Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Factors Associated With Mammographic Breast Density Among Women In Karachi Pakistan, Uzma Shamsi, Shaista Afzal Saeed, Azra Shamsi, Syed Iqbal Azam, David Callen

Community Health Sciences

Background: There are no studies done to evaluate the distribution of mammographic breast density and factors associated with it among Pakistani women.
Methods: Participants included 477 women, who had received either diagnostic or screening mammography at two hospitals in Karachi Pakistan. Mammographic breast density was assessed using the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System. In person interviews were conducted using a detailed questionnaire, to assess risk factors of interest, and venous blood was collected to measure serum vitamin D level at the end of the interview. To determine the association of potential factors with mammographic breast density, multivariable polytomous logistic …

Personalized Nutrition As A Key Contributor To Improving Radiation Response In Breast Cancer, Anuradha A. Shastri, Joseph Lombardo, Samantha C Okere, Stephanie Higgins, Brittany C Smith, Tiziana Deangelis, Ajay Palagani, Kamryn Hines, Daniel A. Monti, Stella Volpe, Edith P. Mitchell, Nicole L Simone

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

Understanding metabolic and immune regulation inherent to patient populations is key to improving the radiation response for our patients. To date, radiation therapy regimens are prescribed based on tumor type and stage. Patient populations who are noted to have a poor response to radiation such as those of African American descent, those who have obesity or metabolic syndrome, or senior adult oncology patients, should be considered for concurrent therapies with radiation that will improve response. Here, we explore these populations of breast cancer patients, who frequently display radiation resistance and increased mortality rates, and identify the molecular underpinnings that are, …

A Role For Adipocytes And Adipose Stem Cells In The Breast Tumor Microenvironment And Regenerative Medicine, Courtney K. Brock, Katherine L. Hebert, Maria Artiles, Maryl K. Wright, Thomas Cheng, Gabrielle O. Windsor, Khoa Nguyen, Madlin S. Alzoubi, Bridgette M. Collins-Burow, Elizabeth C. Martin, Frank H. Lau, Bruce A. Bunnell, Matthew E. Burow

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Obesity rates are climbing, representing a confounding and contributing factor to many disease states, including cancer. With respect to breast cancer, obesity plays a prominent role in the etiology of this disease, with certain subtypes such as triple-negative breast cancer having a strong correlation between obesity and poor outcomes. Therefore, it is critical to examine the obesity-related alterations to the normal stroma and the tumor microenvironment (TME). Adipocytes and adipose stem cells (ASCs) are major components of breast tissue stroma that have essential functions in both physiological and pathological states, including energy storage and metabolic homeostasis, physical support of breast …

Tbx15/Mir-152/Kif2c Pathway Regulates Breast Cancer Doxorubicin Resistance Via Promoting Pkm2 Ubiquitination, Cheng-Fei Jiang, Yun-Xia Xie, Ying-Chen Qian, Min Wang, Ling-Zhi Liu, Yong-Qian Shu, Xiao-Ming Bai, Bing-Hua Jiang

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

Background: Chemoresistance is a critical risk problem for breast cancer treatment. However, mechanisms by which chemoresistance arises remains to be elucidated. The expression of T-box transcription factor 15 (TBX-15) was found downregulated in some cancer tissues. However, role and mechanism of TBX15 in breast cancer chemoresistance is unknown. Here we aimed to identify the effects and mechanisms of TBX15 in doxorubicin resistance in breast cancer.

Methods: As measures of Drug sensitivity analysis, MTT and IC50 assays were used in DOX-resistant breast cancer cells. ECAR and OCR assays were used to analyze the glycolysis level, while Immunoblotting and Immunofluorescence assays were …

Rorα Suppresses Cancer-Associated Inflammation By Repressing Respiratory Complex I-Dependent Ros Generation, Wei Mao, Gaofeng Xiong, Yuanyuan Wu, Chi Wang, Daret St. Clair, Jai-Da Li, Ren Xu

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Breast cancer development is associated with macrophage infiltration and differentiation in the tumor microenvironment. Our previous study highlights the crucial function of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in enhancing macrophage infiltration during the disruption of mammary tissue polarity. However, the regulation of ROS and ROS-associated macrophage infiltration in breast cancer has not been fully determined. Previous studies identified retinoid orphan nuclear receptor alpha (RORα) as a potential tumor suppressor in human breast cancer. In the present study, we showed that retinoid orphan nuclear receptor alpha (RORα) significantly decreased ROS levels and inhibited ROS-mediated cytokine expression in breast cancer cells. RORα expression …

