TY - JOUR A1 - Lüke, Florian A1 - Haller, Florian A1 - Utpatel, Kirsten A1 - Krebs, Markus A1 - Meidenbauer, Norbert A1 - Scheiter, Alexander A1 - Spoerl, Silvia A1 - Heudobler, Daniel A1 - Sparrer, Daniela A1 - Kaiser, Ulrich A1 - Keil, Felix A1 - Schubart, Christoph A1 - Tögel, Lars A1 - Einhell, Sabine A1 - Dietmaier, Wolfgang A1 - Huss, Ralf A1 - Dintner, Sebastian A1 - Sommer, Sebastian A1 - Jordan, Frank A1 - Goebeler, Maria-Elisabeth A1 - Metz, Michaela A1 - Haake, Diana A1 - Scheytt, Mithun A1 - Gerhard-Hartmann, Elena A1 - Maurus, Katja A1 - Brändlein, Stephanie A1 - Rosenwald, Andreas A1 - Hartmann, Arndt A1 - Märkl, Bruno A1 - Einsele, Hermann A1 - Mackensen, Andreas A1 - Herr, Wolfgang A1 - Kunzmann, Volker A1 - Bargou, Ralf A1 - Beckmann, Matthias W. A1 - Pukrop, Tobias A1 - Trepel, Martin A1 - Evert, Matthias A1 - Claus, Rainer A1 - Kerscher, Alexander T1 - Identification of disparities in personalized cancer care — a joint approach of the German WERA consortium JF - Cancers N2 - (1) Background: molecular tumor boards (MTBs) are crucial instruments for discussing and allocating targeted therapies to suitable cancer patients based on genetic findings. Currently, limited evidence is available regarding the regional impact and the outreach component of MTBs; (2) Methods: we analyzed MTB patient data from four neighboring Bavarian tertiary care oncology centers in Würzburg, Erlangen, Regensburg, and Augsburg, together constituting the WERA Alliance. Absolute patient numbers and regional distribution across the WERA-wide catchment area were weighted with local population densities; (3) Results: the highest MTB patient numbers were found close to the four cancer centers. However, peaks in absolute patient numbers were also detected in more distant and rural areas. Moreover, weighting absolute numbers with local population density allowed for identifying so-called white spots—regions within our catchment that were relatively underrepresented in WERA MTBs; (4) Conclusions: investigating patient data from four neighboring cancer centers, we comprehensively assessed the regional impact of our MTBs. The results confirmed the success of existing collaborative structures with our regional partners. Additionally, our results help identifying potential white spots in providing precision oncology and help establishing a joint WERA-wide outreach strategy. KW - precision oncology KW - MTB KW - patient access KW - cancer care KW - outreach KW - real world data KW - outcomes research Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-290311 SN - 2072-6694 VL - 14 IS - 20 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Effenberger, Madlen A1 - Bommert, Kathryn S. A1 - Kunz, Viktoria A1 - Kruk, Jessica A1 - Leich, Ellen A1 - Rudelius, Martina A1 - Bargou, Ralf A1 - Bommert, Kurt T1 - Glutaminase inhibition in multiple myeloma induces apoptosis via MYC degradation JF - Oncotarget N2 - Multiple Myeloma (MM) is an incurable hematological malignancy affecting millions of people worldwide. As in all tumor cells both glucose and more recently glutamine have been identified as important for MM cellular metabolism, however there is some dispute as to the role of glutamine in MM cell survival. Here we show that the small molecule inhibitor compound 968 effectively inhibits glutaminase and that this inhibition induces apoptosis in both human multiple myeloma cell lines (HMCLs) and primary patient material. The HMCL U266 which does not express MYC was insensitive to both glutamine removal and compound 968, but ectopic expression of MYC imparted sensitivity. Finally, we show that glutamine depletion is reflected by rapid loss of MYC protein which is independent of MYC transcription and post translational modifications. However, MYC loss is dependent on proteasomal activity, and this loss was paralleled by an equally rapid induction of apoptosis. These findings are in contrast to those of glucose depletion which largely affected rates of proliferation in HMCLs, but had no effects on either MYC expression or viability. Therefore, inhibition of glutaminolysis is effective at inducing apoptosis and thus serves as a possible therapeutic target in MM. KW - Multiple Myeloma KW - glutaminase inhibition KW - apoptosis KW - MYC Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-170168 VL - 8 IS - 49 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hausmann, Stefan A1 - Brandt, Evelyn A1 - Köchel, Carolin A1 - Einsele, Hermann A1 - Bargou, Ralf C. A1 - Seggewiss-Bernhardt, Ruth A1 - Stühmer, Thorsten T1 - Loss of serum and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 3 (SGK3) does not affect proliferation and survival of multiple myeloma cell lines JF - PLoS ONE N2 - Multiple