Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology - Research Publications

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    Identifying recurrences and metastasis after ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast
    Udayasiri, R ; Luo, T ; Gorringe, KL ; Fox, SB (WILEY, 2023-01)
    Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast is a non-invasive tumour that has the potential to progress to invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). Thus, it represents a treatment dilemma: alone it does not present a risk to life, however, left untreated it may progress to a life-threatening condition. Current clinico-pathological features cannot accurately predict which patients with DCIS have invasive potential, and therefore clinicians are unable to quantify the risk of progression for an individual patient. This leads to many women being over-treated, while others may not receive sufficient treatment to prevent invasive recurrence. A better understanding of the molecular features of DCIS, both tumour-intrinsic and the microenvironment, could offer the ability to better predict which women need aggressive treatment, and which can avoid therapies carrying significant side-effects and such as radiotherapy. In this review, we summarise the current knowledge of DCIS, and consider future research directions.
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    Reply to the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon in ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast
    Pang, J-MB ; Gorringe, KL ; Fox, SB (WILEY-BLACKWELL, 2016-09)
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    Atypical ductal hyperplasia is a multipotent precursor of breast carcinoma
    Kader, T ; Hill, P ; Zethoven, M ; Goode, DL ; Elder, K ; Thio, N ; Doyle, M ; Semple, T ; Sufyan, W ; Byrne, DJ ; Pang, J-MB ; Murugasu, A ; Miligy, IM ; Green, AR ; Rakha, EA ; Fox, SB ; Mann, GB ; Campbell, IG ; Gorringe, KL (WILEY, 2019-07)
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    Molecular comparison of interval and screen-detected breast cancers
    Cheasley, D ; Li, N ; Rowley, SM ; Elder, K ; Mann, GB ; Loi, S ; Savas, P ; Goode, DL ; Kader, T ; Zethoven, M ; Semple, T ; Fox, SB ; Pang, J-M ; Byrne, D ; Devereux, L ; Nickson, C ; Procopio, P ; Lee, G ; Hughes, S ; Saunders, H ; Fujihara, KM ; Kuykhoven, K ; Connaughton, J ; James, PA ; Gorringe, KL ; Campbell, IG (WILEY, 2019-06)
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    Invasion in breast lesions: the role of the epithelial-stroma barrier
    Rakha, EA ; Miligy, IM ; Gorringe, KL ; Toss, MS ; Green, AR ; Fox, SB ; Schmitt, FC ; Tan, P-H ; Tse, GM ; Badve, S ; Decker, T ; Vincent-Salomon, A ; Dabbs, DJ ; Foschini, MP ; Moreno, F ; Yang, W ; Geyer, FC ; Reis-Filho, JS ; Pinder, SE ; Lakhani, SR ; Ellis, IO (WILEY, 2018-06)
    Despite the significant biological, behavioural and management differences between ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and invasive carcinoma of the breast, they share many morphological and molecular similarities. Differentiation of these two different lesions in breast pathological diagnosis is based typically on the presence of an intact barrier between the malignant epithelial cells and stroma; namely, the myoepithelial cell (MEC) layer and surrounding basement membrane (BM). Despite being robust diagnostic criteria, the identification of MECs and BM to differentiate in-situ from invasive carcinoma is not always straightforward. The MEC layer around DCIS may be interrupted and/or show an altered immunoprofile. MECs may be absent in some benign locally infiltrative lesions such as microglandular adenosis and infiltrating epitheliosis, and occasionally in non-infiltrative conditions such as apocrine lesions, and in these contexts this does not denote malignancy or invasive disease with metastatic potential. MECs may also be absent around some malignant lesions such as some forms of papillary carcinoma, yet these behave in an indolent fashion akin to some DCIS. In Paget's disease, malignant mammary epithelial cells extend anteriorly from the ducts to infiltrate the epidermis of the nipple but do not typically infiltrate through the BM into the dermis. Conversely, BM-like material can be seen around invasive carcinoma cells and around metastatic tumour cell deposits. Here, we review the role of MECs and BM in breast pathology and highlight potential clinical implications. We advise caution in interpretation of MEC features in breast pathology and mindfulness of the substantive evidence base in the literature associated with behaviour and clinical outcome of lesions classified as benign on conventional morphological examination before changing classification to an invasive lesion on the sole basis of MEC characteristics.