Prolonged Time From Diagnosis To Breast-Conserving Surgery Is Associated With Upstaging In Hormone Receptor-Positive Invasive Ductal Breast Carcinoma, Natalie Hills, Macall Leslie, Rachel Davis, Marielle Crowell, Hiroyasu Kameyama, Hallgeir Rui, Inna Chervoneva, William Dooley, Takemi Tanaka

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Time to surgery (TTS) has been suggested to have an association with mortality in early-stage breast cancer. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the association between TTS and preoperative disease progression in tumor size or nodal status among women diagnosed with clinical T1N0M0 ductal breast cancer. METHODS: Women diagnosed with clinical T1N0M0 ductal breast cancer who had breast-conserving surgery as their first definitive treatment between 2010 and 2016 (n = 90,405) were analyzed using the National Cancer Database. Separate multivariable logistic regression models for hormone receptor (HR)-positive and HR-negative patients, adjusted for clinical and demographic variables, were used to …

Association Of Body Composition With Odds Of Breast Cancer By Molecular Subtype: Analysis Of The Mechanisms For Established And Novel Risk Factors For Breast Cancer In Nigerian Women (Mend) Study, Tomi Akinyemiju, Kelley Jones, Anjali Gupta, Taofik Oyekunle, Veeral Saraiya, April Deveaux, Omolola Salako, Allison Hall, Olusegun Alatise, Gabriel Ogun, Adewale Adeniyi, Omobolaji Ayandipo, Thomas Olajide, Olalekan Olasehinde, Olukayode Arowolo, Adewale Adisa, Oludolapo Afuwape, Aralola Olusanya, Aderemi Adegoke, Trygve O. Tollefsbol, Donna K. Arnett, H3 Africa Kidney Research Network, Adetola Daramola

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The association between obesity and breast cancer (BC) has been extensively studied among US, European and Asian study populations, with often conflicting evidence. However, despite the increasing prevalence of obesity and associated conditions in Africa, the continent with the highest age-standardized BC mortality rate globally, few studies have evaluated this association, and none has examined in relation to molecular subtypes among African women. The current analysis examines the association between body composition, defined by body mass index (BMI), height, and weight, and BC by molecular subtype among African women.

METHODS: We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals …

Gaps In Public Awareness About Brca And Genetic Testing In Prostate Cancer: Social Media Landscape Analysis, Stacy Loeb, Philip Massey, Amy Leader, Sameer Thakker, Emily Falge, Sabina Taneja, Nataliya Byrne, Meredith Rose, Matthew Joy, Dawn Walter, Matthew S Katz, Risa L Wong, Preethi Selvan, Scott W Keith, Veda N. Giri

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Genetic testing, particularly for BRCA1/2, is increasingly important in prostate cancer (PCa) care, with impact on PCa management and hereditary cancer risk. However, the extent of public awareness and online discourse on social media is unknown, and presents opportunities to identify gaps and enhance population awareness and uptake of advances in PCa precision medicine.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to characterize activity and engagement across multiple social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube) regarding BRCA and genetic testing for PCa compared with breast cancer, which has a long history of public awareness, advocacy, and prominent social media …

Gaps In Public Awareness About Brca And Genetic Testing In Prostate Cancer: Social Media Landscape Analysis., Stacy Loeb, Philip Massey, Amy E. Leader, Sameer Thakker, Emily Falge, Sabina Taneja, Nataliya Byrne, Meredith Rose, Matthew Joy, Dawn Walter, Matthew S. Katz, Risa L. Wong, Preethi Selvan, Scott W. Keith, Veda N. Giri

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Genetic testing, particularly for BRCA1/2, is increasingly important in prostate cancer (PCa) care, with impact on PCa management and hereditary cancer risk. However, the extent of public awareness and online discourse on social media is unknown, and presents opportunities to identify gaps and enhance population awareness and uptake of advances in PCa precision medicine.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to characterize activity and engagement across multiple social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube) regarding BRCA and genetic testing for PCa compared with breast cancer, which has a long history of public awareness, advocacy, and prominent social media …

Proteomics-Derived Basal Biomarker Dna-Pkcs Is Associated With Intrinsic Subtype And Long-Term Clinical Outcomes In Breast Cancer, Karama Asleh, Nazia Riaz, Angela S. Cheng, Dongxia Gao, Samuel C Y. Leung, Meenakshi Anurag, Torsten O. Nielsen