myeloma (MM) is a generally fatal plasma cell cancer that often shows activation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt (PI3K/Akt) pathway. Targeted pharmacologic therapies, however, have not yet progressed beyond the clinical trial stage, and given the complexity of the PI3K/Akt signalling system (e.g. multiple protein isoforms, diverse feedback regulation mechanisms, strong variability between patients) it is mandatory to characterise its ramifications in order to better guide informed decisions about the best therapeutic approaches. Here we explore whether serum and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 3 (SGK3), a potential downstream effector of PI3K, plays a role in oncogenic signalling in MM cells-either in concert with or independent of Akt. SGK3 was expressed in all MM cell lines and in all primary MM samples tested. Four MM cell lines representing a broad range of intrinsic Akt activation (very strong: MM. 1s, moderate: L 363 and JJN-3, absent: AMO-1) were chosen to test the effects of transient SGK3 knockdown alone and in combination with pharmacological inhibition of Akt, PI3K-p110\(\alpha\), or in the context of serum starvation. Although the electroporation protocol led to strong SGK3 depletion for at least 5 days its absence had no substantial effect on the activation status of potential downstream substrates, or on the survival, viability or proliferation of MM cells in all experimental contexts tested. We conclude that it is unlikely that SGK3 plays a significant role for oncogenic signalling in multiple myeloma. KW - Akt KW - phosphorylation KW - downstream KW - mechanism KW - pathway KW - isoforms KW - activation KW - cancer KW - inhibition KW - phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-148708 VL - 10 IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Krebs, Markus A1 - Solimando, Antonio Giovanni A1 - Kalogirou, Charis A1 - Marquardt, André A1 - Frank, Torsten A1 - Sokolakis, Ioannis A1 - Hatzichristodoulou, Georgios A1 - Kneitz, Susanne A1 - Bargou, Ralf A1 - Kübler, Hubert A1 - Schilling, Bastian A1 - Spahn, Martin A1 - Kneitz, Burkhard T1 - miR-221-3p Regulates VEGFR2 Expression in High-Risk Prostate Cancer and Represents an Escape Mechanism from Sunitinib In Vitro JF - Journal of Clinical Medicine N2 - Downregulation of miR-221-3p expression in prostate cancer (PCa) predicted overall and cancer-specific survival of high-risk PCa patients. Apart from PCa, miR-221-3p expression levels predicted a response to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) patients. Since this role of miR-221-3p was explained with a specific targeting of VEGFR2, we examined whether miR-221-3p regulated VEGFR2 in PCa. First, we confirmed VEGFR2/KDR as a target gene of miR-221-3p in PCa cells by applying Luciferase reporter assays and Western blotting experiments. Although VEGFR2 was mainly downregulated in the PCa cohort of the TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) database, VEGFR2 was upregulated in our high-risk PCa cohort (n = 142) and predicted clinical progression. In vitro miR-221-3p acted as an escape mechanism from TKI in PC3 cells, as displayed by proliferation and apoptosis assays. Moreover, we confirmed that Sunitinib induced an interferon-related gene signature in PC3 cells by analyzing external microarray data and by demonstrating a significant upregulation of miR-221-3p/miR-222-3p after Sunitinib exposure. Our findings bear a clinical perspective for high-risk PCa patients with low miR-221-3p levels since this could predict a favorable TKI response. Apart from this therapeutic niche, we identified a partially oncogenic function of miR-221-3p as an escape mechanism from VEGFR2 inhibition. KW - microRNA-221 KW - high-risk Prostate Cancer KW - angiogenesis KW - Sunitinib KW - Tyrosine kinase inhibition Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-203168 SN - 2077-0383 VL - 9 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Keppler, Sarah A1 - Weißbach, Susann A1 - Langer, Christian A1 - Knop, Stefan A1 - Pischimarov, Jordan A1 - Kull, Miriam A1 - Stühmer, Thorsten A1 - Steinbrunn, Torsten A1 - Bargou, Ralf A1 - Einsele, Hermann A1 - Rosenwald, Andreas A1 - Leich, Ellen T1 - Rare SNPs in receptor tyrosine kinases are negative outcome predictors in multiple myeloma JF - Oncotarget N2 - Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell disorder that is characterized by a great genetic heterogeneity. Recent next generation sequencing studies revealed an accumulation of tumor-associated mutations in receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) which may also contribute to the activation of survival pathways in MM. To investigate the clinical role of RTK-mutations