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Query: UMLS:C0178874 (tumor progression)
 40,807 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The second joint conference of the AACR and the EACR held in Oxford from 9-12 September 1997 was successful from many vantage points. While providing an optimal setting in which European and American cancer researchers could meet and exchange information, the conference had an excellent scientific programme which encompassed both methodological updates on important models used in cancer research and presentations of recent key advances in the molecular genetics of cancer. Lower eukaryotes are established model organisms used to elucidate fundamental but complex eukaryotic processes, such as those involved in tumorigenesis and cancer progression, and the progressive availability of their genome sequence makes them even more attractive. Transgenic mouse models are increasingly used not only for the study of one gene of interest but for investigation of the interactions among genes involved in the same pathway. The family of tumour suppressor genes is growing fast and several presentations were devoted to recently identified members such as the Von Hippel-Lindau gene, the FHIT gene and the PTEN gene. The systematic analysis of loss of heterozygosity on multiple loci in tumour specimens can provide the basis for preliminary models of molecular multistep progression in some tumour types, even though this is limited by the high degree of complexity found. Mechanisms of cell cycle regulation and apoptosis continue to be dissected and to constitute a fruitful area of investigation, with important recent insights on the p53-MDM2 autoregulatory loop and on the involvement of E2F-1 in apoptosis.
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PMID:Recent advances in the molecular genetics of cancer. Second joint conference of the American Association of Cancer Research and the European Association of Cancer Research, Oxford, 9-12 September 1997. 954 79

E2F-1 is the best known ultimate transcription factor in the cyclin/cyclin-dependent kinase/retinoblastoma gene pathway and is probably involved in carcinogenesis and tumor progression. Because E2F-1 can be detected in paraffin sections using immunohistochemical techniques, it could be a useful tumor/proliferation marker. We studied the expression of this gene product in 130 breast tissue specimens from 100 patients and compared it with the expression of Mib-1, the widely used prognostic/proliferative marker, to assess E2F-1 as a new marker of neoplastic proliferation. The percentage of E2F-1-positive cells increased from 1.9% in the normal breast (NB) to 6.3% in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and to 15.3% in invasive ductal carcinomas (IDC). In addition, higher-grade tumors as well as advanced-stage disease correlated with higher expression of E2F-1. A similar tendency of Mib-1 expression was observed. There was a positive correlation between the E2F-1 and Mib-1 indices. In an in vitro experiment, we found that a similar difference in the expression of E2F-1 existed between a nontumorigenic breast cell line and two widely used breast carcinoma cell lines. The breast carcinoma cell lines T-47D and MCF-7 had more E2F-1-positive cells than the nontumorigenic cell line MCF-10F by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. Because E2F-1 expression was significantly higher in IDC and DCIS than in NB, this study indicates that deregulation of E2F-1 may be involved in the development of breast IDC. In addition, E2F-1 expression could also be involved in tumor progression because the increased E2F-1 index correlated with the known prognostic predictors of breast cancer, such as histological grade, stage, metastasis status, estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor and Mib-1 expression. Thus, E2F-1 is a promising candidate to become a new prognostic/predictive marker of breast cancer.
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PMID:E2F-1: a proliferative marker of breast neoplasia. 1079 84

The transcription factor E2F-1, a downstream regulator of the p16-cyclinD-Rb pathway, is required for cell cycle progression. Evidence shows that overexpression of E2F-1 can either promote or inhibit development of tumors, depending on tissue or experimental conditions. To study whether the E2F-1 gene plays a role in tumor progression, the expression of E2F-1 protein was evaluated in 10 human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines using Western blot analysis. In addition, the invasive ability of these cell lines was determined by evaluating the penetration of cell lines into the tracheal wall in an in vivo invasion assay using deepithelialized tracheas transplanted into the s.c. tissue of Scid mice. This study showed that the aggressive cell lines had higher expression of E2F-1 than the less invasive cell lines. To evaluate the hypothesis that E2F-1 enhances invasiveness, we selected two cell lines, SCC9 and SCC12, for a gene transfer experiment. These cell lines exhibited low invasive ability with low expression of E2F-1. Two stable clones with overexpression of transfected E2F-1 gene and two clones with their respective vector-alone control were selected from each cell line for in vivo invasion evaluation. The clones containing the transfected E2F-1 gene had significantly higher invasive ability than their respective vector-alone clones. Flow cytometry showed that parental, transfected E2F-1, and vector-alone cells had a similar proliferation pattern under normal culture conditions. Nevertheless, transfected E2F-1 cells exhibited a higher portion of cells in S phase than the control cells after serum-starvation and refeeding. The results indicated that overexpression of E2F-1 plays a positive role in cell cycle reentry from quiescence and is associated with increased in vivo invasiveness.
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PMID:E2F-1 gene transfer enhances invasiveness of human head and neck carcinoma cell lines. 1108 15

