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The Lazarus effect is a rare condition that happens when someone seemingly dead shows signs of life. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) represents a target in the fatal neoplasm glioblastoma (GBM) that through a series of negative clinical trials has prompted a vocal subset of the neuro-oncology community to declare this target dead. However, an argument can be made that the core tenets of precision oncology were overlooked in the initial clinical enthusiasm over EGFR as a therapeutic target in GBM. Namely, the wrong drugs were tested on the wrong patients at the wrong time. Furthermore, new insights into the biology of EGFR in GBM vis-à-vis other EGFR-driven neoplasms, such as non-small cell lung cancer, and development of novel GBM-specific EGFR therapeutics resurrects this target for future studies. Here, we will examine the distinct EGFR biology in GBM, how it exacerbates the challenge of treating a CNS neoplasm, how these unique challenges have influenced past and present EGFR-targeted therapeutic design and clinical trials, and what adjustments are needed to therapeutically exploit EGFR in this devastating disease.

Histopathological evaluation of tumours is a subjective process, but studies of inter-pathologist agreement are uncommon in veterinary medicine. The Comparative Brain Tumour Consortium (CBTC) recently published diagnostic criteria for canine gliomas. Our objective was to assess the degree of inter-pathologist agreement on intracranial canine gliomas, utilising the CBTC diagnostic criteria in a cohort of eighty-five samples from dogs with an archival diagnosis of intracranial glioma. Five pathologists independently reviewed HE and immunohistochemistry sections and provided a diagnosis and grade. Percentage agreement and kappa statistics were calculated to measure inter-pathologist agreement between pairs and amongst the entire group. A consensus diagnosis of glioma subtype and grade was achieved for 71/85 (84%) cases. For these cases, percentage agreement on combined diagnosis (subtype and grade), subtype only and grade only were 66%, 80% and 82%, respectively. Kappa statistics for the same were 0.466, 0.542 and 0.516, respectively. Kappa statistics for oligodendroglioma, astrocytoma and undefined glioma were 0.585, 0.566 and 0.280 and were 0.516 for both low-grade and high-grade tumours. Kappa statistics amongst pairs of pathologists for combined diagnosis varied from 0.352 to 0.839. 8 % of archival oligodendrogliomas and 61% of archival astrocytomas were reclassified as another entity after review. Inter-pathologist agreement utilising CBTC guidelines for canine glioma was moderate overall but varied from fair to almost perfect between pairs of pathologists. Agreement was similar for oligodendrogliomas and astrocytomas but lower for undefined gliomas. These results are similar to pathologist agreement in human glioma studies and with other tumour entities in veterinary medicine.

In 2016, the World Health Organization Classification of CNS Tumors introduced molecular abnormalities that refined tumor diagnoses. Around this time, the introduction of large scale genetic mutational analyses quickly advanced our knowledge of recurrent abnormalities in disease. In 2017, the C-IMPACT group was established to render expert consensus opinions regarding the application of molecular findings into central nervous system tumor diagnoses. C-IMPACT have presented their recommendations in 7 peer-reviewed publications; this article details those recommendations that are expected to be incorporated into the upcoming fifth edition of the World Health Organization classification.

