMR gene mutation status. LLS tumors were profiled for CpG Island Methylator Phenotype (…
Systemic circulating microRNA landscape in Lynch syndrome
AbstractMicroRNAs (miRs) are non-coding RNA-molecules that regulate gene expression. Global circulating miR (c-miR) expression patterns (c-miRnome) change with carcinogenesis in various sporadic cancers. Therefore, aberrantly expressed c-miRs could have diagnostic, predictive and prognostic potential in molecular profiling of cancers. c-miR functions in carriers of inherited pathogenic mismatch-repair gene variants (path_MMR), also known as Lynch syndrome (LS), have remained understudied. LS cohort provides an ideal population for biomarker mining due to increased lifelong cancer risk and excessive cancer occurrence. Using high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatic approaches, we conducte…