Genomics and proteomics approaches to the study of cancer-stroma interactions

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Integration of Genomics in Cancer Care

Purpose: The article aims to introduce nurses to how genetics-genomics is currently integrated into cancer care from prevention to treatment and influencing oncology nursing practice. Organizing Construct: An overview of genetics-genomics is described as it relates to cancer etiology, hereditary cancer syndromes, epigenetics factors, and management of care considerations. Methods: Peer-reviewed literature and expert professional guidelines were reviewed to address concepts of genetics-genomics in cancer care. Findings: Cancer is now known to be heterogeneous at the molecular level, with genetic and genomic factors underlying the etiology of all cancers. Understanding how these factors contribute to the development and treatment of both sporadic and hereditary cancers is important in cancer risk assessment, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and long-term management and surveillance. Conclusions: Rapidly developing advances in genetics-genomics are changing all aspects of cancer care, with implications for nursing practice. Clinical Relevance: Nurses can educate cancer patients and their families about genetic-genomic advances and advocate for use of evidence-based genetic-genomic practice guidelines to reduce cancer risk and improve outcomes in cancer management. © 2013 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Genomic and phenotypic profiles of two Brazilian breast cancer cell lines derived from primary human tumors

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women worldwide. Research using breast cancer cell lines derived from primary tumors may provide valuable additional knowledge regarding this type of cancer. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the phenotypic profiles of MACL-1 and MGSO-3, the only Brazilian breast cancer cell lines available for comparative studies. We evaluated the presence of hormone receptors, proliferation, differentiation and stem cell markers, using immunohistochemical staining of the primary tumor, cultured cells and xenografts implanted in immunodeficient mice. We also investigated the ability of the cell lines to form colonies and copy number alterations by array comparative genomic hybridization. Histopathological analysis showed that the invasive primary tumor from which the MACL-1 cell line was derived, was a luminal A subtype carcinoma, while the ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) that gave rise to the MGSO-3 cell line was a HER2 subtype tumor, both showing different proliferation levels. The cell lines and the tumor xenografts in mice preserved their high proliferative potential, but did not maintain the expression of the other markers assessed. This shift in expression may be due to the selection of an 'establishment' phenotype in vitro. Whole-genome DNA evaluation showed a large amount of copy number alterations (CNAs) in the two cell lines. These findings render MACL-1 and MGSO-3 the first characterized Brazilian breast cancer cell lines to be potentially used for comparative research. © 2013 Spandidos Publications Ltd. All rights reserved.