Waun Ki Hong

Publications (144)1205.15 Total impact

• Article: Clinical and Biomarker Outcomes of the Phase II Vandetanib Study from the BATTLE Trial.

  Anne S Tsao, Suyu Liu, J Jack Lee, Christine M Alden, George R Blumenschein, Roy Herbst, Suzanne E Davis, Edward Kim, Scott Lippman, John Heymach, Hai Tran, Ximing Tang, Ignacio Wistuba, Waun Ki Hong
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  ABSTRACT: : The Biomarker-integrated Approaches of Targeted Therapy for Lung Cancer Elimination trial prospectively obtained serum and tumor core biopsies and randomized 255 chemorefractory non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients into four phase II trials: erlotinib, erlotinib-bexarotene, vandetanib, or sorafenib. Herein, we report the clinical and biomarker results of the phase II vandetanib trial. : Fifty-four patients received vandetanib. The 8-week disease control rate was 33%, median progression-free survival (PFS) 1.81 months, and median overall survival (OS) 6.5 months. No demographic subgroups had PFS or OS benefit. Eight patients with EGFR mutations had a trend for higher 8-week disease control rate (63% versus 31%; p = 0.12) but worse OS (5.9 months versus 9 months; p = 0.8). Patients with EGFR gene amplification (n = 6) had a worse OS (3.9 months versus 9.5 months; p = 0.04). KRAS mutation patients (3.9 months versus 9.5 months; p = 0.23) also had a worse OS. For the serum biomarker analysis, patients with below the median serum expression of interleukin 9c (p = 0.019) and eotaxin (p = 0.007) had a shorter PFS. A trend toward a shorter PFS was also seen in patients with higher than the median neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (p = 0.079) and lower than the median TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (p = 0.087). : Our trial results are largely consistent with the literature in unselected pretreated NSCLC patients. Although vandetanib improved median PFS in EGFR mutation patients with epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor-resistance compared with EGFR wild-type, there was no OS advantage. Although vandetanib is no longer in development in NSCLC, identification of a molecular phenotype that responds to dual epidermal growth factor receptor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor inhibition would contribute to the field.
  Journal of thoracic oncology: official publication of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 05/2013; 8(5):658-61. · 4.55 Impact Factor
• Article: CXCR2 expression in tumor cells is a poor prognostic factor and promotes invasion and metastasis in lung adenocarcinoma.

  Pierre Saintigny, Erminia Massarelli, Steven Lin, Young-Ho Ahn, Yulong Chen, Sangeeta Goswami, Baruch Erez, Michael S O'Reilly, Diane Liu, J Jack Lee, [......], Carmen Behrens, Luisa M Solis Soto, John V Heymatch, Edward S Kim, Roy S Herbst, Scott M Lippman, Ignacio I Wistuba, Waun Ki Hong, Jonathan M Kurie, Ja Seok Koo
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  ABSTRACT: CXCR2 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been studied mainly in stromal cells and is known to increase tumor inflammation and angiogenesis. Here, we examined the prognostic importance of CXCR2 in NSCLC and the role of CXCR2 and its ligands in lung cancer cells. The effect of CXCR2 expression on tumor cells was studied using stable knockdown clones derived from a murine KRAS/p53-mutant lung adenocarcinoma cell line with high metastatic potential and an orthotopic syngeneic mouse model and in vitro using a CXCR2 small molecule antagonist (SB225002). CXCR2 protein expression was analyzed in tumor cells from 262 NSCLC. Gene expression profiles for CXCR2 and its ligands (CXCR2 axis) were analyzed in 52 human NSCLC cell lines and 442 human lung adenocarcinomas. Methylation of CXCR2 axis promoters was determined in 70 human NSCLC cell lines. Invasion and metastasis were decreased in CXCR2 knockdown clones in vitro and in vivo. SB225002 decreased invasion in vitro. In lung adenocarcinomas, CXCR2 expression in tumor cells was associated with smoking and poor prognosis. CXCR2 axis gene expression profiles in human NSCLC cell lines and lung adenocarcinomas defined a cluster driven by CXCL5 and associated with smoking, poor prognosis and RAS pathway activation. Expression of CXCL5 was regulated by promoter methylation. The CXCR2 axis may be an important target in smoking-related lung adenocarcinoma.
  Cancer Research 11/2012; · 7.86 Impact Factor
• Article: An epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) gene signature predicts resistance to EGFR and PI3K inhibitors and identifies Axl as a therapeutic target for overcoming EGFR inhibitor resistance.

