Melbourne Students & Learning - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableExplainer: Open access vs traditional academic journal publishers(The Conversation Media Group, 2011-07-27)
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ItemNo Preview AvailableEvaluation of chromosome 6p22 as a breast cancer risk modifier locus in a follow-up study of BRCA2 mutation carriers(SPRINGER, 2012-11)Several common germline variants identified through genome-wide association studies of breast cancer risk in the general population have recently been shown to be associated with breast cancer risk for BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 mutation carriers. When combined, these variants can identify marked differences in the absolute risk of developing breast cancer for mutation carriers, suggesting that additional modifier loci may further enhance individual risk assessment for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. Recently, a common variant on 6p22 (rs9393597) was found to be associated with increased breast cancer risk for BRCA2 mutation carriers [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.55, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.25-1.92, p = 6.0 × 10(-5)]. This observation was based on data from GWAS studies in which, despite statistical correction for multiple comparisons, the possibility of false discovery remains a concern. Here, we report on an analysis of this variant in an additional 6,165 BRCA1 and 3,900 BRCA2 mutation carriers from the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA). In this replication analysis, rs9393597 was not associated with breast cancer risk for BRCA2 mutation carriers (HR = 1.09, 95 % CI 0.96-1.24, p = 0.18). No association with ovarian cancer risk for BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers or with breast cancer risk for BRCA1 mutation carriers was observed. This follow-up study suggests that, contrary to our initial report, this variant is not associated with breast cancer risk among individuals with germline BRCA2 mutations.
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ItemNo Preview Available11q13 is a susceptibility locus for hormone receptor positive breast cancer(WILEY, 2012-07)A recent two-stage genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified five novel breast cancer susceptibility loci on chromosomes 9, 10, and 11. To provide more reliable estimates of the relative risk associated with these loci and investigate possible heterogeneity by subtype of breast cancer, we genotyped the variants rs2380205, rs1011970, rs704010, rs614367, and rs10995190 in 39 studies from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC), involving 49,608 cases and 48,772 controls of predominantly European ancestry. Four of the variants showed clear evidence of association (P ≤ 3 × 10(-9) ) and weak evidence was observed for rs2380205 (P = 0.06). The strongest evidence was obtained for rs614367, located on 11q13 (per-allele odds ratio 1.21, P = 4 × 10(-39) ). The association for rs614367 was specific to estrogen receptor (ER)-positive disease and strongest for ER plus progesterone receptor (PR)-positive breast cancer, whereas the associations for the other three loci did not differ by tumor subtype.
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ItemNo Preview Available9q31.2-rs865686 as a Susceptibility Locus for Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer: Evidence from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium(AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH, 2012-10)BACKGROUND: Our recent genome-wide association study identified a novel breast cancer susceptibility locus at 9q31.2 (rs865686). METHODS: To further investigate the rs865686-breast cancer association, we conducted a replication study within the Breast Cancer Association Consortium, which comprises 37 case-control studies (48,394 cases, 50,836 controls). RESULTS: This replication study provides additional strong evidence of an inverse association between rs865686 and breast cancer risk [study-adjusted per G-allele OR, 0.90; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.88; 0.91, P = 2.01 × 10(-29)] among women of European ancestry. There were ethnic differences in the estimated minor (G)-allele frequency among controls [0.09, 0.30, and 0.38 among, respectively, Asians, Eastern Europeans, and other Europeans; P for heterogeneity (P(het)) = 1.3 × 10(-143)], but no evidence of ethnic differences in per allele OR (P(het) = 0.43). rs865686 was associated with estrogen receptor-positive (ER(+)) disease (per G-allele OR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.86-0.91; P = 3.13 × 10(-22)) but less strongly, if at all, with ER-negative (ER(-)) disease (OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.94-1.02; P = 0.26; P(het) = 1.16 × 10(-6)), with no evidence of independent heterogeneity by progesterone receptor or HER2 status. The strength of the breast cancer association decreased with increasing age at diagnosis, with case-only analysis showing a trend in the number of copies of the G allele with increasing age at diagnosis (P for linear trend = 0.0095), but only among women with ER(+) tumors. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to show that rs865686 is a susceptibility marker for ER(+) breast cancer. IMPACT: The findings further support the view that genetic susceptibility varies according to tumor subtype.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableA Nonsynonymous Polymorphism in IRS1 Modifies Risk of Developing Breast and Ovarian Cancers in BRCA1 and Ovarian Cancer in BRCA2 Mutation Carriers(AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH, 2012-08)BACKGROUND: We previously reported significant associations between genetic variants in insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) and breast cancer risk in women carrying BRCA1 mutations. The objectives of this study were to investigate whether the IRS1 variants modified ovarian cancer risk and were associated with breast cancer risk in a larger cohort of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. METHODS: IRS1 rs1801123, rs1330645, and rs1801278 were genotyped in samples from 36 centers in the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA). Data were analyzed by a retrospective cohort approach modeling the associations with breast and ovarian cancer risks simultaneously. Analyses were stratified by BRCA1 and BRCA2 status and mutation class in BRCA1 carriers. RESULTS: Rs1801278 (Gly972Arg) was associated with ovarian cancer risk for both BRCA1 (HR, 1.43; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.06-1.92; P = 0.019) and BRCA2 mutation carriers (HR, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.39-3.52, P = 0.0008). For BRCA1 mutation carriers, the breast cancer risk was higher in carriers with class II mutations than class I mutations (class II HR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.28-2.70; class I HR, 0.86; 95%CI, 0.69-1.09; P(difference), 0.0006). Rs13306465 was associated with ovarian cancer risk in BRCA1 class II mutation carriers (HR, 2.42; P = 0.03). CONCLUSION: The IRS1 Gly972Arg single-nucleotide polymorphism, which affects insulin-like growth factor and insulin signaling, modifies ovarian cancer risk in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers and breast cancer risk in BRCA1 class II mutation carriers. IMPACT: These findings may prove useful for risk prediction for breast and ovarian cancers in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers.