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    Ductal Carcinoma In Situ Biology, Biomarkers, and Diagnosis
    Gorringe, KL ; Fox, SB (FRONTIERS MEDIA SA, 2017-10-23)
    Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is an often-diagnosed breast disease and a known, non-obligate, precursor to invasive breast carcinoma. In this review, we explore the clinical and pathological features of DCIS, fundamental elements of DCIS biology including gene expression and genetic events, the relationship of DCIS with recurrence and invasive breast cancer, and the interaction of DCIS with the microenvironment. We also survey how these various elements are being used to solve the clinical conundrum of how to optimally treat a disease that has potential to progress, and yet is also likely over-treated in a significant proportion of cases.
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    LRH-1 expression patterns in breast cancer tissues are associated with tumour aggressiveness
    Pang, J-MB ; Molania, R ; Chand, A ; Knower, K ; Takano, EA ; Byrne, DJ ; Mikeska, T ; Millar, EKA ; Lee, CS ; O'Toole, SA ; Clyne, C ; Gorringe, KL ; Dobrovic, A ; Fox, SB (IMPACT JOURNALS LLC, 2017-10-13)
    The significance and regulation of liver receptor homologue 1 (LRH-1, NR5A2), a tumour-promoting transcription factor in breast cancer cell lines, is unknown in clinical breast cancers. This study aims to determine LRH-1/NR5A2 expression in breast cancers and relationship with DNA methylation and tumour characteristics. In The Cancer Genome Atlas breast cancer cohort NR5A2 expression was positively associated with intragenic CpG island methylation (1.4-fold expression for fully methylated versus not fully methylated, p=0.01) and inversely associated with promoter CpG island methylation (0.6-fold expression for fully methylated versus not fully methylated, p=0.036). LRH-1 immunohistochemistry of 329 invasive carcinomas and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) was performed. Densely punctate/coarsely granular nuclear reactivity was significantly associated with high tumour grade (p<0.005, p=0.033 in invasive carcinomas and DCIS respectively), negative estrogen receptor status (p=0.008, p=0.038 in overall cohort and invasive carcinomas, respectively), negative progesterone receptor status (p=0.003, p=0.013 in overall cohort and invasive carcinomas, respectively), HER2 amplification (overall cohort p=0.034) and non-luminal intrinsic subtype (p=0.018, p=0.038 in overall cohort and invasive carcinomas, respectively). These significant associations of LRH-1 protein expression with tumour phenotype suggest that LRH-1 is an important indicator of tumour biology in breast cancers and may be useful in risk stratification.
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    Appraisal of the technologies and review of the genomic landscape of ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast
    Pang, J-MB ; Gorringe, KL ; Wong, SQ ; Dobrovic, A ; Campbell, IG ; Fox, SB (BMC, 2015-06-16)
    Ductal carcinoma in situ is a biologically diverse entity. Whereas some lesions are cured by local surgical excision, others recur as in situ disease or progress to invasive carcinoma with subsequent potential for metastatic spread. Reliable prognostic biomarkers are therefore desirable for appropriate clinical management but remain elusive. In common with invasive breast cancer, ductal carcinoma in situ exhibits many genomic changes, predominantly copy number alterations. Although studies have revealed the genomic heterogeneity within individual ductal carcinoma in situ lesions and the association of certain copy number alterations with nuclear grade, none of the genomic changes defined so far is consistently associated with invasive transformation or recurrence risk in pure ductal carcinoma in situ. This article will review the current landscape of genomic alterations in ductal carcinoma in situ and their potential as prognostic biomarkers together with the technologies used to define these.