Centre for Regenerative Medicine & Stem Cell Research

Precise biomarkers are needed to guide better diagnostics and therapeutics for basal-like breast cancer, for which DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) has been recently reported by the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium as the most specific biomarker. We evaluated DNA-PKcs expression in clinically-annotated breast cancer tissue microarrays and correlated results with immune biomarkers (training set: n = 300; validation set: n = 2401). Following a pre-specified study design per REMARK criteria, we found that high expression of DNA-PKcs was significantly associated with stromal and CD8 + tumor infiltrating lymphocytes. Within the basal-like subtype, tumors with low DNA-PKcs and high …

Sanhuang Decoction Controls Tumor Microenvironment By Ameliorating Chronic Stress In Breast Cancer: A Report Of Ninety Cases., Ming Feng, Huanhuan Wang, Zhiyuan Zhu, Bowen Yao, Yongfei Li, Jingxian Xue, Sihan Cao, Xinyi Shao, Yanlei Xu, Ki Cheul Sohn, Im Hee Shin, Chang Yao

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

Long-term endocrine treatment which results in estrogen deprivation causes chronic stress associated with a series of uncomfortable symptoms leading not only to a decrease in quality of life but also to cancer recurrence, which may be mediated primarily through the enhanced expression of angiogenic factors, as well as a series of inflammatory microenvironmental changes that favor tumor progression. In this study, we designed a clinical trial and aimed to explore the effects of Sanhuang Decoction (SHD) treatment on chronic stress, inflammatory factors, and breast cancer recovery. A total of 90 patients with breast cancer who met the inclusion/exclusion criteria were …

Associations Of Hair Dye And Relaxer Use With Breast Tumor Clinicopathologic Features: Findings From The Women’S Circle Of Health Study, Rohan Rao, Jasmine A. Mcdonald, Emily Barrett, Patricia Greenberg, Dede K. Teteh, Susanne B. Montgomery, Bo Qin, Yong Lin, Chi-Chen Hong, Christine B. Ambrosone, Kitaw Demissie, Elisa V. Bandera, Adana A.M. Llanos

Health Sciences and Kinesiology Faculty Articles

Background

Building upon our earlier findings of significant associations between hair dye and relaxer use with increased breast cancer risk, we evaluated associations of select characteristics of use with breast tumor clinicopathology.

Methods

Using multivariable-adjusted models we examined the associations of interest in a case-only study of 2998 women with breast cancer, overall and stratified by race and estrogen receptor (ER) status, addressing multiple comparisons using Bonferroni correction.

Results

Compared to salon application of permanent hair dye, home kit and combination application (both salon and home kit application) were associated with increased odds of poorly differentiated tumors in the overall …

Precision Medicine And Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Current Landscape And Future Directions, Fokhrul Hossain, Samarpan Majumder, Justin David, Lucio Miele

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive and heterogeneous subtype of breast cancer associated with a high recurrence and metastasis rate that affects African-American women disproportionately. The recent approval of targeted therapies for small subgroups of TNBC patients by the US ‘Food and Drug Administration’ is a promising development. The advancement of next-generation sequencing, particularly somatic exome panels, has raised hopes for more individualized treatment plans. However, the use of precision medicine for TNBC is a work in progress. This review will discuss the potential benefits and challenges of precision medicine for TNBC. A recent clinical trial designed to target …

Impact Of Neoantigen Expression And T-Cell Activation On Breast Cancer Survival, Wenjing Li, Amei Amei, Francis Bui, Saba Norouzifar, Lingeng Lu, Zuoheng Wang

Mathematical Sciences Faculty Research

Neoantigens are derived from tumor-specific somatic mutations. Neoantigen-based syn-thesized peptides have been under clinical investigation to boost cancer immunotherapy efficacy. The promising results prompt us to further elucidate the effect of neoantigen expression on patient survival in breast cancer. We applied Kaplan–Meier survival and multivariable Cox regression models to evaluate the effect of neoantigen expression and its interaction with T-cell activation on overall survival in a cohort of 729 breast cancer patients. Pearson’s chi-squared tests were used to assess the relationships between neoantigen expression and clinical pathological variables. Spearman correlation analysis was conducted to identify correlations between neoantigen expression, mutation …

Detection Methods And Clinical Applications Of Circulating Tumor Cells In Breast Cancer, Hongyi Zhang, Xiaoyan Lin, Yuan Huang, Minghong Wang, Chunmei Cen, Shasha Tang, Marcia R. Dique, Lu Cai, Manuel A. Luis, Jillian Smollar, Yuan Wan, Fengfeng Cai

