Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology - Research Publications

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    Gene-Expression Profiling of Mucinous Ovarian Tumors and Comparison with Upper and Lower Gastrointestinal Tumors Identifies Markers Associated with Adverse Outcomes
    Meagher, NS ; Gorringe, KL ; Wakefield, M ; Bolithon, A ; Pang, CNI ; Chiu, DS ; Anglesio, MS ; Mallitt, K-A ; Doherty, JA ; Harris, HR ; Schildkraut, JM ; Berchuck, A ; Cushing-Haugen, KL ; Chezar, K ; Chou, A ; Tan, A ; Alsop, J ; Barlow, E ; Beckmann, MW ; Boros, J ; Bowtell, DDL ; Brand, AH ; Brenton, JD ; Campbell, I ; Cheasley, D ; Cohen, J ; Cybulski, C ; Elishaev, E ; Erber, R ; Farrell, R ; Fischer, A ; Fu, Z ; Gilks, B ; Gill, AJ ; Gourley, C ; Grube, M ; Harnett, PR ; Hartmann, A ; Hettiaratchi, A ; Hogdall, CK ; Huzarski, T ; Jakubowska, A ; Jimenez-Linan, M ; Kennedy, CJ ; Kim, B-G ; Kim, J-W ; Kim, J-H ; Klett, K ; Koziak, JM ; Lai, T ; Laslavic, A ; Lester, J ; Leung, Y ; Li, N ; Liauw, W ; Lim, BWX ; Linder, A ; Lubinski, J ; Mahale, S ; Mateoiu, C ; McInerny, S ; Menkiszak, J ; Minoo, P ; Mittelstadt, S ; Morris, D ; Orsulic, S ; Park, S-Y ; Pearce, CL ; Pearson, J ; Pike, MC ; Quinn, CM ; Mohan, GR ; Rao, J ; Riggan, MJ ; Ruebner, M ; Salfinger, S ; Scott, CL ; Shah, M ; Steed, H ; Stewart, CJR ; Subramanian, D ; Sung, S ; Tang, K ; Timpson, P ; Ward, RL ; Wiedenhoefer, R ; Thorne, H ; Cohen, PA ; Crowe, P ; Fasching, PA ; Gronwald, J ; Hawkins, NJ ; Hogdall, E ; Huntsman, DG ; James, PA ; Karlan, BY ; Kelemen, LE ; Kommoss, S ; Konecny, GE ; Modugno, F ; Park, SK ; Staebler, A ; Sundfeldt, K ; Wu, AH ; Talhouk, A ; Pharoah, PDP ; Anderson, L ; DeFazio, A ; Kobel, M ; Friedlander, ML ; Ramus, SJ (AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH, 2022-12-15)
    PURPOSE: Advanced-stage mucinous ovarian carcinoma (MOC) has poor chemotherapy response and prognosis and lacks biomarkers to aid stage I adjuvant treatment. Differentiating primary MOC from gastrointestinal (GI) metastases to the ovary is also challenging due to phenotypic similarities. Clinicopathologic and gene-expression data were analyzed to identify prognostic and diagnostic features. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Discovery analyses selected 19 genes with prognostic/diagnostic potential. Validation was performed through the Ovarian Tumor Tissue Analysis consortium and GI cancer biobanks comprising 604 patients with MOC (n = 333), mucinous borderline ovarian tumors (MBOT, n = 151), and upper GI (n = 65) and lower GI tumors (n = 55). RESULTS: Infiltrative pattern of invasion was associated with decreased overall survival (OS) within 2 years from diagnosis, compared with expansile pattern in stage I MOC [hazard ratio (HR), 2.77; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04-7.41, P = 0.042]. Increased expression of THBS2 and TAGLN was associated with shorter OS in MOC patients (HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.04-1.51, P = 0.016) and (HR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.01-1.45, P = 0.043), respectively. ERBB2 (HER2) amplification or high mRNA expression was evident in 64 of 243 (26%) of MOCs, but only 8 of 243 (3%) were also infiltrative (4/39, 10%) or stage III/IV (4/31, 13%). CONCLUSIONS: An infiltrative growth pattern infers poor prognosis within 2 years from diagnosis and may help select stage I patients for adjuvant therapy. High expression of THBS2 and TAGLN in MOC confers an adverse prognosis and is upregulated in the infiltrative subtype, which warrants further investigation. Anti-HER2 therapy should be investigated in a subset of patients. MOC samples clustered with upper GI, yet markers to differentiate these entities remain elusive, suggesting similar underlying biology and shared treatment strategies.
