Development Of Diffuse Gastric Cancer Research Articles

RHOAL57V drives the development of diffuse gastric cancer through IGF1R-PAK1-YAP1 signaling.

Cancer-associated mutations in the guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) RHOA are found at different locations from the mutational hotspots in the structurally and biochemically related RAS. Tyr42-to-Cys (Y42C) and Leu57-to-Val (L57V) substitutions are the two most prevalent RHOA mutations in diffuse gastric cancer (DGC). RHOAY42C exhibits a gain-of-function phenotype and is an oncogenic driver in DGC. Here, we determined how RHOAL57V promotes DGC growth. In mouse gastric organoids with deletion of Cdh1, which encodes the cell adhesion protein E-cadherin, the expression of RHOAL57V, but not of wild-type RHOA, induced an abnormal morphology similar to that of patient-derived DGC organoids. RHOAL57V also exhibited a gain-of-function phenotype and promoted F-actin stress fiber formation and cell migration. RHOAL57V retained interaction with effectors but exhibited impaired RHOA-intrinsic and GAP-catalyzed GTP hydrolysis, which favored formation of the active GTP-bound state. Introduction of missense mutations at KRAS residues analogous to Tyr42 and Leu57 in RHOA did not activate KRAS oncogenic potential, indicating distinct functional effects in otherwise highly related GTPases. Both RHOA mutants stimulated the transcriptional co-activator YAP1 through actin dynamics to promote DGC progression; however, RHOAL57V additionally did so by activating the kinases IGF1R and PAK1, distinct from the FAK-mediated mechanism induced by RHOAY42C. Our results reveal that RHOAL57V and RHOAY42C drive the development of DGC through distinct biochemical and signaling mechanisms.

Molecular function of Krüppel-like factor 7 in biology.

Krüppel-like factor 7 ( KLF7), also named ubiquitous KLF ( UKLF) based on its ubiquitous expression in adult human tissues, is a conserved gene in animals. There are few reports on KLF7 among KLFs; however, an increasing number of reports are demonstrating that KLF7 plays an important role in development and diseases. Genetic studies have shown that the DNA polymorphisms of KLF7 are associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), lachrymal/salivary gland lesions, and mental development in some populations of humans, and the DNA methylation of KLF7 is associated with the development of diffuse gastric cancer. In addition, biological function studies have shown that KLF7 regulates the development of the nervous system, adipose tissue, muscle tissue and corneal epithelium as well as the preservation of pluripotent stem cells. Additionally, disease-related studies have shown that KLF7 is involved in the development or progression of T2DM, hematologic diseases, lung cancer, gastric cancer, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, glioma, advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer and osteosarcoma. This review provides research progress on the genetic association, molecular properties and biological function of KLF7, and it may shed light on the understanding of the molecular function of KLF7 in biology and the molecular mechanisms of some diseases.

Cancer surveillance as an alternative to prophylactic total gastrectomy in hereditary diffuse gastric cancer: a prospective cohort study.

Loss of function variants in CDH1 are the most frequent cause of hereditary diffuse gastric cancer. Endoscopy is regarded as insufficient for early detection due to the infiltrative phenotype of diffuse-type cancers. Microscopic foci of invasive signet ring cells are pathognomonic of CDH1 and precede development of diffuse gastric cancer. We aimed to assess the safety and effectiveness of endoscopy for cancer interception in individuals with germline CDH1 variants, particularly in those who declined prophylactic total gastrectomy. In this prospective cohort study, we included asymptomatic patients aged 2 years or older with pathogenic or likely pathogenic germline CDH1 variants who underwent endoscopic screening and surveillance at the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD, USA) as part of a natural history study of hereditary gastric cancers (NCT03030404). Endoscopy was done with non-targeted biopsies and one or more targeted biopsy and assessment of focal lesions. Endoscopy findings, pathological data, personal and family cancer history, and demographics were recorded. Procedural morbidity, gastric cancer detection by endoscopy and gastrectomy, and cancer-specific events were assessed. Screening was defined as the initial endoscopy and all subsequent endoscopies were considered surveillance; follow-up endoscopy was at 6 to 12 months. The primary aim was to determine effectiveness of endoscopic surveillance for detection of gastric signet ring cell carcinoma. Between Jan 25, 2017, and Dec 12, 2021, 270 patients (median age 46·6 years [IQR 36·5-59·8], 173 [64%] female participants, 97 [36%] male participants; 250 [93%] were non-Hispanic White, eight [3%] were multiracial, four [2%] were non-Hispanic Black, three [1%] were Hispanic, two [1%] were Asian, and one [<1%] was American Indian or Alaskan Native) with germline CDH1 variants were screened, in whom 467 endoscopies were done as of data cutoff (April 30, 2022). 213 (79%) of 270 patients had a family history of gastric cancer, and 176 (65%) reported a family history of breast cancer. Median follow-up was 31·1 months (IQR 17·1-42·1). 38 803 total gastric biopsy samples were obtained, of which 1163 (3%) were positive for invasive signet ring cell carcinoma. Signet ring cell carcinoma was detected in 76 (63%) of 120 patients who had two or more surveillance endoscopies, of whom 74 had occult cancer detected; the remaining two individuals developed focal ulcerations each corresponding to pT3N0 stage carcinoma. 98 (36%) of 270 patients proceeded to prophylactic total gastrectomy. Among patients who had a prophylactic total gastrectomy after an endoscopy with biopsy samples negative for cancer (42 [43%] of 98), multifocal stage IA gastric carcinoma was detected in 39 (93%). Two (1%) participants died during follow-up, one due to metastatic lobular breast cancer and the other due to underlying cerebrovascular disease, and no participants were diagnosed with advanced stage (III or IV) cancer during follow-up. In our cohort, endoscopic cancer surveillance was an acceptable alternative to surgery in individuals with CDH1 variants who declined total gastrectomy. The low rate of incident tumours (>T1a) suggests that surveillance might be a rational alternative to surgery in individuals with CDH1 variants. Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health.