Publications and Research

Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) are cancer cells that split away from the primary tumor and appear in the circulatory system as singular units or clusters, which was first reported by Dr. Thomas Ashworth in 1869. CTCs migrate and implantation occurs at a new site, in a process commonly known as tumor metastasis. In the case of breast cancer, the tumor cells often migrate into locations such as the lungs, brain, and bones, even during the early stages, and this is a notable characteristic of breast cancer. Survival rates have increased significantly over the past few decades because of progress made …

Evaluation Of Liver Kinase B1 Downstream Signaling Expression In Various Breast Cancers And Relapse Free Survival After Systemic Chemotherapy Treatment, Khoa Nguyen, Andrew Rivera, Madlin Alzoubi, Henri Wathieu, Shengli Dong, Hassan Yousefi, Margarite Matossian, Suresh Alahari, David Drewry, Matthew Burow, Bridgette Collins-Burow

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

LKB1-signaling has prominent roles in cancer development and metastasis. This report evaluates LKB1-signaling pathway gene expression associations with patient survival in overall breast cancer, specific subtypes, as well as pre- and post-chemotherapy. Subtypes analyzed were based on intrinsic molecular subtyping and traditional biomarker classifications. Intrinsic molecular subtypes included were Luminal-A, Luminal-B, HER2-enriched, and Basal-like. The biomarker subtypes assessed were Estrogen-Receptor Positive (ER+) and Negative (ER-), Wild-Type TP53 (WT-TP53) & Mutant-TP53, and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). Additionally, comparisons were made between these subtypes and breast cancer overall, and analyses between LKB1 signaling to patient survival before and after chemotherapy were made. …

Trends Contributing To Disparities In Inflammatory Breast Cancer, Anna Lehrberg, Nayana Dekhne, Amita Desai, Sayee Kiran

Conference Presentation Abstracts

Background/Objective: Breast cancer overall survival rate in Black American (BA) women is lower compared to White American (WA) women. Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare but aggressive subtype of breast cancer that is found at higher incidence in the BA patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate trends and identify factors that contribute to racial disparities in outcomes of women with IBC. Methods: The National Cancer Database (NCDB) was used to evaluate patients with Stage III IBC from 2004 to 2014. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, treatments and survival trends were stratified by race for comparison. Results: A …

Exploring The Intersection Of Race, Socioeconomic Status, Breastfeeding And Breast Cancer, Joanna Lafrance

Honors College

This thesis examines the negative correlation between breastfeeding duration and breast cancer rates and how they may intersect with race and socioeconomic status for Black women in the United States. There is well documented evidence that exclusive breastfeeding for at least six months, as recommended by the American Pediatric Association, has numerous benefits to both mother and baby, specifically in decreasing the mother’s lifetime risk of developing breast cancer (1). Similarly, many resources state a negative correlation between number of offspring and breast cancer risk. However, after a systematic analysis of 91 articles was conducted, it appears that statements like …

The Context-Dependent Impact Of Integrin-Associated Cd151 And Other Tetraspanins On Cancer Development And Progression: A Class Of Versatile Mediators Of Cellular Function And Signaling, Tumorigenesis And Metastasis, Sonia F. Erfani, Hui Hua, Yueyin Pan, Binhua P. Zhou, Xiuwei H. Yang

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

As a family of integral membrane proteins, tetraspanins have been functionally linked to a wide spectrum of human cancers, ranging from breast, colon, lung, ovarian, prostate, and skin carcinomas to glioblastoma. CD151 is one such prominent member of the tetraspanin family recently suggested to mediate tumor development, growth, and progression in oncogenic context- and cell lineage-dependent manners. In the current review, we summarize recent advances in mechanistic understanding of the function and signaling of integrin-associated CD151 and other tetraspanins in multiple cancer types. We also highlight emerging genetic and epigenetic evidence on the intrinsic links between tetraspanins, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition …

Fears And Barriers: Problems In Breast Cancer Diagnosis And Treatment In Pakistan, Sidra Saeed, Muhammad Asim, Malik Muhammad Sohail

Community Health Sciences

Background: Women in Pakistan lack appropriate awareness about diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer due to a range of multifaceted barriers. There is a dearth of literature examining the socio-cultural factors that inhibit women from breast cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment in Punjab, Pakistan. Addressing this gap, this qualitative study sought to identify and explore the barriers that hinder women from seeking timely screening and treatment.
Methods: In this process 45 women (age = 18-50 years) with breast cancer were purposively sampled and interviewed from the Punjab Institute of Nuclear Medicine (PINUM) hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Results: An inductive approach was …