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    Genomic analysis of low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma to identify key drivers and therapeutic vulnerabilities
    Cheasley, D ; Nigam, A ; Zethoven, M ; Hunter, S ; Etemadmoghadam, D ; Semple, T ; Allan, P ; Carey, MS ; Fernandez, ML ; Dawson, A ; Kobel, M ; Huntsman, DG ; Le Page, C ; Mes-Masson, A-M ; Provencher, D ; Hacker, N ; Gao, Y ; Bowtell, D ; deFazio, A ; Gorringe, KL ; Campbell, IG (WILEY, 2021-01)
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    Therapeutic options for mucinous ovarian carcinoma
    Gorringe, KL ; Cheasley, D ; Wakefield, MJ ; Ryland, GL ; Allan, PE ; Alsop, K ; Amarasinghe, KC ; Ananda, S ; Bowtell, DDL ; Christie, M ; Chiew, Y-E ; Churchman, M ; DeFazio, A ; Fereday, S ; Gilks, CB ; Gourley, C ; Hadley, AM ; Hendley, J ; Hunter, SM ; Kaufmann, SH ; Kennedy, CJ ; Kobel, M ; Le Page, C ; Li, J ; Lupat, R ; McNally, OM ; McAlpine, JN ; Pyman, J ; Rowley, SM ; Salazar, C ; Saunders, H ; Semple, T ; Stephens, AN ; Thio, N ; Torres, MC ; Traficante, N ; Zethoven, M ; Antill, YC ; Campbell, IG ; Scott, CL (ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE, 2020-03)
    OBJECTIVE: Mucinous ovarian carcinoma (MOC) is an uncommon ovarian cancer histotype that responds poorly to conventional chemotherapy regimens. Although long overall survival outcomes can occur with early detection and optimal surgical resection, recurrent and advanced disease are associated with extremely poor survival. There are no current guidelines specifically for the systemic management of recurrent MOC. We analyzed data from a large cohort of women with MOC to evaluate the potential for clinical utility from a range of systemic agents. METHODS: We analyzed gene copy number (n = 191) and DNA sequencing data (n = 184) from primary MOC to evaluate signatures of mismatch repair deficiency and homologous recombination deficiency, and other genetic events. Immunohistochemistry data were collated for ER, CK7, CK20, CDX2, HER2, PAX8 and p16 (n = 117-166). RESULTS: Molecular aberrations noted in MOC that suggest a match with current targeted therapies include amplification of ERBB2 (26.7%) and BRAF mutation (9%). Observed genetic events that suggest potential efficacy for agents currently in clinical trials include: KRAS/NRAS mutations (66%), TP53 missense mutation (49%), RNF43 mutation (11%), ARID1A mutation (10%), and PIK3CA/PTEN mutation (9%). Therapies exploiting homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) may not be effective in MOC, as only 1/191 had a high HRD score. Mismatch repair deficiency was similarly rare (1/184). CONCLUSIONS: Although genetically diverse, MOC has several potential therapeutic targets. Importantly, the lack of response to platinum-based therapy observed clinically corresponds to the lack of a genomic signature associated with HRD, and MOC are thus also unlikely to respond to PARP inhibition.
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    MicroRNA Genes and Their Target 3′-Untranslated Regions Are Infrequently Somatically Mutated in Ovarian Cancers
    Ryland, GL ; Bearfoot, JL ; Doyle, MA ; Boyle, SE ; Choong, DYH ; Rowley, SM ; Tothill, RW ; Gorringe, KL ; Campbell, IG ; Cooney, AJ (PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE, 2012-04-20)
    MicroRNAs are key regulators of gene expression and have been shown to have altered expression in a variety of cancer types, including epithelial ovarian cancer. MiRNA function is most often achieved through binding to the 3'-untranslated region of the target protein coding gene. Mutation screening using massively-parallel sequencing of 712 miRNA genes in 86 ovarian cancer cases identified only 5 mutated miRNA genes, each in a different case. One mutation was located in the mature miRNA, and three mutations were predicted to alter the secondary structure of the miRNA transcript. Screening of the 3'-untranslated region of 18 candidate cancer genes identified one mutation in each of AKT2, EGFR, ERRB2 and CTNNB1. The functional effect of these mutations is unclear, as expression data available for AKT2 and EGFR showed no increase in gene transcript. Mutations in miRNA genes and 3'-untranslated regions are thus uncommon in ovarian cancer.