E2F-1 is a transcriptional factor that mediates cell cycle progression from G1 to S phase, thereby influencing tumor progression. However, only a few clinicopathologic studies have been carried out using surgically removed specimens for defining its role in tumor biology. Therefore, we studied the expression of this cell cycle regulator on surgical specimens at the immunohistochemical level, and examined its possible relationship with proliferative index, assessed by analysis of MIB-1 expression, and clinicopathologic factors in pancreatic ductal carcinomas. E2F-1 and MIB-1 were immunostained on 54 surgically removed specimens, and nuclear reactivity was evaluated. The percentage of E2F-1 positive cells (E2F-1 PI) ranged from 3.8% to 71.4%. We found a statistically significant correlation between E2F-1 PI and the histologic grade of tumor differentiation (p = 0.0133), i.e. E2F-1 PI was higher in less-differentiated carcinomas. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between E2F-1 PI and the percentage of MIB-1 PI (r = 0.763; p < 0.0001). The patients with higher E2F-1 PI (E2F-1 PI > or = 38.0 = median) showed a significantly shorter disease-associated survival time in R0 resection cases (n = 49, p = 0.015). The present analysis seems to support the theory that E2F-1 is upregulated in cell cycle, and its expression reflects the effector function of G1/S progression as far as pancreatic ductal carcinoma is concerned.
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PMID:Expression of transcription factor E2F-1 in pancreatic ductal carcinoma: an immunohistochemical study. 1265 May 14

A surprising finding in the report by Rahman et al. in this issue of Cancer Cell is that forced overexpression of human thymidylate synthase transforms immortalized murine cells into a malignant phenotype. We discuss the possibility that elevated levels of thymidylate synthase noted in some human malignancies may contribute to tumor progression and may also reflect increased levels of its transcriptional activator E2F-1.
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PMID:Thymidylate synthase as an oncogene? 1509 41

Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most commonly occurring soft-tissue sarcoma in children. Some reports have discussed the altered expression and molecular abnormalities of cell-cycle-regulatory proteins in rhabdomyosarcoma; however, variable frequencies of occurrence have been noted. In the current study, among 72 cases of rhabdomyosarcoma, the authors evaluated for the expression of p53, MDM2, p16, p21/WAF1, p27, cyclin D1, cyclin E, pRb and E2F-1 protein immunohistochemically and assessed for proliferative activities using MIB-1. We also analyzed the mutation of the p53 gene in 45 cases, the amplification of the MDM2 gene in 18 cases and the mutation of the H-ras gene in 29 cases, using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded materials. Furthermore, we assessed the correlation between clinicopathologic factors and the results of both immunohistochemical and molecular analyses. Alveolar type affected older patients, and it had a significantly higher mitotic rate compared with the embryonal type (P=0.0226). p53 overexpression was detected in 22 (30.6%) of 72 cases, and 10 (22.2%) of 45 cases had p53 gene abnormalities. As for MDM2, its overexpression was found in nine (12.5%) of 72 cases, and three (16.7%) of 18 cases showed MDM2 amplification. A statistically significant association was observed between immunoreaction for MDM2 and p53 overexpression (P=0.0002), and p53 and MDM2 overexpression was significantly correlated with high MIB-1 labeling indices. E2F-1 labeling indices showed a significantly higher score in alveolar type compared with that seen in embryonal type (P=0.0334), but MIB-1 did not. In conclusion, our study suggests that p53 overexpression may be related to tumor progression because tumors with p53 overexpression have a high proliferative activity in the current study. Alveolar type had a significantly higher both mitotic rate and E2F-1 labeling indices when compared with the embryonal type. The current study is the first report of the correlation of E2F-1 with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma.
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PMID:Altered expression and molecular abnormalities of cell-cycle-regulatory proteins in rhabdomyosarcoma. 1509 8

The transcription factor E2F-1, a downstream regulator of the p16-cyclinD-Rb pathway, is required for cell cycle progression. Evidence shows that overexpression of E2F-1 can either promote or inhibit the development of tumors, depending on tissue or experimental conditions. However, the clinical impact of E2F-1 expression on esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unknown. To analyze E2F-1 expression in ESCC, we investigated the immunoreactivity of E2F-1 and its correlation with clinicopathological features in 122 patients who underwent surgical resection for ESCC. Positive E2F-1 immunostaining was detected in 73 patients (59.8%). Positive E2F-1 immunostaining correlated positively with pathologic stage (P = 0.0103), p-Grade (P = 0.0014) and pT (P = 0.0192). The overall survival rate was worse in patients with E2F-1-positive tumors than in patients with E2F-1-negative tumors (P = 0.0290). Over-expression of E2F-1 is associated with tumor progression and a worse prognosis after surgery in ESCC.
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PMID:Over-expression of E2F-1 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma correlates with tumor progression. 1523 Jul 29