Recurrent Breast Cancer Diagnosis Delayed By Covid-19 Pandemic, Hannah K. Thompson, Paul J. Spicer

Radiology Faculty Publications

We describe the case of a 65-year-old female with a history of left-sided ductal carcinoma in situ in 2008. Mammography in January 2020 demonstrated calcifications in the previously affected breast. Subsequent stereotactic biopsy results were benign. In the months that followed, the patient experienced breast changes but avoided returning to the facility as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened. In August of 2020, the patient returned for a repeat mammogram, which indicated 2 suspicious masses in the left breast. Further analysis through ultrasound-guided core biopsy ultimately led to a left mastectomy and lymph node biopsy, which were performed in September 2020. Pathology …

Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma: Clinicopathological Parameters And Prognostic Profile, Saroona Haroon, Shamail Zia, Umme Aiman Shirazi, Omer Ahmed, Ishaq Azeem Asghar, Asad Diwan, Anoshia Afzal, Muhammad Irfan, Syed Jawwad Ali, Atif A. Hashmi

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Introduction: Metaplastic breast carcinoma (MBC) is defined as breast cancer with a heterologous non-glandular component. MBC is considered a special type of breast cancer with a prognosis that is worse than invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) of the breast. MBC is the most common breast cancer with a triple-negative profile. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the clinicopathological parameters, recurrence and survival of MBC in our population.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study in the Department of Histopathology at Prince Faisal Oncology Centre, Buraidah, Saudi Arabia, over a period of five years. All cases diagnosed as MBC were included in …

Covid-19 Pandemic And Breast Cancer Management: A Retrospective Observational Clinical Study From Pakistan, Lubna Mushtaque Vohra, Dua Jabeen, Narmeen Asif, Abdul Ahad

Section of General Surgery

Background: COVID-19 outbreak has adversely affected care of breast cancer patients world-wide. There is paucity of available data on cancer management in lower-middle income countries during this pandemic, we sought to determine the institutional approach towards management of breast cancer patients and the outcomes during COVID-19 pandemic at our institution.
Materials and methods: Clinicopathological and treatment record of cancer patients who presented to the Breast Clinic from 15th March to 31^st December 2020 was retrieved from the institutional database for this retrospective clinical observational study.
Results: A total of 292 patients were qualified for the analysis in which 206 …

Mir-21 Plays A Dual Role In Tumor Formation And Cytotoxic Response In Breast Tumors, Tu Dan, Anuradha A. Shastri, Ajay Palagani, Simone Buraschi, Thomas Neill, Jason E Savage, Aastha Kapoor, Tiziana Deangelis, Sankar Addya, Kevin Camphausen, Renato V. Iozzo, Nicole L Simone

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

Breast cancer (BrCa) relies on specific microRNAs to drive disease progression. Oncogenic miR-21 is upregulated in many cancers, including BrCa, and is associated with poor survival and treatment resistance. We sought to determine the role of miR-21 in BrCa tumor initiation, progression and treatment response. In a triple-negative BrCa model, radiation exposure increased miR-21 in both primary tumor and metastases. In vitro, miR-21 knockdown decreased survival in all BrCa subtypes in the presence of radiation. The role of miR-21 in BrCa initiation was evaluated by implanting wild-type miR-21 BrCa cells into genetically engineered mouse models where miR-21 was intact, heterozygous …

Diverse And Converging Roles Of Erk1/2 And Erk5 Pathways On Mesenchymal To Epithelial Transition In Breast Cancer, Akshita B. Bhatt, Thomas D. Wright, Van Barnes, Suravi Chakrabarty, Margarite D. Matossian, Erin Lexner, Deniz A. Ucar, Lucio Miele, Patrick T. Flaherty, Matthew E. Burow, Jane E. Cavanaugh

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

The epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is characterized by a loss of cell polarity, a decrease in the epithelial cell marker E-cadherin, and an increase in mesenchymal markers including the zinc-finger E-box binding homeobox (ZEB1). The EMT is also associated with an increase in cell migration and anchorage-independent growth. Induction of a reversal of the EMT, a mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET), is an emerging strategy being explored to attenuate the metastatic potential of aggressive cancer types, such as triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) and tamoxifen-resistant (TAMR) ER-positive breast cancers, which have a mesenchymal phenotype. Patients with these aggressive cancers have …