Patients with breast cancer brain metastases have extremely limited survival and no approved systemic therapeutics. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) commonly metastasizes to the brain and predicts poor prognosis. TNBC frequently harbors BRCA mutations translating to platinum sensitivity potentially augmented by additional suppression of DNA repair mechanisms through PARP inhibition. We evaluated brain penetrance and efficacy of carboplatin ± the PARP inhibitor ABT888, and investigated gene-expression changes in murine intracranial TNBC models stratified by BRCA and molecular subtype status. Athymic mice were inoculated intracerebrally with BRCA-mutant: SUM149 (basal), MDA-MB-436 (claudin-low); or BRCA–wild-type (wt): MDA-MB-468 (basal), MDA-MB-231BR (claudin-low). TNBC cells were treated with PBS control [intraperitoneal (IP), weekly], carboplatin (50 mg/kg/wk, IP), ABT888 (25 mg/kg/d, oral gavage), or their combination. DNA damage (γ-H2AX), apoptosis (cleaved caspase-3, cC3), and gene expression were measured in intracranial tumors. Carboplatin ± ABT888 significantly improved survival in BRCA-mutant intracranial models compared with control, but did not improve survival in BRCA-wt intracranial models. Carboplatin + ABT888 revealed a modest survival advantage versus carboplatin in BRCA-mutant models. ABT888 yielded a marginal survival benefit in the MDA-MB-436, but not in the SUM149 model. BRCA-mutant SUM149 expression of γ-H2AX and cC3 proteins was elevated in all treatment groups compared with control, whereas BRCA-wt MDA-MB-468 cC3 expression did not increase with treatment. Carboplatin treatment induced common gene-expression changes in BRCA-mutant models. Carboplatin ± ABT888 penetrates the brain and improves survival in BRCA-mutant intracranial TNBC models with corresponding DNA damage and gene-expression changes. Combination therapy represents a potential promising treatment strategy for patients with TNBC brain metastases warranting further clinical investigation. Mol Cancer Ther; 14(4); 920–30. ©2015 AACR.

This file contains additional details on the microarray analysis and normalization.

This file contains the compiled Supplemental Figures S1-S9. Figure S1 is a flowchart describing the process of normalizing the microarray data for the SUM149 model for the different scanners used. Figure S2 depicts the scanner differences in the microarray data for the SUM149 model before and after normalization. Figure S3 is a flowchart depicting the analytical process used to analyze and compare the SUM149 and MDA-MB-436 models microarray results, and Figure S4 shows the difference in scale between models before and after the scaling process for visual comparison of the SUM149 and MDA-MB-436 models. Figure S5 demonstrates the lack of survival benefit of Carboplatin +/- ABT88 in the two BRCA-wt models, MDA-MB-468 and MDA-MB-231BR. Figure S6 contains representative images of IHC cC3 staining for the BRCA-wt model, MDA-MB-468. Figure S7 shows the unsupervised clustering of the BRCA-mut SUM149 and MDA-MB-436 models with treatment. Figure S8 contains the supervised clustering based on carboplatin treatment in these two models. Figure S9 demonstrates the expression levels of the 38 commonly regulated genes in both models with carboplatin treatment.

This file contains the differentially expressed genes and enriched pathways lists from the gene expression microarray analyses in Supplemental Table S1, with sample information in S1a. Lists are for the following comparisons: SUM149 Control vs. ABT888 (S1b), MDA-MB-436 Control vs. ABT888 (S1c), SUM149 Control vs. Carboplatin (S1d), MDA-MB-436 Control vs. Carboplatin (S1e), SUM149 Control vs Carboplatin+ABT888 (S1f), MDA-MB-436 Control vs Carboplatin+ABT888 (S1g), SUM149 Carboplatin vs Carboplatin+ABT888 (S1h), MDA-MB-436 Carboplatin vs Carboplatin+ABT888 (S1i). DAVID pathway enrichment analysis results are shown for the significantly up-regulated (S1j) and down-regulated (S1k) genes with Carboplatin treatment for both models.

This file contains the figure legends for Supplemental Figures S1-S9.