The E2F family of transcription factors plays a pivotal role in the regulation of cellular proliferation. On the basis of sequence homology and function, eight distinct members of E2F transcription factors (E2F-1 to E2F-8) have been distinguished to date. The regulation of E2F transcription factors is closely associated with the function of the retinoblastoma family of tumor suppressors (RB pathway). In the last decade various alterations of distinct components of the RB-E2F pathway were found to be associated with tumor progression. However, no data on the role of E2F family members are available in tumor biology of ovarian cancer. Here we describe an expression study of E2F transcription factors in various human ovarian cancer cell lines; its clinical relevance was examined in a training set of 77 ovarian cancer patients. Expression levels of E2F-1, E2F-2, and E2F-8 were elevated in all the ovarian cancer cell lines studied when compared with human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMCs). Interestingly, EGF treatment showed a time-dependent upregulation of the activating transcription factor E2F-3 and a simultaneous increase of DP-1, the heterodimeric partner of E2F-3. High expression of E2F-1, E2F-2, and E2F-8 was found to be associated with histopathologic grade 3 tumors and residual tumor over 2 cm in diameter after primary debulking surgery in ovarian cancer patients. Taken together, these data suggest that the proliferation-promoting E2F transcription factors E2F-1 and especially E2F-2 play a pivotal role in tumor biology of ovarian cancer and may be candidates for specific therapeutic targets.
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PMID:Expression of the E2F family of transcription factors and its clinical relevance in ovarian cancer. 1734 21

The proteasome controls a plethora of survival factors in all mammalian cells analyzed to date. Therefore, it is puzzling that proteasome inhibitors such as bortezomib can display a preferential toxicity toward malignant cells. In fact, proteasome inhibitors have the salient feature of promoting a dramatic induction of the proapoptotic protein NOXA in a tumor cell-restricted manner. However, the molecular determinants that control this specific regulation of NOXA are unknown. Here, we show that the induction of NOXA by bortezomib is directly dependent on the oncogene c-MYC. This requirement for c-MYC was found in a variety of tumor cell types, in marked contrast with dispensable roles of p53, HIF-1alpha, and E2F-1 (classical proteasomal targets that can regulate NOXA mRNA under stress). Conserved MYC-binding sites identified at the NOXA promoter were validated by ChIP and reporter assays. Down-regulation of the endogenous levels of c-MYC abrogated the induction of NOXA in proteasome-defective tumor cells. Conversely, forced expression of c-MYC enabled normal cells to accumulate NOXA and subsequently activate cell death programs in response to proteasome blockage. c-MYC is itself a proteasomal target whose levels or function are invariably up-regulated during tumor progression. Our data provide an unexpected function of c-MYC in the control of the apoptotic machinery, and reveal a long sought-after oncogenic event conferring sensitivity to proteasome inhibition.
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PMID:Tumor cell-selective regulation of NOXA by c-MYC in response to proteasome inhibition. 1804 11

Overexpression of fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) has been observed in many types of human tumors; however, the regulatory mechanism of human FGFR expression is still largely unknown. In the present study, we first identified the transcriptional initiation site in the human FGFR 1 gene by 5'-RACE. Furthermore, we show that the expression of human FGFR 1 is regulated by E2F-1. Characterization of the human FGFR 1 promoter demonstrated that two non-consensus E2F binding sequences at positions +4 to +22 and +25 to +43 relative to our identified transcriptional initiation site in the human FGFR 1 gene were critical for E2F-1-mediated transactivation of human FGFR 1 promoter. Mutations of these sites completely abolished the response of human FGFR 1 promoter to E2F-1 as well as E2F-1 binding in electrophoretic mobility-shift assays. Furthermore, chromatin immunoprecipitation assay showed that E2F-1 was able to bind in vivo to the human FGFR 1 promoter. Moreover, human FGFR 1 protein expression was up-regulated by the overexpression of E2F-1, but down-regulated by the overexpression of pRB in situ, suggesting that the expression of human FGFR 1 is regulated by the pRB/E2F pathway. Because disruption of the pRB/E2F pathway is frequently observed in tumor cells, our findings provide valuable information for studying the role of FGFR 1 in tumor progression.
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PMID:Transcriptional regulation of human fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 by E2F-1. 1930 24


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