Hereditary Gastric and Breast Cancer Syndromes Related to CDH1 Germline Mutation: A Multidisciplinary Clinical Review.

E-cadherin (CDH1 gene) germline mutations are associated with the development of diffuse gastric cancer in the context of the so-called hereditary diffuse gastric syndrome, and with an inherited predisposition of lobular breast carcinoma. In 2019, the international gastric cancer linkage consortium revised the clinical criteria and established guidelines for the genetic screening of CDH1 germline syndromes. Nevertheless, the introduction of multigene panel testing in clinical practice has led to an increased identification of E-cadherin mutations in individuals without a positive family history of gastric or breast cancers. This observation motivated us to review and present a novel multidisciplinary clinical approach (nutritional, surgical, and image screening) for single subjects who present germline CDH1 mutations but do not fulfil the classic clinical criteria, namely those identified as—(1) incidental finding and (2) individuals with lobular breast cancer without family history of gastric cancer (GC).

Genetic Mutations Identified for Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer

Genetic Mutations Identified for Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer

Destabilized Adhesion in the Gastric Proliferative Zone and c-Src Kinase Activation Mark the Development of Early Diffuse Gastric Cancer

The initial development of diffuse gastric cancer (DGC) is poorly understood. The study of E-cadherin (CDH1) germ line mutation carriers predisposed to DGC provides a rare opportunity to elucidate the genetic and biological events surrounding disease initiation. Samples from various stages of hereditary and sporadic DGC were investigated to determine general mechanisms underlying early DGC development. Paraffin-embedded tissues from 13 CDH1 mutation carriers and from 10 sporadic early DGC cases were analyzed. Immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry using differentiation, proliferation, and adhesion markers showed that DGC initiation seems to occur at the proliferative zone (the upper neck) of the gastric epithelium and correlates with absent or reduced expression of junctional proteins (beta-actin, p120, Lin-7). Slow proliferation of neoplastic cells at the upper gastric neck leads to the formation of intramucosal signet-ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) displaying differentiated features. As shown by immunolabeling, invasion from SRCC lesions beyond the gastric mucosa is associated with poor differentiation, increased proliferation, activation of the c-Src system, and an epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Our results provide a molecular description of the early development of DGC and explain the relationship between the two main DGC types, poorly differentiated carcinoma and SRCC: both share their origin, but SRCC develops following cancer cell differentiation and seems relatively indolent in its intramucosal stage.

Model of the early development of diffuse gastric cancer in E-cadherin mutation carriers and its implications for patient screening.

Hereditary diffuse gastric cancer (HDGC) is a familial cancer syndrome caused, in 30-40% of cases, by germline mutations of the E-cadherin/CDH1 gene. The presence of clinically undetectable early gastric cancers has been previously reported in ten of ten prophylactic gastrectomies from germline E-cadherin mutation carriers. In the present study, detailed maps of the distribution of invasive cancers in nine of these ten stomachs were produced and precursor lesions of HDGC searched for. The nine gastrectomy specimens contained from 1 to 161 foci of early diffuse gastric cancer, occupying 0.005-2.96% of the gastric mucosa. Seven specimens contained focal in situ signet ring carcinoma. Pagetoid spread of signet ring cells was observed beneath the epithelial lining of gastric foveolae/glands. Helicobacter pylori organisms and associated pathology were absent from all cases. Two-dimensional maps of the gastrectomy specimens revealed lesions throughout the gastric mucosa without evidence of antral clustering. The distribution and size of the cancers in the gastrectomy specimens indicate that standard endoscopic screening with random or geographically targeted biopsies is unlikely to provide sufficiently sensitive clinical screening for at-risk individuals. An in situ precursor of signet ring carcinoma was identified and a model for neoplastic progression in the setting of HDGC is proposed.