Purpose: Immune checkpoint inhibitors designed to revert tumor-induced immunosuppression have emerged as potent anticancer therapies. Tryptophan metabolism represents an immune checkpoint, and targeting this pathway's rate-limiting enzyme IDO1 is actively being investigated clinically. Here, we studied the intermediary metabolism of tryptophan metabolism in glioblastoma and evaluated the activity of the IDO1 inhibitor GDC-0919, both alone and in combination with radiation (RT).Experimental Design: LC/GC-MS and expression profiling was performed for metabolomic and genomic analyses of patient-derived glioma. Immunocompetent mice were injected orthotopically with genetically engineered murine glioma cells and treated with GDC-0919 alone or combined with RT. Flow cytometry was performed on isolated tumors to determine immune consequences of individual treatments.Results: Integrated cross-platform analyses coupling global metabolomic and gene expression profiling identified aberrant tryptophan metabolism as a metabolic node specific to the mesenchymal and classical subtypes of glioblastoma. GDC-0919 demonstrated potent inhibition of this node and effectively crossed the blood–brain barrier. Although GDC-0919 as a single agent did not demonstrate antitumor activity, it had a strong potential for enhancing RT response in glioblastoma, which was further augmented with a hypofractionated regimen. RT response in glioblastoma involves immune stimulation, reflected by increases in activated and cytotoxic T cells, which was balanced by immune checkpoint reactivation, reflected by an increase in IDO1 expression and regulatory T cells (Treg). GDC-0919 mitigated RT-induced Tregs and enhanced T-cell activation.Conclusions: Tryptophan metabolism represents a metabolic node in glioblastoma, and combining RT with IDO1 inhibition enhances therapeutic response by mitigating RT-induced immunosuppression. Clin Cancer Res; 24(15); 3632–43. ©2018 AACR.

PDF file - 797K, Figure S1. Barrier phenotype of human brain microvascular endothelial cells and astrocytes in monocultures and co-cultures. Figure S2. alpha/beta-crystallin does not affect cell viability of TNBC cells in standard monolayer culture. Figure S3. alpha/beta-crystallin overexpression increases liver metastases in an orthotopic model of TNBC. Figure S4. Silencing alpha/beta-crystallin inhibits liver metastases in an orthotopic model of TNBC. Figure S5. alpha/beta-crystallin does not affect proliferation or apoptosis in primary mammary tumors and brain metastatic lesions determined at autopsy. Table S1. Patient characteristics Table S2. alpha/beta-crystallin expression in paired tumors. Table S3. Association of alpha/beta-crystallin expression with breast cancer subtype. Table S4. Incidence of metastases in mice in orthotopic models of TNBC .

Supplementary Figures S1-S8, Supplementary Materials and Methods, and Supplementary Tables S1-S2.

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Agreement between manual and automated methods for quantification of biomarker expression data in tissue microarrays.

Agreement between IHC-based and RNA-based intrinsic subtyping

Supplementary Fig. S3. Profiling of collagen in basal-like C3-TAg model and claudin-low T11 model at baseline and at 96 h after administration of PLD or NL-doxo at 6 mg/kg I.V. x 1 via tail vein

Supplementary Data. Table S1. Product information from FormuMax Scientific, Inc. Table S2. Doxorubicin AUC0-96h in plasma, tissues, and tumor in the C3-TAg model and the T11 model after PLD or NL-doxo administration at 6 mg/kg I.V. x 1 via tail vein Table S3. Baseline and total influx of F4/80+ TAMs in the C3-TAg model and the T11 model after PLD or NL-doxo administration at 6 mg/kg I.V. x 1 via tail vein

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Purpose: Lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is clinically and genetically heterogeneous, and current diagnostic practices do not adequately substratify this heterogeneity. A robust, biologically based SCC subclassification may describe this variability and lead to more precise patient prognosis and management. We sought to determine if SCC mRNA expression subtypes exist, are reproducible across multiple patient cohorts, and are clinically relevant.Experimental Design: Subtypes were detected by unsupervised consensus clustering in five published discovery cohorts of mRNA microarrays, totaling 382 SCC patients. An independent validation cohort of 56 SCC patients was collected and assayed by microarrays. A nearest-centroid subtype predictor was built using discovery cohorts. Validation cohort subtypes were predicted and evaluated for confirmation. Subtype survival outcome, clinical covariates, and biological processes were compared by statistical and bioinformatic methods.Results: Four lung SCC mRNA expression subtypes, named primitive, classical, secretory, and basal, were detected and independently validated (P < 0.001). The primitive subtype had the worst survival outcome (P < 0.05) and is an independent predictor of survival (P < 0.05). Tumor differentiation and patient sex were associated with subtype. The expression profiles of the subtypes contained distinct biological processes (primitive: proliferation; classical: xenobiotic metabolism; secretory: immune response; basal: cell adhesion) and suggested distinct pharmacologic interventions. Comparison with lung model systems revealed distinct subtype to cell type correspondence.Conclusions: Lung SCC consists of four mRNA expression subtypes that have different survival outcomes, patient populations, and biological processes. The subtypes stratify patients for more precise prognosis and targeted research. Clin Cancer Res; 16(19); 4864–75. ©2010 AACR.