in MM, we deep-sequenced the coding DNA-sequence of EGFR, EPHA2, ERBB3, IGF1R, NTRK1 and NTRK2 which were previously found to be mutated in MM, in 75 uniformly treated MM patients of the “Deutsche Studiengruppe Multiples Myelom”. Subsequently, we correlated the detected mutations with common cytogenetic alterations and clinical parameters. We identified 11 novel non-synonymous SNVs or rare patient-specific SNPs, not listed in the SNP databases 1000 genomes and dbSNP, in 10 primary MM cases. The mutations predominantly affected the tyrosine-kinase and ligand-binding domains and no correlation with cytogenetic parameters was found. Interestingly, however, patients with RTK-mutations, specifically those with rare patient-specific SNPs, showed a significantly lower overall, event-free and progression-free survival. This indicates that RTK SNVs and rare patient-specific RTK SNPs are of prognostic relevance and suggests that MM patients with RTK-mutations could potentially profit from treatment with RTK-inhibitors. KW - multiple myeloma KW - rare SNP KW - amplicon sequencing KW - receptor tyrosine kinases Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-177840 VL - 7 IS - 25 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Steinbrunn, Torsten A1 - Chatterjee, Manik A1 - Bargou, Ralf C. A1 - Stühmer, Thorsten T1 - Efficient Transient Transfection of Human Multiple Myeloma Cells by Electroporation - An Appraisal JF - PLoS ONE N2 - Cell lines represent the everyday workhorses for in vitro research on multiple myeloma (MM) and are regularly employed in all aspects of molecular and pharmacological investigations. Although loss-of-function studies using RNA interference in MM cell lines depend on successful knockdown, no well-established and widely applied protocol for efficient transient transfection has so far emerged. Here, we provide an appraisal of electroporation as a means to introduce either short-hairpin RNA expression vectors or synthesised siRNAs into MM cells. We found that electroporation using siRNAs was much more efficient than previously anticipated on the basis of transfection efficiencies deduced from EGFP-expression off protein expression vectors. Such knowledge can even confidently be exploited in "hard-to-transfect" MM cell lines to generate large numbers of transient knockdown phenotype MM cells. In addition, special attention was given to developing a protocol that provides easy implementation, good reproducibility and manageable experimental costs. KW - cell cultures KW - green fluorescent protein KW - oligonucleotides KW - multiple myeloma KW - plasmid construction KW - transfection KW - small interfering RNAs KW - electroporation Y1 - 2014 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-119616 VL - 9 IS - 6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rauert-Wunderlich, Hilka A1 - Siegmund, Daniela A1 - Maier, Eduard A1 - Giner, Tina A1 - Bargou, Ralf C. A1 - Wajant, Harald A1 - Stühmer, Thorsten T1 - The IKK Inhibitor Bay 11-7082 Induces Cell Death Independent from Inhibition of Activation of NF kappa B Transcription Factors JF - PLoS ONE N2 - Multiple myeloma (MM) displays an NFκB activity-related gene expression signature and about 20% of primary MM samples harbor genetic alterations conducive to intrinsic NFκB signaling activation. The relevance of blocking the classical versus the alternative NFκB signaling pathway and the molecular execution mechanisms involved, however, are still poorly understood. Here, we comparatively tested NFκB activity abrogation through TPCA-1 (an IKK2 inhibitor), BAY 11-7082 (an IKK inhibitor poorly selective for IKK1 and IKK2), and MLN4924 (an NEDD8 activating enzyme (NAE)-inhibitor), and analyzed their anti-MM activity. Whereas TPCA-1 interfered selectively with activation of the classical NFκB pathway, the other two compounds inhibited classical and alternative NFκB signaling without significant discrimination. Noteworthy, whereas TPCA-1 and MLN4924 elicited rather mild anti-MM effects with slight to moderate cell death induction after 1 day BAY 11-7082 was uniformly highly toxic to MM cell lines and primary MM cells. Treatment with BAY 11-7082 induced rapid cell swelling and its initial effects were blocked by necrostatin-1 or the ROS scavenger BHA, but a lasting protective effect was not achieved even with additional blockade of caspases. Because MLN4924 inhibits the alternative NFκB pathway downstream of IKK1 at the level of p100 processing, the quite discordant effects between MLN4924 and BAY 11-7082 must thus be due to blockade of IKK1-mediated NFκB-independent necrosis-inhibitory functions or represent an off-target effect of BAY 11-7082. In accordance with the latter, we further observed that