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ItemEnhanced RAD21 cohesin expression confers poor prognosis in BRCA2 and BRCAX, but not BRCA1 familial breast cancers(BIOMED CENTRAL LTD, 2012)INTRODUCTION: The RAD21 gene encodes a key component of the cohesin complex, which is essential for chromosome segregation, and together with BRCA1 and BRCA2, for high-fidelity DNA repair by homologous recombination. Although its expression correlates with early relapse and treatment resistance in sporadic breast cancers, it is unclear whether familial breast cancers behave in a similar manner. METHODS: We performed an immunohistochemical analysis of RAD21 expression in a cohort of 94 familial breast cancers (28 BRCA1, 27 BRCA2, and 39 BRCAX) and correlated these data with genotype and clinicopathologic parameters, including survival. In these cancers, we also correlated RAD21 expression with genomic expression profiling and gene copy-number changes and miRNAs predicted to target RAD21. RESULTS: No significant differences in nuclear RAD21 expression were observed between BRCA1 (12 (43%) of 28), BRCA2 (12 (44%) of 27), and BRCAX cancers (12 (33%) of 39 (p = 0.598). No correlation was found between RAD21 expression and grade, size, or lymph node, ER, or HER2 status (all P > 0.05). As for sporadic breast cancers, RAD21 expression correlated with shorter survival in grade 3 (P = 0.009) and but not in grade 1 (P = 0.065) or 2 cancers (P = 0.090). Expression of RAD21 correlated with poorer survival in patients treated with chemotherapy (P = 0.036) but not with hormonal therapy (P = 0.881). RAD21 expression correlated with shorter survival in BRCA2 (P = 0.006) and BRCAX (P = 0.008), but not BRCA1 cancers (P = 0.713). Changes in RAD21 mRNA were reflected by genomic changes in DNA copy number (P < 0.001) and by RAD21 protein expression, as assessed with immunohistochemistry (P = 0.047). High RAD21 expression was associated with genomic instability, as assessed by the total number of base pairs affected by genomic change (P = 0.048). Of 15 miRNAs predicted to target RAD21, mir-299-5p inversely correlated with RAD21 expression (P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Potential use of RAD21 as a predictive and prognostic marker in familial breast cancers is hence feasible and may therefore take into account the patient's BRCA1/2 mutation status.
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ItemEstablishing and fostering communities of practice( 2012)This paper reviews the foundation literature on communities of practice. It describes two communities of practice established at the University of Melbourne Library and the lessons learned in the development of these communities. It outlines plans for the future and strategies being used to make communities of practice self-supporting.
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ItemContext entity analysis: using public domain knowledge to build information infrastructure( 2012)The purpose of this paper is to surface in an explicit way the challenges of corporate self-knowledge. The emphasis is on how corporations, and the individuals that comprise them, provide public access to authoritative records and information that adequately explains who they are, what they do, how they function, and the ways important organisational narratives evolve through time. The paper reports on a case study completed by the University of Melbourne’s eScholarship Research Centre in December 2011, for a Division of a Victorian Government agency, Australia, the Department of Primary Industries (DPI). The study utilised a research and analytical methodology called Context Entity Analysis (CEA). CEA provides a means through which knowledge resources generated using narrative techniques, such as reports, journal articles, books, or websites can be utilised to create open complex networks of entities that more closely mirror the multiplicity of what actually happens, both within corporations and at the intersection between corporations and the citizenry.
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ItemLinking agricultural extension, decision support systems and context: implications for knowledge management practice( 2012)There exists a substantial knowledge management challenge for organisations with responsibilities to mediate public interests. This challenge relates to the means by which knowledge assets are managed to integrate a hierarchy of knowledge in a continuum from the micro-level (individual), group (institutional / organisational), formal (peer-authorised) to the macro-level of focus (societal norms). The purpose of this paper is to present an analysis of a specific program – FarmPlan 21. FarmPlan21 was introduced within the Australian state of Victoria to promote the uptake of whole-farm planning practices. Through this initiative an objective has been to mediate private and public interests related to the integration of commercial and sustainable land management practices. The analysis of FarmPlan21 is presented through the lens of two different knowledge hierarchies – one for a farmer and one for an agricultural extension officer engaged within the Victorian Department of Primary Industries.
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ItemShaping the context for an integrated knowledge hub for the dairy and grains industry project: managing knowledge in the public sphere – ‘lessons learned’( 2011)In 2011, the Victorian Department of Primary Industries (DPI) undertook a “proof of concept” project related to the design and development of two integrated knowledge hubs for the dairy and grains industry sectors. The University of Melbourne’s eScholarship Research Centre (ESRC) was engaged to provide advice on how structured online knowledge could contribute to the provision of persistent, authoritative information to farmers and industry service providers. For more than 25 years, the ESRC and its predecessors have operated as both academic centres and focal points for infrastructure design, testing and deployment. The Centre has been a key collaborator in more than twenty online knowledge resources dating back to the earliest days of the web, all of which remain accessible in some form or another to this day. In delivering this report, ‘Managing Knowledge in the Public Sphere – “Lessons Learned”,’ the authors draw on these experiences to present findings for consideration by DPI.