Supplementary Table 1. Clinical and histologic characteristics of cutaneous melanocytic nevi, primary melanomas, and melanoma metastases and their relationship to ITK protein levels

Purpose: Tumor cells are surrounded by a complex microenvironment. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the role of heterogeneity of the tumor microenvironment in the variability of nanoparticle (NP) delivery and efficacy.Experimental Designs:C3(1)-T-Antigen genetically engineered mouse model (C3-TAg) and T11/TP53Null orthotopic syngeneic murine transplant model (T11) representing human breast tumor subtypes basal-like and claudin-low, respectively, were evaluated. For the pharmacokinetic studies, non-liposomal doxorubicin (NL-doxo) or polyethylene glycol tagged (PEGylated) liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) was administered at 6 mg/kg i.v. x1. Area under the concentration versus time curve (AUC) of doxorubicin was calculated. Macrophages, collagen, and the amount of vasculature were assessed by IHC. Chemokines and cytokines were measured by multiplex immunochemistry. NL-doxo or PLD was administered at 6 mg/kg i.v. weekly x6 in efficacy studies. Analyses of intermediary tumor response and overall survival were performed.Results: Plasma AUC of NL-doxo and PLD encapsulated and released doxorubicin was similar between two models. However, tumor sum total AUC of PLD was 2-fold greater in C3-TAg compared with T11 (P < 0.05). T11 tumors showed significantly higher expression of CC chemokine ligand (CCL) 2 and VEGF-a, greater vascular quantity, and decreased expression of VEGF-c compared with C3-TAg (P < 0.05). PLD was more efficacious compared with NL-doxo in both models.Conclusion: The tumor microenvironment and/or tumor cell features of breast cancer affected NP tumor delivery and efficacy, but not the small-molecule drug. Our findings reveal the role of the tumor microenvironment in variability of NP delivery and therapeutic outcomes. Clin Cancer Res; 20(23); 6083–95. ©2014 AACR.

Supplemental Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4

Supplementary Methods with description on Microarray analysis, Tumor models, Kynurenine estimation, Western Blotting, LC-MS and Flow cytometry.

Legends for Supplementary Figures 1 and 2

Purpose: We evaluated X-ray repair complementing defective repair in Chinese hamster cells 1 (XRCC1) protein in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients in association with outcome.Experimental Design: XRCC1 protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of pretreatment tissue samples in 138 consecutive HNSCC patients treated with surgery (n = 31), radiation (15), surgery and radiation (23), surgery and adjuvant chemoradiation (17), primary chemoradiation (51), and palliative measures (1).Results: Patients with high XRCC1 expression by IHC (n = 77) compared with patients with low XRCC1 expression (n = 60) had poorer median overall survival (OS; 41.0 months vs. OS not reached, P = 0.009) and poorer progression-free survival (28.0 months vs. 73.0 months, P = 0.031). This association was primarily due to patients who received chemoradiation (median OS of high- and low-XRCC1 expression patients, 35.5 months and not reached respectively, HR 3.48; 95% CI: 1.44–8.38; P = 0.006). In patients treated with nonchemoradiation modalities, there was no survival difference by XRCC1 expression. In multivariable analysis, high XRCC1 expression and p16INK4a-positive status were independently associated with survival in the overall study population (HR = 2.62; 95% CI: 1.52–4.52; P < 0.001 and HR = 0.21; 95% CI: 0.06–0.71; P = 0.012, respectively) and among chemoradiation patients (HR = 6.02; 95% CI: 2.36–15.37; P < 0.001 and HR = 0.26; 95% CI: 0.08–0.92, respectively; P = 0.037).Conclusions: In HNSCC, high XRCC1 protein expression is associated with poorer survival, particularly in patients receiving chemoradiation. Future validation of these findings may enable identification of HNSCC expressing patients who benefit from chemoradiation treatment. Clin Cancer Res; 17(20); 6542–52. ©2011 AACR.