concomitant knockdown of IKK1 and IKK2 did not have any major short-term adverse effect on the viability of MM cells. KW - signal inhibition KW - necrotic cell death KW - cell viability testing KW - cell death KW - small interfering RNAs KW - HT29 cells KW - phosphorylation KW - multiple myeloma Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-130140 VL - 8 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chatterjee, Manik A1 - Andrulis, Mindaugas A1 - Stühmer, Thorsten A1 - Müller, Elisabeth A1 - Hofmann, Claudia A1 - Steinbrunn, Torsten A1 - Heimberger, Tanja A1 - Schraud, Heike A1 - Kressmann, Stefanie A1 - Einsele, Hermann A1 - Bargou, Ralf C. T1 - The PI3K/Akt signaling pathway regulates the expression of Hsp70, which critically contributes to Hsp90-chaperone function and tumor cell survival in multiple myeloma JF - Haematologica N2 - Despite therapeutic advances multiple myeloma remains largely incurable, and novel therapeutic concepts are needed. The Hsp90-chaperone is a reasonable therapeutic target, because it maintains oncogenic signaling of multiple deregulated pathways. However, in contrast to promising pre-clinical results, only limited clinical efficacy has been achieved through pharmacological Hsp90 inhibition. Because Hsp70 has been described to interact functionally with the Hsp90-complex, we analyzed the suitability of Hsp72 and Hsp73 as potential additional target sites. Expression of Hsp72 and Hsp73 in myeloma cells was analyzed by immunohistochemical staining and western blotting. Short interfering RNA-mediated knockdown or pharmacological inhibition of Hsp72 and Hsp73 was performed to evaluate the role of these proteins in myeloma cell survival and for Hsp90-chaperone function. Furthermore, the role of PI3K-dependent signaling in constitutive and inducible Hsp70 expression was investigated using short interfering RNA-mediated and pharmacological PI3K inhibition. Hsp72 and Hsp73 were frequently overexpressed in multiple myeloma. Knockdown of Hsp72 and/or Hsp73 or treatment with VER-155008 induced apoptosis of myeloma cells. Hsp72/Hsp73 inhibition decreased protein levels of Hsp90-chaperone clients affecting multiple oncogenic signaling pathways, and acted synergistically with the Hsp90 inhibitor NVP-AUY922 in the induction of death of myeloma cells. Inhibition of the PI3K/Akt/GSK3b pathway with short interfering RNA or PI103 decreased expression of the heat shock transcription factor 1 and down-regulated constitutive and inducible Hsp70 expression. Treatment of myeloma cells with a combination of NVP-AUY922 and PI103 resulted in additive to synergistic cytotoxicity. In conclusion, Hsp72 and Hsp73 sustain Hsp90-haperone function and critically contribute to the survival of myeloma cells. Translation of Hsp70 inhibition into the clinic is therefore highly desirable. Treatment with PI3K inhibitors might represent an alternative therapeutic strategy to target Hsp70. KW - Haematology Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-130574 VL - 98 IS - 7 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wong, David A1 - Winter, Oliver A1 - Hartig, Christina A1 - Siebels, Svenja A1 - Szyska, Martin A1 - Tiburzy, Benjamin A1 - Meng, Lingzhang A1 - Kulkarni, Upasana A1 - Fähnrich, Anke A1 - Bommert, Kurt A1 - Bargou, Ralf A1 - Berek, Claudia A1 - Van, Trung Chu A1 - Bogen, Bjarne A1 - Jundt, Franziska A1 - Manz, Rudolf Armin T1 - Eosinophils and Megakaryocytes Support the Early Growth of Murine MOPC315 Myeloma Cells in Their Bone Marrow Niches JF - PLOS ONE N2 - Multiple myeloma is a bone marrow plasma cell tumor which is supported by the external growth factors APRIL and IL-6, among others. Recently, we identified eosinophils and megakaryocytes to be functional components of the micro-environmental niches of benign bone marrow plasma cells and to be important local sources of these cytokines. Here, we investigated whether eosinophils and megakaryocytes also support the growth of tumor plasma cells in the MOPC315. BM model for multiple myeloma. As it was shown for benign plasma cells and multiple myeloma cells, IL-6 and APRIL also supported MOPC315. BM cell growth in vitro, IL-5 had no effect. Depletion of eosinophils in vivo by IL-5 blockade led to a reduction of the early myeloma load. Consistent with this, myeloma growth in early stages was retarded in eosinophil-deficient Delta dblGATA-1 mice. Late myeloma stages were unaffected, possibly due to megakaryocytes compensating for the loss of eosinophils, since megakaryocytes were found to be in contact with myeloma cells in vivo and supported myeloma growth in vitro. We conclude that eosinophils and megakaryocytes in the niches for benign bone marrow plasma cells support the growth of malignant