Angiogenesis is essential for tumour growth and metastasis. It is controlled by angiogenic factors, one of the most important being vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A. Although its role has been demonstrated in many tumour types including colorectal carcinoma (CRC), the importance of the newer family members in adenoma, invasive tumour growth, and progression to a metastatic phenotype has been poorly characterized in CRC. The aim of this study was to determine the role and timing of the VEGF angiogenic switch during CRC progression. We measured the gene expression of VEGF ligands (VEGF-A, VEGF-B, VEGF-C, and VEGF-D) and their receptors (VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2, and VEGFR-3), in normal colorectal tissues (n = 20), adenomas (n = 10), and in CRC (n = 71) representing different Duke's stages using ribonuclease protection assay, semi-quantitative relative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, together with the pattern of their expression by immunohistochemistry. VEGF-A mRNA was the most abundant in colorectal tissue, followed by VEGF-B, VEGF-C, and VEGF-D. VEGF-A and VEGF-B mRNAs were significantly more abundant in adenomas (p = 0.0003 and p = 0.04 respectively) compared with normal tissues, while VEGF-A and VEGF-C were significantly increased in carcinomas compared with normal tissues (p = 0.0006 and p = 0.0009 respectively). A significantly greater amount of VEGF-C mRNA was present in carcinomas compared with adenomas (p = 0.03), whereas there was a significant reduction of VEGF-B in carcinomas compared with adenomas (p = 0.0002). VEGF-D mRNA was significantly more abundant in normal tissues than in adenomas (p = 0.0001) and carcinomas (p < 0.0001). In normal tissues distant from the primary tumour, there was a significantly greater amount of VEGF-A and VEGF-D mRNA in patients with Duke's B and Duke's C respectively, compared with Duke's A stage tumours (p = 0.04 and p = 0.01 respectively). Immunohistochemistry showed low basal levels of all ligands in histologically normal tissues and their expression in the epithelium of tumours reflected the levels of mRNA expression identified. VEGF-A and VEGF-C mRNA levels correlated significantly with tumour grade (p = 0.01 and p = 0.01 respectively) and tumour size (p = 0.001 and p = 0.01 respectively), but not with patient age, sex, presence of infiltrative margin, lymphocytic response, vascular invasion, Duke's stage, or lymph node involvement (p > 0.05). VEGF-B mRNA correlated with an infiltrative margin (p = 0.04) but no other clinicopathological variable, and expression of VEGF-D demonstrated no association with any parameter examined. VEGFR-1 was significantly correlated with tumour grade (p = 0.02), Duke's stage (p < 0.001), and lymph node involvement (p = 0.004), VEGFR-2 with lymph node involvement (p = 0.02), and VEGFR-3 did not correlate with any of the clinicopathological variables tested. These results suggest that VEGF-A and VEGF-B play a role early in tumour development at the stage of adenoma formation and that VEGF-C plays a role in advanced disea...

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, for which there are no reliable biomarkers or targeted therapies. Here we demonstrate that elevated levels of Δ133TP53β isoform characterize prostate cancers with immune cell infiltration, particularly T cells and CD163+ macrophages. These cancers are associated with shorter progression-free survival, Gleason scores ≥ 7, and an immunosuppressive environment defined by a higher proportion of PD-1, PD-L1 and colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) positive cells. Consistent with this, RNA-seq of tumours showed enrichment for pathways associated with immune signalling and cell migration. We further show a role for hypoxia and wild-type p53 in upregulating Δ133TP53 levels. Finally, AUC analysis showed that Δ133TP53β expression level alone predicted aggressive disease with 88% accuracy. Our data identify Δ133TP53β as a highly accurate prognostic factor for aggressive prostate cancer.

Findings of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) studies of cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and breast cancer vary, making it difficult to determine whether either, both, or neither virus is causally associated with breast cancer. We investigated CMV and EBV in paired samples of breast cancer and normal breast tissue from 70 women using quantitative PCR. A serum sample from each woman was tested for CMV and EBV IgG. To place our results in context, we reviewed the existing literature and performed a meta-analysis of our results together with previous PCR studies of EBV, CMV, and breast cancer. Of the serology samples, 67 of 70 (96%) were EBV IgG positive and 49 of 70 (70%) were CMV IgG positive. QPCR detected EBV in 24 (34%) of the tumour and 9 (13%) of the paired normal specimens and CMV in 0 (0%) of the tumour and 2 (3%) of the paired normal specimens. Our findings, together with earlier results summarised in the meta-analysis, suggest several possibilities: variable findings may be due to limitations of molecular analyses; ‘hit and run’ oncogenesis may lead to inconsistent results; one or both viruses has a role at a later stage in breast cancer development; infection with multiple viruses increases breast cancer risk; or neither virus has a role. Future studies should focus on ways to investigate these possibilities, and should include comparisons of breast cancer tissue samples with appropriate normal tissue samples.

Background The transcription factor hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) -1 drives tumor growth and metastasis and is associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer. Ascorbate can moderate HIF-1 activity in vitro and is associated with HIF pathway activation in a number of cancer types, but whether tissue ascorbate levels influence the HIF pathway in breast cancer is unknown. In this study we investigated the association between tumor ascorbate levels and HIF-1 activation and patient survival in human breast cancer. Methods In a retrospective analysis of human breast cancer tissue, we analysed primary tumor and adjacent uninvolved tissue from 52 women with invasive ductal carcinoma. We measured HIF-1α, HIF-1 gene targets CAIX, BNIP-3 and VEGF, and ascorbate content. Patient clinical outcomes were evaluated against these parameters. Results HIF-1 pathway proteins were upregulated in tumor tissue and increased HIF-1 activation was associated with higher tumor grade and stage, with increased vascular invasion and necrosis, and with decreased disease-free and disease-specific survival. Grade 1 tumors had higher ascorbate levels than did grade 2 or 3 tumors. Higher ascorbate levels were associated with less tumor necrosis, with lower HIF-1 pathway activity and with increased disease-free and disease-specific survival. Conclusions Our findings indicate that there is a direct correlation between intracellular ascorbate levels, activation of the HIF-1 pathway and patient survival in breast cancer. This is consistent with the known capacity of ascorbate to stimulate the activity of the regulatory HIF hydroxylases and suggests that optimisation of tumor ascorbate could have clinical benefit via modulation of the hypoxic response.