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    Copy Number Analysis Identifies Novel Interactions Between Genomic Loci in Ovarian Cancer
    Gorringe, KL ; George, J ; Anglesio, MS ; Ramakrishna, M ; Etemadmoghadam, D ; Cowin, P ; Sridhar, A ; Williams, LH ; Boyle, SE ; Yanaihara, N ; Okamoto, A ; Urashima, M ; Smyth, GK ; Campbell, IG ; Bowtell, DDL ; Jordan, IK (PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE, 2010-09-10)
    Ovarian cancer is a heterogeneous disease displaying complex genomic alterations, and consequently, it has been difficult to determine the most relevant copy number alterations with the scale of studies to date. We obtained genome-wide copy number alteration (CNA) data from four different SNP array platforms, with a final data set of 398 ovarian tumours, mostly of the serous histological subtype. Frequent CNA aberrations targeted many thousands of genes. However, high-level amplicons and homozygous deletions enabled filtering of this list to the most relevant. The large data set enabled refinement of minimal regions and identification of rare amplicons such as at 1p34 and 20q11. We performed a novel co-occurrence analysis to assess cooperation and exclusivity of CNAs and analysed their relationship to patient outcome. Positive associations were identified between gains on 19 and 20q, gain of 20q and loss of X, and between several regions of loss, particularly 17q. We found weak correlations of CNA at genomic loci such as 19q12 with clinical outcome. We also assessed genomic instability measures and found a correlation of the number of higher amplitude gains with poorer overall survival. By assembling the largest collection of ovarian copy number data to date, we have been able to identify the most frequent aberrations and their interactions.
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    Amplicon-Dependent CCNE1 Expression Is Critical for Clonogenic Survival after Cisplatin Treatment and Is Correlated with 20q11 Gain in Ovarian Cancer
    Etemadmoghadam, D ; George, J ; Cowin, PA ; Cullinane, C ; Kansara, M ; Gorringe, KL ; Smyth, GK ; Bowtell, DDL ; Wong, N (PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE, 2010-11-12)
    Genomic amplification of 19q12 occurs in several cancer types including ovarian cancer where it is associated with primary treatment failure. We systematically attenuated expression of genes within the minimally defined 19q12 region in ovarian cell lines using short-interfering RNAs (siRNA) to identify driver oncogene(s) within the amplicon. Knockdown of CCNE1 resulted in G1/S phase arrest, reduced cell viability and apoptosis only in amplification-carrying cells. Although CCNE1 knockdown increased cisplatin resistance in short-term assays, clonogenic survival was inhibited after treatment. Gain of 20q11 was highly correlated with 19q12 amplification and spanned a 2.5 Mb region including TPX2, a centromeric protein required for mitotic spindle function. Expression of TPX2 was highly correlated with gene amplification and with CCNE1 expression in primary tumors. siRNA inhibition of TPX2 reduced cell viability but this effect was not amplicon-dependent. These findings demonstrate that CCNE1 is a key driver in the 19q12 amplicon required for survival and clonogenicity in cells with locus amplification. Co-amplification at 19q12 and 20q11 implies the presence of a cooperative mutational network. These observations have implications for the application of targeted therapies in CCNE1 dependent ovarian cancers.
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    Loss of heterozygosity: what is it good for?
    Ryland, GL ; Doyle, MA ; Goode, D ; Boyle, SE ; Choong, DYH ; Rowley, SM ; Li, J ; Bowtell, DDL ; Tothill, RW ; Campbell, IG ; Gorringe, KL (BMC, 2015-08-01)
    BACKGROUND: Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) is a common genetic event in cancer development, and is known to be involved in the somatic loss of wild-type alleles in many inherited cancer syndromes. The wider involvement of LOH in cancer is assumed to relate to unmasking a somatically mutated tumour suppressor gene through loss of the wild type allele. METHODS: We analysed 86 ovarian carcinomas for mutations in 980 genes selected on the basis of their location in common regions of LOH. RESULTS: We identified 36 significantly mutated genes, but these could only partly account for the quanta of LOH in the samples. Using our own and TCGA data we then evaluated five possible models to explain the selection for non-random accumulation of LOH in ovarian cancer genomes: 1. Classic two-hit hypothesis: high frequency biallelic genetic inactivation of tumour suppressor genes. 2. Epigenetic two-hit hypothesis: biallelic inactivation through methylation and LOH. 3. Multiple alternate-gene biallelic inactivation: low frequency gene disruption. 4. Haplo-insufficiency: Single copy gene disruption. 5. Modified two-hit hypothesis: reduction to homozygosity of low penetrance germline predisposition alleles. We determined that while high-frequency biallelic gene inactivation under model 1 is rare, regions of LOH (particularly copy-number neutral LOH) are enriched for deleterious mutations and increased promoter methylation, while copy-number loss LOH regions are likely to contain under-expressed genes suggestive of haploinsufficiency. Reduction to homozygosity of cancer predisposition SNPs may also play a minor role. CONCLUSION: It is likely that selection for regions of LOH depends on its effect on multiple genes. Selection for copy number neutral LOH may better fit the classic two-hit model whereas selection for copy number loss may be attributed to its effect on multi-gene haploinsufficiency. LOH mapping alone is unlikely to be successful in identifying novel tumour suppressor genes; a combined approach may be more effective.
