Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-mediated epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) of human lung cancer cells may contribute to lung cancer metastasis. It has been reported that EGCG can inhibit tumorigenesis and cancer cell growth in lung cancer; however, the effect of EGCG on EMT in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells has not been investigated. In this study, we found that NSCLC cells A549 and H1299 were converted to the fibroblastic phenotype in response to TGF-β. Epithelial marker E-cadherin was down-regulated, and mesenchymal marker vimentin was up-regulated simultaneously. Our results illustrated that TGF-β was able to induce EMT in NSCLC cells, and EGCG would reverse TGF-β-induced morphological changes, up-regulate the expression of E-cadherin, and down-regulate the expression of vimentin. Immunofluorescent staining also demonstrated that E-cadherin was up-regulated and that vimentin was down-regulated by EGCG pretreatment. Moreover, wound-healing and the in vitro invasion assay showed that EGCG could inhibit TGF-β-induced migration and invasion of NSCLC cells. By using the dual-luciferase reporter assay, we demonstrated that EGCG inhibited TGF-β-induced EMT at the transcriptional level. EGCG decreased the phosphorylation of Smad2 and Erk1/2, inhibited the nuclear translocation of Smad2, and repressed the expression of transcription factors ZEB1, Snail, Slug, and Twist, and up-regulated the expression of E-cadherin. In summary, our results suggest that EGCG can inhibit TGF-β-induced EMT via down-regulation of phosphorylated Smad2 and Erk1/2 in NSCLC cells.

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Non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) system is a major route in repairing double strand breaks (DSBs), and is important in maintaining the genome stability. The gene XRCC4 is a central role of the NHEJ system, and it is critical in carcinogenesis. In order to reveal the association between XRCC4 and lung cancer, we recruited 164 lung cancer patients and 649 healthy controls from central Taiwan, investigated seven novel polymorphic variants of XRCC4, includes C-1622T (rs7727691), G-1394T (rs6869366), G-652T (rs2075685), C-571T (rs2075686), intron3 DIP (rs28360071), S247A (rs3734091) and intron7 DIP (rs28360317), and analyzed the association of specific genotype with lung cancer susceptibility. The results showed that the XRCC4 G-1394T is significant in Taiwanese lung cancer and the GT genotype of G-1394T is an obvious risk factor of lung cancer susceptibility (P=0.0049), and the G allele is a risky factor (P=0.0087). As for XRCC4 C-1622T (rs7727691), G-652T (rs2075685), C-571T (rs2075686), intron3 DIP (rs28360071), S247A (rs3734091) and intron7 DIP (rs28360317) polymorphism sites, there was no difference in the distribution between the lung cancer and control groups. The analyzing results of joint effect for smoking habit and XRCC4 G-1394T polymorphism was that people with GT genotype and smoking habit present the highest risk of lung cancer than other groups (OR=2.31, 95% CI=1.43-3.72). The G allele of the XRCC4 G-1394T may be responsible for lung carcinogenesis and maybe useful in early detection and prevention of lung cancer.

The tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) are a family of multifunctional proteins which have been shown to be upregulated in various types of cancers. However, the contribution of TIMPs in breast cancer is not fully understood, not to mention triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). This study’s aim was to evaluate the contribution of TIMP-1 rs4898, rs6609533, and rs2070584 genotypes to the risk of breast cancer, especially the subtype of TNBC. The contributions of these TIMP-1 genotypes to cancer risk were examined among 1232 breast cancer patients and 1232 healthy controls, and several clinicopathologic factors were also analyzed. The results showed that the percentages of CC, CT, and TT of TIMP-1 rs4898 were differentially distributed at 28.5%, 33.1% and 38.4% in the breast cancer patient group and 34.5%, 41.0% and 24.5% in the control group, respectively (P for trend = 7.99*10-13). It was also found that the CC genotype carriers were of increased risk for breast cancer (odds ratio = 1.90, 95% confidence interval = 1.55-2.33, P = 0.0001) than the TT genotype carriers. In addition, we analyzed the allelic frequency distributions of all three TIMP-1s, and the results showed that the C allele of TIMP-1 rs4898 contributes to an increase in breast cancer susceptibility (P = 2.41*10-12). On the other hand, there was no difference found in the distribution of genotypic or allelic frequencies among the patients and the controls for TIMP-1 rs6609533 and rs2070584. Thus, it is our conclusion that the CC genotype of TIMP-1 rs4898 compared to the TT wild-type genotype may increase the risk for breast cancer, especially TNBC in Taiwan, and may serve as an early detective and predictive marker.

Aim: Cell cycle regulator cyclin D1 (CCND1) is a pivotal regulator for G1/S phase transition, playing a critical part in initiation of carcinogenesis. Triple negative breast cancer comprises a very heterogeneous group of cancer cells, but little is known about what is wrong in the genome of these patients. This study investigated contribution of CCND1 genotype to individual triple negative breast cancer susceptibility.Materials: In all, 2464 native Taiwan subjects consist of 1232 breast cancer cases and 1232 controls were enrolled in a hospital-based, case-control study. CCND1 A870G (rs9344) genotyping was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Risk-stratified analyses correlated genotype and age-related characteristics of breast cancer subgroups.Results: No significant difference was found between patient and control groups in distribution of genotypic and allelic frequencies in CCND1 genotype, yet CCND1 A870G (rs9344) GG genotype was far less prevalent in breast cancer patients younger than 55 years (OR=0.62, 95%CI=0.43–0.89, P=0.0362), with first menarche earlier than 12.2 years (OR=0.61, 95% CI=0.42–0.87, P=0.0241), with menopause earlier than 49.0 years (OR=0.57, 95%CI=0.39–0.82, P=0.0093), or showing triple-negative breast cancer (OR=0.28, 95%CI=0.13–0.62, P=0.0006). Such valuable findings suggest CCND1 A870G (rs9344) as a predictive marker for triple negative breast cancer in Taiwanese women; the authors sincerely hope these help us fight the toughest subtype in clinical management.

LVI and Nottingham grade 3 were the independent risk factors predicting tumor recurrence for patients with NNBC. Adjuvant radiotherapy might be considered in NNBC patients with these unfavorable factors to improve the RFS.

Abstract. Background For many years, breast cancer has been the most common malignancy and the leading cause of female cancer mortality all over the world (1). According to the most updated report about burden of disease trends, cancers overall have increased by 34% during 199-2015 while breast cancer related deaths globally have increased to 45%, a much higher level than average overall cancers (1). In Taiwan, breast cancer has the highest incidence and is ranked as the fourth leading cause of mortality among Taiwanese women (2). From the viewpoint of epidemiology, the risk factors of breast cancer in Taiwan included high caloric intake, highfat diets, early menarche, late menopause, obesity, high levels of stress, and exposure to environmental pollutants (3). Since, the prevalence and mortality rates are both very high in Taiwan and the world, to figure out feasible molecular markers for early detection and prognosis prediction of breast cancer, especially the subtype of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), are in urgent need.The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which are also called matrixins, are a group of enzymes involved in tumor progression such as proliferation, invasion and metastasis (4, 5). In the literature, there are a few papers indicating that some MMP polymorphic genotypes, especially those 487