plasma cells. Further investigations are required to test whether perturbation of these niches represents a potential strategy for the treatment of multiple myeloma. KW - plasma cells KW - human multiple-myeloma KW - immune response KW - receptor expression KW - B-cells KW - stromal cells KW - dexamethasone KW - april KW - survival KW - Interleukin-5 Y1 - 2014 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-115269 VL - 9 IS - 10 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schoffer, Olaf A1 - Schülein, Stefanie A1 - Arand, Gerlinde A1 - Arnholdt, Hans A1 - Baaske, Dieter A1 - Bargou, Ralf C. A1 - Becker, Nikolaus A1 - Beckmann, Matthias W. A1 - Bodack, Yves A1 - Böhme, Beatrix A1 - Bozkurt, Tayfun A1 - Breitsprecher, Regine A1 - Buchali, Andre A1 - Burger, Elke A1 - Burger, Ulrike A1 - Dommisch, Klaus A1 - Elsner, Gudrun A1 - Fernschild, Karin A1 - Flintzer, Ulrike A1 - Funke, Uwe A1 - Gerken, Michael A1 - Göbel, Hubert A1 - Grobe, Norbert A1 - Gumpp, Vera A1 - Heinzerling, Lucie A1 - Kempfer, Lana Raffaela A1 - Kiani, Alexander A1 - Klinkhammer-Schalke, Monika A1 - Klöcking, Sabine A1 - Kreibich, Ute A1 - Knabner, Katrin A1 - Kuhn, Peter A1 - Lutze, Stine A1 - Mäder, Uwe A1 - Maisel, Tanja A1 - Maschke, Jan A1 - Middeke, Martin A1 - Neubauer, Andreas A1 - Niedostatek, Antje A1 - Opazo-Saez, Anabelle A1 - Peters, Christoph A1 - Schell, Beatrice A1 - Schenkirsch, Gerhard A1 - Schmalenberg, Harald A1 - Schmidt, Peter A1 - Schneider, Constanze A1 - Schubotz, Birgit A1 - Seide, Anika A1 - Strecker, Paul A1 - Taubenheim, Sabine A1 - Wackes, Matthias A1 - Weiß, Steffen A1 - Welke, Claudia A1 - Werner, Carmen A1 - Wittekind, Christian A1 - Wulff, Jörg A1 - Zettl, Heike A1 - Klug, Stefanie J. T1 - Tumour stage distribution and survival of malignant melanoma in Germany 2002-2011 JF - BMC Cancer N2 - Background Over the past two decades, there has been a rising trend in malignant melanoma incidence worldwide. In 2008, Germany introduced a nationwide skin cancer screening program starting at age 35. The aims of this study were to analyse the distribution of malignant melanoma tumour stages over time, as well as demographic and regional differences in stage distribution and survival of melanoma patients. Methods Pooled data from 61 895 malignant melanoma patients diagnosed between 2002 and 2011 and documented in 28 German population-based and hospital-based clinical cancer registries were analysed using descriptive methods, joinpoint regression, logistic regression and relative survival. Results The number of annually documented cases increased by 53.2% between 2002 (N = 4 779) and 2011 (N = 7 320). There was a statistically significant continuous positive trend in the proportion of stage UICC I cases diagnosed between 2002 and 2011, compared to a negative trend for stage UICC II. No trends were found for stages UICC III and IV respectively. Age (OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.97–0.97), sex (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.11–1.25), date of diagnosis (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.04–1.06), ‘diagnosis during screening’ (OR 3.24, 95% CI 2.50–4.19) and place of residence (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.16–1.30) had a statistically significant influence on the tumour stage at diagnosis. The overall 5-year relative survival for invasive cases was 83.4% (95% CI 82.8–83.9%). Conclusions No distinct changes in the distribution of malignant melanoma tumour stages among those aged 35 and older were seen that could be directly attributed to the introduction of skin cancer screening in 2008. " KW - Malignant melanoma KW - TNM staging KW - Survival analysis KW - Skin cancer screening KW - Stage distribution Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-164544 VL - 16 IS - 936 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stangl, Stephanie A1 - Haas, Kirsten A1 - Eichner, Felizitas A. A1 - Grau, Anna A1 - Selig, Udo A1 - Ludwig, Timo A1 - Fehm, Tanja A1 - Stübner, Tanja A1 - Rashid, Asarnusch A1 - Kerscher, Alexander A1 - Bargou, Ralf A1 - Hermann, Silke A1 - Arndt, Volker A1 - Meyer, Martin A1 - Wildner, Manfred A1 - Faller, Hermann A1 - Schrauder, Michael G. A1 - Weigel, Michael A1 - Schlembach, Ulrich A1 - Heuschmann, Peter U. A1 - Wöckel, Achim T1 - Development and proof-of-concept of a multicenter, patient-centered cancer registry for breast cancer patients with metastatic disease — the “Breast cancer care for patients with metastatic disease” (BRE-4-MED) registry JF - Pilot and Feasibility Studies N2 - Background: Patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) are treated with a palliative approach with focus oncontrolling for disease symptoms and maintaining