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    Reevaluation of the BRCA2 truncating allele c.9976A > T (p.Lys3326Ter) in a familial breast cancer context
    Thompson, ER ; Gorringe, KL ; Rowley, SM ; Li, N ; McInerny, S ; Wong-Brown, MW ; Devereux, L ; Li, J ; Trainer, AH ; Mitchell, G ; Scott, RJ ; James, PA ; Campbell, IG (NATURE PORTFOLIO, 2015-10-12)
    The breast cancer predisposition gene, BRCA2, has a large number of genetic variants of unknown effect. The variant rs11571833, an A > T transversion in the final exon of the gene that leads to the creation of a stop codon 93 amino acids early (K3326*), is reported as a neutral polymorphism but there is some evidence to suggest an association with an increased risk of breast cancer. We assessed whether this variant was enriched in a cohort of breast cancer cases ascertained through familial cancer clinics compared to population-based non-cancer controls using a targeted sequencing approach. We identified the variant in 66/2634 (2.5%) cases and 33/1996 (1.65%) controls, indicating an enrichment in the breast cancer cases (p = 0.047, OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.00-2.34). This data is consistent with recent iCOGs data suggesting that this variant is not neutral with respect to breast cancer risk. rs11571833 may need to be included in SNP panels for evaluating breast cancer risk.
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    BRCA2 carriers with male breast cancer show elevated tumour methylation
    Deb, S ; Gorringe, KL ; Pang, J-MB ; Byrne, DJ ; Takano, EA ; Dobrovic, A ; Fox, SB (BIOMED CENTRAL LTD, 2017-09-11)
    BACKGROUND: Male breast cancer (MBC) represents a poorly characterised group of tumours, the management of which is largely based on practices established for female breast cancer. However, recent studies demonstrate biological and molecular differences likely to impact on tumour behaviour and therefore patient outcome. The aim of this study was to investigate methylation of a panel of commonly methylated breast cancer genes in familial MBCs. METHODS: 60 tumours from 3 BRCA1 and 25 BRCA2 male mutation carriers and 32 males from BRCAX families were assessed for promoter methylation by methylation-sensitive high resolution melting in a panel of 10 genes (RASSF1A, TWIST1, APC, WIF1, MAL, RARβ, CDH1, RUNX3, FOXC1 and GSTP1). An average methylation index (AMI) was calculated for each case comprising the average of the methylation of the 10 genes tested as an indicator of overall tumour promoter region methylation. Promoter hypermethylation and AMI were correlated with BRCA carrier mutation status and clinicopathological parameters including tumour stage, grade, histological subtype and disease specific survival. RESULTS: Tumours arising in BRCA2 mutation carriers showed significantly higher methylation of candidate genes, than those arising in non-BRCA2 familial MBCs (average AMI 23.6 vs 16.6, p = 0.01, 45% of genes hypermethylated vs 34%, p < 0.01). RARβ methylation and AMI-high status were significantly associated with tumour size (p = 0.01 and p = 0.02 respectively), RUNX3 methylation with invasive carcinoma of no special type (94% vs 69%, p = 0.046) and RASSF1A methylation with coexistence of high grade ductal carcinoma in situ (33% vs 6%, p = 0.02). Cluster analysis showed MBCs arising in BRCA2 mutation carriers were characterised by RASSF1A, WIF1, RARβ and GTSP1 methylation (p = 0.02) whereas methylation in BRCAX tumours showed no clear clustering to particular genes. TWIST1 methylation (p = 0.001) and AMI (p = 0.01) were prognostic for disease specific survival. CONCLUSIONS: Increased methylation defines a subset of familial MBC and with AMI may be a useful prognostic marker. Methylation might be predictive of response to novel therapeutics that are currently under investigation in other cancer types.