Purpose: Basal-like breast tumors are typically (ER/PR/HER2) triple-negative and are associated with a high incidence of brain metastases and poor clinical outcomes. The molecular chaperone αB-crystallin is predominantly expressed in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and contributes to an aggressive tumor phenotype in preclinical models. We investigated the potential role of αB-crystallin in brain metastasis in TNBCs.Experimental Design: αB-crystallin expression in primary breast carcinomas and brain metastases was analyzed by immunohistochemistry among patients with breast cancer with brain metastases. αB-crystallin was overexpressed or silenced in two different TNBC cell lines. The effects on cell adhesion to human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC) or extracellular matrix proteins, transendothelial migration, and transmigration across a HBMEC/astrocyte coculture blood–brain barrier (BBB) model were examined. In addition, the effects of overexpressing or silencing αB-crystallin on brain metastasis in vivo were investigated using orthotopic TNBC models.Results: In a cohort of women with breast cancer brain metastasis, αB-crystallin expression in primary breast carcinomas was associated with poor overall survival and poor survival after brain metastasis, even among patients with TNBC. Stable overexpression of αB-crystallin in TNBC cells enhanced adhesion to HBMECs, transendothelial migration, and BBB transmigration in vitro, whereas silencing αB-crystallin inhibited these events. αB-crystallin promoted adhesion of TNBC cells to HBMECs, at least in part, through an α3β1 integrin–dependent mechanism. αB-crystallin overexpression promoted brain metastasis, whereas silencing αB-crystallin inhibited brain metastasis in orthotopic TNBC models.Conclusion: αB-crystallin is a novel regulator of brain metastasis in TNBC and represents a potential biomarker and drug target for this aggressive disease. Clin Cancer Res; 20(1); 56–67. ©2013 AACR.

Background: Classification of breast cancer into intrinsic subtypes has clinical and epidemiologic importance. To examine accuracy of IHC-based methods for identifying intrinsic subtypes, a three-biomarker IHC panel was compared with the clinical record and RNA-based intrinsic (PAM50) subtypes.Methods: Automated scoring of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2 was performed on IHC-stained tissue microarrays comprising 1,920 cases from the African American Breast Cancer Epidemiology and Risk (AMBER) consortium. Multiple cores (1–6/case) were collapsed to classify cases, and automated scoring was compared with the clinical record and to RNA-based subtyping.Results: Automated analysis of the three-biomarker IHC panel produced high agreement with the clinical record (93% for ER and HER2, and 88% for PR). Cases with low tumor cellularity and smaller core size had reduced agreement with the clinical record. IHC-based definitions had high agreement with the clinical record regardless of hormone receptor positivity threshold (1% vs. 10%), but a 10% threshold produced highest agreement with RNA-based intrinsic subtypes. Using a 10% threshold, IHC-based definitions identified the basal-like intrinsic subtype with high sensitivity (86%), although sensitivity was lower for luminal A, luminal B, and HER2-enriched subtypes (76%, 40%, and 37%, respectively).Conclusion: Three-biomarker IHC-based subtyping has reasonable accuracy for distinguishing basal-like from nonbasal-like, although additional biomarkers are required for accurate classification of luminal A, luminal B, and HER2-enriched cancers.Impact: Epidemiologic studies relying on three-biomarker IHC status for subtype classification should use caution when distinguishing luminal A from luminal B and when interpreting findings for HER2-enriched cancers. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 25(3); 470–8. ©2015 AACR.