high quality of life. Information on individual needs of patients andtheir relatives as well as on treatment patterns in clinical routine care for this specific patient group are lacking or arenot routinely documented in established Cancer Registries. Thus, we developed a registry concept specifically adaptedfor these incurable patients comprising primary and secondary data as well as mobile-health (m-health) data. Methods: The concept for patient-centered “Breast cancer care for patients with metastatic disease”(BRE-4-MED)registry was developed and piloted exemplarily in the region of Main-Franconia, a mainly rural region in Germanycomprising about 1.3 M inhabitants. The registry concept includes data on diagnosis, therapy, progression, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), and needs of family members from several sources of information includingroutine data from established Cancer Registries in different federal states, treating physicians in hospital as well as inoutpatient settings, patients with metastatic breast cancer and their family members. Linkage with routine cancerregistry data was performed to collect secondary data on diagnosis, therapy, and progression. Paper and online-basedquestionnaires were used to assess PROMs. A dedicated mobile application software (APP) was developed to monitorneeds, progression, and therapy change of individual patients. Patient’s acceptance and feasibility of data collection inclinical routine was assessed within a proof-of-concept study. Results: The concept for the BRE-4-MED registry was developed and piloted between September 2017 and May 2018.In total n= 31 patients were included in the pilot study, n= 22 patients were followed up after 1 month. Recordlinkage with the Cancer Registries of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg demonstrated to be feasible. The voluntary APP/online questionnaire was used by n= 7 participants. The feasibility of the registry concept in clinical routine waspositively evaluated by the participating hospitals. Conclusion: The concept of the BRE-4-MED registry provides evidence that combinatorial evaluation of PROMs, needsof family members, and raising clinical parameters from primary and secondary data sources as well as m-healthapplications are feasible and accepted in an incurable cancer collective. KW - Metastatic breast cancer KW - Patient-centered registry KW - Patient’s needs KW - m-Health KW - Health care service research Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-229149 VL - 6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Marquardt, André A1 - Solimando, Antonio Giovanni A1 - Kerscher, Alexander A1 - Bittrich, Max A1 - Kalogirou, Charis A1 - Kübler, Hubert A1 - Rosenwald, Andreas A1 - Bargou, Ralf A1 - Kollmannsberger, Philip A1 - Schilling, Bastian A1 - Meierjohann, Svenja A1 - Krebs, Markus T1 - Subgroup-Independent Mapping of Renal Cell Carcinoma — Machine Learning Reveals Prognostic Mitochondrial Gene Signature Beyond Histopathologic Boundaries JF - Frontiers in Oncology N2 - Background: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is divided into three major histopathologic groups—clear cell (ccRCC), papillary (pRCC) and chromophobe RCC (chRCC). We performed a comprehensive re-analysis of publicly available RCC datasets from the TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) database, thereby combining samples from all three subgroups, for an exploratory transcriptome profiling of RCC subgroups. Materials and Methods: We used FPKM (fragments per kilobase per million) files derived from the ccRCC, pRCC and chRCC cohorts of the TCGA database, representing transcriptomic data of 891 patients. Using principal component analysis, we visualized datasets as t-SNE plot for cluster detection. Clusters were characterized by machine learning, resulting gene signatures were validated by correlation analyses in the TCGA dataset and three external datasets (ICGC RECA-EU, CPTAC-3-Kidney, and GSE157256). Results: Many RCC samples co-clustered according to histopathology. However, a substantial number of samples clustered independently from histopathologic origin (mixed subgroup)—demonstrating divergence between histopathology and transcriptomic data. Further analyses of mixed subgroup via machine learning revealed a predominant mitochondrial gene signature—a trait previously known for chRCC—across all histopathologic subgroups. Additionally, ccRCC samples from mixed subgroup presented an inverse correlation of mitochondrial and angiogenesis-related genes in the TCGA and in three external validation cohorts. Moreover, mixed subgroup affiliation was associated with a highly significant shorter overall survival for patients with ccRCC—and a