Expression of tumor-associated antigens in breast cancer subtypes
Giuseppe Curigliano,
Vincenzo Bagnardi,
Mariacristina Ghioni,
Jamila Louahed,
Vincent Brichard,
Frederic F. Lehmann,
Antonio Marra,
Dario Trapani,
Carmen Criscitiello,
Giuseppe Viale
Affiliations
Giuseppe Curigliano
Division of Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, Italy; Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milano, Milan, Italy; Corresponding author. Division of Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies. IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Via Ripamonti 435, 20141, Milan, Italy.
Vincenzo Bagnardi
Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
Mariacristina Ghioni
Division of Pathology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, Italy
Jamila Louahed
GSK, USA
Vincent Brichard
GSK, USA; Vianova-Biosciences, Belgium
Frederic F. Lehmann
GSK, USA; Celyad, Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium
Antonio Marra
Division of Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, Italy; Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milano, Milan, Italy
Dario Trapani
Division of Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, Italy; Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milano, Milan, Italy
Carmen Criscitiello
Division of Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, Italy
Giuseppe Viale
Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milano, Milan, Italy; Division of Pathology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, Italy
Objectives: Tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) are frequently overexpressed in several cancer types. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of TAAs in breast cancer. Material and methods: A total of 250 selected invasive breast cancers including 50 estrogen receptor (ER)-positive (Luminal B like), 50 triple-negative (TN), 50 ER-positive lobular type, 50 ER- and progesterone receptor (PgR)-positive (Luminal A like) and 50 cerbB2-positive breast cancers, were assessed for New York esophageal squamous cell carcinoma-1 (NY-ESO-1), Wilms tumor antigen (WT-1) and PReferentially expressed Antigen of MElanoma (PRAME) antigen expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Results: A significantly higher expression of cancer testis (CT)-antigens NY-ESO-1 and WT-1 antigen was detected in TN breast cancers compared with ER-positive tumors. NY-ESO-1 overexpression (score 2 + and 3+) assessed by monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies was detected in 9 (18%) TN cancers as compared to 2 (4%) ER-positive tumors (p = 0.002). WT1 over-expression (score 2 + and 3+) was confirmed in 27 (54%) TN tumor samples as compared to 6 (12%) ER-positive (p < 0.0001). PRAME over-expression (score 2 + and 3+) was detected in 8 (16%) HER2 positive tumor samples as compared to no TN and ER-positive cancers (p = 0.0021). Conclusions: NY-ESO-1 and WT1 antigens are overexpressed in TN breast cancers. Because of the limited therapeutic options for this patient subgroup, CT antigen-based vaccines might prove to be useful for patients with this phenotype of breast cancer.