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    Germline whole exome sequencing of a family with appendiceal mucinous tumours presenting with pseudomyxoma peritonei
    Lung, MS ; Mitchell, CA ; Doyle, MA ; Lynch, AC ; Gorringe, KL ; Bowtell, DDL ; Campbell, IG ; Trainer, AH (BMC, 2020-05-01)
    BACKGROUND: Familial cases of appendiceal mucinous tumours (AMTs) are extremely rare and the underlying genetic aetiology uncertain. We identified potential predisposing germline genetic variants in a father and daughter with AMTs presenting with pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) and correlated these with regions of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in the tumours. METHODS: Through germline whole exome sequencing, we identified novel heterozygous loss-of-function (LoF) (i.e. nonsense, frameshift and essential splice site mutations) and missense variants shared between father and daughter, and validated all LoF variants, and missense variants with a Combined Annotation Dependent Depletion (CADD) scaled score of ≥10. Genome-wide copy number analysis was performed on tumour tissue from both individuals to identify regions of LOH. RESULTS: Fifteen novel variants in 15 genes were shared by the father and daughter, including a nonsense mutation in REEP5. None of these germline variants were located in tumour regions of LOH shared by the father and daughter. Four genes (EXOG, RANBP2, RANBP6 and TNFRSF1B) harboured missense variants that fell in a region of LOH in the tumour from the father only, but none showed somatic loss of the wild type allele in the tumour. The REEP5 gene was sequenced in 23 individuals with presumed sporadic AMTs or PMP; no LoF or rare missense germline variants were identified. CONCLUSION: Germline exome sequencing of a father and daughter with AMTs identified novel candidate predisposing genes. Further studies are required to clarify the role of these genes in familial AMTs.
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    Molecular comparison of pure ovarian fibroma with serous benign ovarian tumours
    Hunter, SM ; Dall, GV ; Doyle, MA ; Lupat, R ; Li, J ; Allan, P ; Rowley, SM ; Bowtell, D ; Campbell, IG ; Gorringe, KL (SPRINGERNATURE, 2020-07-22)
    OBJECTIVE: Ovarian fibromas and adenofibromas are rare ovarian tumours. They are benign tumours composed of spindle-like stromal cells (pure fibroma) or a mixture of fibroblast and epithelial components (adenofibroma). We have previously shown that 40% of benign serous ovarian tumours are likely primary fibromas due to the neoplastic alterations being restricted to the stromal compartment of these tumours. We further explore this finding by comparing benign serous tumours to pure fibromas. RESULTS: Performing copy number aberration (CNA) analysis on the stromal component of 45 benign serous tumours and 8 pure fibromas, we have again shown that trisomy of chromosome 12 is the most common aberration in ovarian fibromas. CNAs were more frequent in the pure fibromas than the benign serous tumours (88% vs 33%), however pure fibromas more frequently harboured more than one CNA event compared with benign serous tumours. As these extra CNA events observed in the pure fibromas were unique to this subset our data indicates a unique tumour evolution. Gene expression analysis on the two cohorts was unable to show gene expression changes that differed based on tumour subtype. Exome analysis did not reveal any recurrently mutated genes.
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    Enhanced GAB2 Expression Is Associated with Improved Survival in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer and Sensitivity to PI3K Inhibition
    Davis, SJ ; Sheppard, KE ; Anglesio, MS ; George, J ; Traficante, N ; Fereday, S ; Intermaggio, MP ; Menon, U ; Gentry-Maharaj, A ; Lubinski, J ; Gronwald, J ; Pearce, CL ; Pike, MC ; Wu, A ; Kommoss, S ; Pfisterer, J ; du Bois, A ; Hilpert, F ; Ramus, SJ ; Bowtell, DDL ; Huntsman, DG ; Pearson, RB ; Simpson, KJ ; Campbell, IG ; Gorringe, KL (AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH, 2015-06)
    Identification of genomic alterations defining ovarian carcinoma subtypes may aid the stratification of patients to receive targeted therapies. We characterized high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSC) for the association of amplified and overexpressed genes with clinical outcome using gene expression data from 499 HGSC patients in the Ovarian Tumor Tissue Analysis cohort for 11 copy number amplified genes: ATP13A4, BMP8B, CACNA1C, CCNE1, DYRK1B, GAB2, PAK4, RAD21, TPX2, ZFP36, and URI. The Australian Ovarian Cancer Study and The Cancer Genome Atlas datasets were also used to assess the correlation between gene expression, patient survival, and tumor classification. In a multivariate analysis, high GAB2 expression was associated with improved overall and progression-free survival (P = 0.03 and 0.02), whereas high BMP8B and ATP13A4 were associated with improved progression-free survival (P = 0.004 and P = 0.02). GAB2 overexpression and copy number gain were enriched in the AOCS C4 subgroup. High GAB2 expression correlated with enhanced sensitivity in vitro to the dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor PF-04691502 and could be used as a genomic marker for identifying patients who will respond to treatments inhibiting PI3K signaling.