highly significant longer overall survival for chRCC patients. Conclusions: Pan-RCC clustering according to RNA-sequencing data revealed a distinct histology-independent subgroup characterized by strengthened mitochondrial and weakened angiogenesis-related gene signatures. Moreover, affiliation to mixed subgroup went along with a significantly shorter overall survival for ccRCC and a longer overall survival for chRCC patients. Further research could offer a therapy stratification by specifically addressing the mitochondrial metabolism of such tumors and its microenvironment. KW - kidney cancer KW - pan-RCC KW - machine learning KW - mitochondrial DNA KW - mtDNA KW - mTOR Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-232107 SN - 2234-943X VL - 11 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kunz, Viktoria A1 - Bommert, Kathryn S. A1 - Kruk, Jessica A1 - Schwinning, Daniel A1 - Chatterjee, Manik A1 - Stühmer, Thorsten A1 - Bargou, Ralf A1 - Bommert, Kurt T1 - Targeting of the E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase HUWE1 impairs DNA repair capacity and tumor growth in preclinical multiple myeloma models JF - Scientific Reports N2 - Experimental evidence suggests that ubiquitin-protein ligases regulate a number of cellular processes involved in tumorigenesis. We analysed the role of the E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase HUWE1 for pathobiology of multiple myeloma (MM), a still incurable blood cancer. mRNA expression analysis indicates an increase in HUWE1 expression levels correlated with advanced stages of myeloma. Pharmacologic as well as RNAi-mediated HUWE1 inhibition caused anti-proliferative effects in MM cell lines in vitro and in an MM1.S xenotransplantation mouse model. Cell cycle analysis upon HUWE1 inhibition revealed decreased S phase cell fractions. Analyses of potential HUWE1-dependent molecular functions did not show involvement in MYC-dependent gene regulation. However, HUWE1 depleted MM cells displayed increased DNA tail length by comet assay, as well as changes in the levels of DNA damage response mediators such as pBRCA1, DNA-polymerase beta, gamma H2AX and Mcl-1. Our finding that HUWE1 might thus be involved in endogenous DNA repair is further supported by strongly enhanced apoptotic effects of the DNA-damaging agent melphalan in HUWE1 depleted cells in vitro and in vivo. These data suggest that HUWE1 might contribute to tumour growth by endogenous repair of DNA, and could therefore potentially be exploitable in future treatment developments. KW - MYC KW - interacts KW - gene Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-230632 VL - 10 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weißbach, Susann A1 - Heredia-Guerrero, Sofia Catalina A1 - Barnsteiner, Stefanie A1 - Großhans, Lukas A1 - Bodem, Jochen A1 - Starz, Hanna A1 - Langer, Christian A1 - Appenzeller, Silke A1 - Knop, Stefan A1 - Steinbrunn, Torsten A1 - Rost, Simone A1 - Einsele, Hermann A1 - Bargou, Ralf Christian A1 - Rosenwald, Andreas A1 - Stühmer, Thorsten A1 - Leich, Ellen T1 - Exon-4 Mutations in KRAS Affect MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT Signaling in Human Multiple Myeloma Cell Lines JF - Cancers N2 - Approximately 20% of multiple myeloma (MM) cases harbor a point mutation in KRAS. However, there is still no final consent on whether KRAS-mutations are associated with disease outcome. Specifically, no data exist on whether KRAS-mutations have an impact on survival of MM patients at diagnosis in the era of novel agents. Direct blockade of KRAS for therapeutic purposes is mostly impossible, but recently a mutation-specific covalent inhibitor targeting KRAS\(^{p.G12C}\) entered into clinical trials. However, other KRAS hotspot-mutations exist in MM patients, including the less common exon-4 mutations. For the current study, the coding regions of KRAS were deep-sequenced in 80 newly diagnosed MM patients, uniformely treated with three cycles of bortezomib plus dexamethasone and cyclophosphamide (VCD)-induction, followed by high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation. Moreover, the functional impact of KRAS\(^{p.G12A}\) and the exon-4 mutations p.A146T and p.A146V on different survival pathways was investigated. Specifically, KRAS\(^{WT}\), KRAS\(^{p.G12A}\), KRAS\(^{p.A146T}\), and KRAS\(^{p.A146V}\) were overexpressed in HEK293 cells and the KRAS\(^{WT}\) MM cell lines JJN3 and OPM2 using lentiviral transduction and the Sleeping Beauty vector system. Even though KRAS-mutations were not correlated with survival, all KRAS-mutants were found capable of potentially activating MEK/ERK- and sustaining PI3K/AKT-signaling in MM cells. KW - multiple myeloma KW - KRAS KW - MEK/ERK-signaling