This file describes immunohistochemistry staining for ER, PR and HERs in tissue microarrays, in addition to automated quantification of staining.

Agreement between IHC-based and RNA-based intrinsic subtyping using tumor grade in addition to ER, PR and HER2 expression

Supplementary Figure 2. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis Results from RPPA assay and effects of ITK activity on specific cellular proteins by westerns and RPPA results.

Purpose: IL2 inducible T-cell kinase (ITK) promoter CpG sites are hypomethylated in melanomas compared with nevi. The expression of ITK in melanomas, however, has not been established and requires elucidation.Experimental Design: An ITK-specific monoclonal antibody was used to probe sections from deidentified, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor blocks or cell line arrays and ITK was visualized by IHC. Levels of ITK protein differed among melanoma cell lines and representative lines were transduced with four different lentiviral constructs that each contained an shRNA designed to knockdown ITK mRNA levels. The effects of the selective ITK inhibitor BI 10N on cell lines and mouse models were also determined.Results: ITK protein expression increased with nevus to metastatic melanoma progression. In melanoma cell lines, genetic or pharmacologic inhibition of ITK decreased proliferation and migration and increased the percentage of cells in the G0–G1 phase. Treatment of melanoma-bearing mice with BI 10N reduced growth of ITK-expressing xenografts or established autochthonous (Tyr-Cre/Ptennull/BrafV600E) melanomas.Conclusions: We conclude that ITK, formerly considered an immune cell–specific protein, is aberrantly expressed in melanoma and promotes tumor development and progression. Our finding that ITK is aberrantly expressed in most metastatic melanomas suggests that inhibitors of ITK may be efficacious for melanoma treatment. The efficacy of a small-molecule ITK inhibitor in the Tyr-Cre/Ptennull/BrafV600E mouse melanoma model supports this possibility. Clin Cancer Res; 21(9); 2167–76. ©2015 AACR.

Supplementary Table 6. Significant pathways identified by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis for Reverse Phase Protein Array (RPPA) results of RPMI 8322

Supplementary Tables 3 and 4. Supplementary Table 3. ITK protein expression levels in cell lines by single fluorescent immunocytochemistry Supplementary Table 4. Statistical analysis of shRNA and BI 10N effects on the proliferation and motility rates of melanoma cell lines

Supplementary Figure 1. IHC staining for co-localization of immune markers with cells expressing ITK and determining the presence of ITK in immune cell subtypes infiltrating the tumor and the effect of ITK ablation on the cell cycle of the melanoma cells

Diffuse midline glioma (DMG) is a leading cause of brain tumor death in children. In addition to hallmark H3.3K27M mutations, significant subsets also harbor alterations of other genes, such asTP53andPDGFRA. Despite the prevalence of H3.3K27M, the results of clinical trials in DMG have been mixed, possibly due to the lack of models recapitulating its genetic heterogeneity. To address this gap, we developed human iPSC-derived tumor models harboring TP53R248Qwith or without heterozygous H3.3K27M and/or PDGFRAD842Voverexpression. The combination of H3.3K27M and PDGFRAD842Vresulted in more proliferative tumors when gene-edited neural progenitor (NP) cells were implanted into mouse brains compared to NP with either mutation alone. Transcriptomic comparison of tumors and their NP cells of origin identified conserved JAK/STAT pathway activation across genotypes as characteristic of malignant transformation. Conversely, integrated genome-wide epigenomic and transcriptomic analyses, as well as rational pharmacologic inhibition, revealed targetable vulnerabilities unique to the TP53R248Q; H3.3K27M; PDGFRAD842Vtumors and related to their aggressive growth phenotype. These includeAREG-mediated cell cycle control, altered metabolism, and vulnerability to combination ONC201/trametinib treatment. Taken together, these data suggest that cooperation between H3.3K27M and PDGFRA influences tumor biology, underscoring the need for better molecular stratification in DMG clinical trials.