Printing The Pathway Forward In Bone Metastatic Cancer Research: Applications Of 3d Engineered Models And Bioprinted Scaffolds To Recapitulate The Bone-Tumor Niche., Anne M. Hughes, Alexus D. Kolb, Alison B. Shupp, Kristy M. Shine, Karen M. Bussard

Department of Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

Breast cancer commonly metastasizes to bone, resulting in osteolytic lesions and poor patient quality of life. The bone extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a critical role in cancer cell metastasis by means of the physical and biochemical cues it provides to support cellular crosstalk. Current two-dimensional in-vitro models lack the spatial and biochemical complexities of the native ECM and do not fully recapitulate crosstalk that occurs between the tumor and endogenous stromal cells. Engineered models such as bone-on-a-chip, extramedullary bone, and bioreactors are presently used to model cellular crosstalk and bone-tumor cell interactions, but fall short of providing a bone-biomimetic microenvironment. …

Risk Factors Of Breast Cancer Among Patients In A Tertiary Care Hospitals In Afghanistan: A Case Control Study, Zekrullah Baset, Jamshid Abdul Ghafar, Yasmin Parpio, Ahmed Maseh Haidary

School of Nursing & Midwifery

Background: Breast cancer is the second most common causes of women's death, worldwide. Data on risk factors associated with female breast cancer in the Afghan population is very limited. The aim of our study was to identifying risk factor associated with female breast cancer in Afghanistan.
Methods: A retrospective case-control study was conducted with inclusion of 201 cases and 201 controls. Patient information was collected by interviewing the patient through a structured questionnaire. Histopathological information was collected from the hospital integrated laboratory management system. The data was analyzed by using logistic regression with univariate and multivariable analyses to determine the …

Co-Phosphorylation Networks Reveal Subtype-Specific Signaling Modules In Breast Cancer, Marzieh Ayati, Mark R. Chance, Mehmet Koyuturk

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Motivation Protein phosphorylation is a ubiquitous mechanism of post-ranslational modification that plays a central role in cellular signaling. Phosphorylation is particularly important in the context of cancer, as down-regulation of tumor suppressors and up-regulation of oncogenes by the dysregulation of associated kinase and phosphatase networks are shown to have key roles in tumor growth and progression. Despite recent advances that enable large-scale monitoring of protein phosphorylation, these data are not fully incorporated into such computational tasks as phenotyping and subtyping of cancers.

Results We develop a network-based algorithm, CoPPNet, to enable unsupervised subtyping of cancers using phosphorylation data. For this …

A Multidisciplinary Approach To Triage Patients With Breast Disease During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Experience From A Tertiary Care Center In The Developing World, Abida K. Sattar, Hania Shahzad, Adnan Abdul Jabbar, Azmina Tajdin Valimohammad, Sadaf Khan, Yasmin Vellani, Romana Idrees, Nasir Ali, Imrana Masroor, Humera Saeed, Gulzar S. Lakhani, Nadia Ayoub, Atif Waqar, Muhammad Zia-Ul Islam, Salman Kirmani, Asad Latif, Ather Enam

Section of General Surgery

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has created a need to prioritize care because of limitation of resources. Owing to the heterogeneity and high prevalence of breast cancers, the need to prioritize care in this vulnerable population is essential. While various medical societies have published recommendations to manage breast disease during the COVID-19 pandemic, most are focused on the Western world and do not necessarily address the challenges of a resource-limited setting.
Aim: In this article, we describe our institutional approach for prioritizing care for patients presenting with breast disease.
Methods and results: The breast disease management guidelines were developed and approved …

'Educated' Osteoblasts Reduce Osteoclastogenesis In A Bone-Tumor Mimetic Microenvironment., Alexus D. Kolb, Jinlu Dai, Evan T. Keller, Karen M. Bussard

Department of Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

Breast cancer (BC) metastases to bone disrupt the balance between osteoblasts and osteoclasts, leading to excessive bone resorption. We identified a novel subpopulation of osteoblasts with tumor-inhibitory properties, called educated osteoblasts (EOs). Here we sought to examine the effect of EOs on osteoclastogenesis during tumor progression. We hypothesized that EOs affect osteoclast development in the bone-tumor niche, leading to suppressed pre-osteoclast fusion and bone resorption. Conditioned media (CM) was analyzed for protein expression of osteoclast factors receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-β ligand (RANKL), osteoprotegerin (OPG), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) via ELISA. EOs were co-cultured with pre-osteoclasts on …