KW - AKT-signaling KW - amplicon sequencing Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-200617 SN - 2072-6694 VL - 12 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Marquardt, André A1 - Hartrampf, Philipp A1 - Kollmannsberger, Philip A1 - Solimando, Antonio G. A1 - Meierjohann, Svenja A1 - Kübler, Hubert A1 - Bargou, Ralf A1 - Schilling, Bastian A1 - Serfling, Sebastian E. A1 - Buck, Andreas A1 - Werner, Rudolf A. A1 - Lapa, Constantin A1 - Krebs, Markus T1 - Predicting microenvironment in CXCR4- and FAP-positive solid tumors — a pan-cancer machine learning workflow for theranostic target structures JF - Cancers N2 - (1) Background: C-X-C Motif Chemokine Receptor 4 (CXCR4) and Fibroblast Activation Protein Alpha (FAP) are promising theranostic targets. However, it is unclear whether CXCR4 and FAP positivity mark distinct microenvironments, especially in solid tumors. (2) Methods: Using Random Forest (RF) analysis, we searched for entity-independent mRNA and microRNA signatures related to CXCR4 and FAP overexpression in our pan-cancer cohort from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database — representing n = 9242 specimens from 29 tumor entities. CXCR4- and FAP-positive samples were assessed via StringDB cluster analysis, EnrichR, Metascape, and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). Findings were validated via correlation analyses in n = 1541 tumor samples. TIMER2.0 analyzed the association of CXCR4 / FAP expression and infiltration levels of immune-related cells. (3) Results: We identified entity-independent CXCR4 and FAP gene signatures representative for the majority of solid cancers. While CXCR4 positivity marked an immune-related microenvironment, FAP overexpression highlighted an angiogenesis-associated niche. TIMER2.0 analysis confirmed characteristic infiltration levels of CD8+ cells for CXCR4-positive tumors and endothelial cells for FAP-positive tumors. (4) Conclusions: CXCR4- and FAP-directed PET imaging could provide a non-invasive decision aid for entity-agnostic treatment of microenvironment in solid malignancies. Moreover, this machine learning workflow can easily be transferred towards other theranostic targets. KW - machine learning KW - tumor microenvironment KW - immune infiltration KW - angiogenesis KW - mRNA KW - miRNA KW - transcriptome Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-305036 SN - 2072-6694 VL - 15 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kotlyar, Mischa J. A1 - Krebs, Markus A1 - Solimando, Antonio Giovanni A1 - Marquardt, André A1 - Burger, Maximilian A1 - Kübler, Hubert A1 - Bargou, Ralf A1 - Kneitz, Susanne A1 - Otto, Wolfgang A1 - Breyer, Johannes A1 - Vergho, Daniel C. A1 - Kneitz, Burkhard A1 - Kalogirou, Charis T1 - Critical evaluation of a microRNA-based risk classifier predicting cancer-specific survival in renal cell carcinoma with tumor thrombus of the inferior vena cava JF - Cancers N2 - (1) Background: Clear cell renal cell carcinoma extending into the inferior vena cava (ccRCC\(^{IVC}\)) represents a clinical high-risk setting. However, there is substantial heterogeneity within this patient subgroup regarding survival outcomes. Previously, members of our group developed a microRNA(miR)-based risk classifier — containing miR-21-5p, miR-126-3p and miR-221-3p expression — which significantly predicted the cancer-specific survival (CSS) of ccRCC\(^{IVC}\) patients. (2) Methods: Examining a single-center cohort of tumor tissue from n = 56 patients with ccRCC\(^{IVC}\), we measured the expression levels of miR-21, miR-126, and miR-221 using qRT-PCR. The prognostic impact of clinicopathological parameters and miR expression were investigated via single-variable and multivariable Cox regression. Referring to the previously established risk classifier, we performed Kaplan–Meier analyses for single miR expression levels and the combined risk classifier. Cut-off values and weights within the risk classifier were taken from the previous study. (3) Results: miR-21 and miR-126 expression were significantly associated with lymphonodal status at the time of surgery, the development of metastasis during follow-up, and cancer-related death. In Kaplan–Meier analyses, miR-21 and miR-126 significantly impacted CSS in our cohort. Moreover, applying the miR-based risk classifier significantly stratified ccRCC\(^{IVC}\) according to CSS. (4) Conclusions: In our retrospective analysis, we successfully validated the miR-based risk classifier within an independent ccRCC\(^{IVC}\) cohort. KW - kidney cancer KW - RCC KW - venous infiltration KW - biomarker KW - miR KW - risk stratification Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-311040 SN - 2072-6694 VL - 15 IS - 7 ER -