  Lauren Averett Byers, Lixia Diao, Jing Wang, Pierre Saintigny, Luc Girard, Michael Peyton, Li Shen, You-Hong Fan, Uma Giri, Praveen Tumula, [......], J Jack Lee, Scott M Lippman, Kie-Kian Ang, Gordon B Mills, Waun Ki Hong, John N Weinstein, Ignacio I Wistuba, Kevin Coombes, John D Minna, John V Heymach
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  ABSTRACT: PURPOSE: EMT has been associated with metastatic spread and EGFR inhibitor resistance. We developed and validated a robust 76-gene EMT signature using gene expression profiles from four platforms using NSCLC cell lines and patients treated in the BATTLE study. Methods: We conducted an integrated gene expression, proteomic, and drug response analysis using cell lines and tumors from NSCLC patients. A 76-gene EMT signature was developed and validated using gene expression profiles from four microarray platforms of NSCLC cell lines and patients treated in the BATTLE (Biomarker-integrated Approaches of Targeted Therapy for Lung Cancer Elimination) study, and potential therapeutic targets associated with EMT were identified. RESULTS: Compared with epithelial cells, mesenchymal cells demonstrated significantly greater resistance to EGFR and PI3K/Akt pathway inhibitors, independent of EGFR mutation status, but more sensitivity to certain chemotherapies. Mesenchymal cells also expressed increased levels of the receptor tyrosine kinase Axl and showed a trend towards greater sensitivity to the Axl inhibitor SGI-7079. Furthermore, the combination of SGI-7079 with erlotinib reversed erlotinib resistance in mesenchymal lines expressing Axl and in a xenograft model of mesenchymal NSCLC. In NSCLC patients, the EMT signature predicted 8-week disease control in patients receiving erlotinib, but not other therapies. CONCLUSION: We have developed a robust EMT signature that predicts resistance to EGFR and PI3K/Akt inhibitors, highlights different patterns of drug responsiveness for epithelial and mesenchymal cells, and identifies Axl as a potential therapeutic target for overcoming EGFR inhibitor resistance associated with the mesenchymal phenotype.
  Clinical Cancer Research 10/2012; · 7.74 Impact Factor
• Article: Characterizing the molecular spatial and temporal field of injury in early stage smoker non-small cell lung cancer patients after definitive surgery by expression profiling.

  Humam Kadara, Li Shen, Junya Fujimoto, Pierre Saintigny, Chi-Wan Chow, Wenhua Lang, Zuming Chu, Melinda Garcia, Mohamed Kabbout, You-Hong Fan, Carmen Behrens, Diane Liu, Li Mao, J Jack Lee, Kathryn A Gold, Jing Wang, Kevin Coombes, Edward S Kim, Waun Ki Hong, Ignacio I Wistuba
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  ABSTRACT: Gene expression alterations in response to cigarette smoke have been characterized in normal-appearing bronchial epithelium of healthy smokers and it has been suggested that adjacent histologically normal tissue display tumor-associated molecular abnormalities. We sought to delineate the spatial and temporal molecular lung field of injury in smoker early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients (n=19) who were accrued into a surveillance clinical trial for annual follow-up and bronchoscopies within one year after definitive surgery. Bronchial brushings and biopsies were obtained from six different sites in the lung at the time of inclusion in the study and at 12, 24 and 36 months after the first time point. Affymetrix Human Gene 1.0 ST arrays were used for whole-transcript expression profiling of airways (n=391). Microarray analysis identified gene features (n=1165) that were non-uniform by site and differentially expressed between airways adjacent to tumors relative to more distant samples as well as those (n=1395) that were significantly altered with time up to three years. In addition, gene-interaction networks mediated by PI3K and ERK1/2 were modulated in adjacent compared to contralateral airways and the latter network with time. Furthermore, phosphorylated AKT and ERK1/2 immunohistochemical expression were significantly increased with time (nuclear pAKT, p=0.03; cytoplasmic pAKT, p<0.0001; pERK1/2, p=0.02) and elevated in adjacent compared to more distant airways (nuclear pAKT, p=0.04; pERK1/2, p=0.03). This study highlights spatial and temporal cancer-associated expression alterations in the molecular field of injury of early stage NSCLC patients after definitive surgery that warrant further validation in independent studies.
  Cancer Prevention Research 10/2012; · 4.91 Impact Factor
• Article: Clinical Outcomes and Biomarker Profiles of Elderly Pretreated NSCLC Patients from the BATTLE Trial.

  Anne S Tsao, Suyu Liu, J Jack Lee, Christine Alden, George Blumenschein, Roy Herbst, Suzanne E Davis, Edward Kim, Scott Lippman, David Stewart, Xi Ming Tang, Ignacio Wistuba, Waun Ki Hong
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  ABSTRACT: : Treating elderly non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients in the salvage setting is challenging because of concerns of intolerance to therapy. Here we report outcomes (survival and toxicity) of elderly patients on the Biomarker-Integrated Approaches of Targeted Therapy for Lung Cancer Elimination (BATTLE) trial. : Two hundred and fifty-five chemorefractory NSCLC patients received tumor molecular analysis, and were randomized to erlotinib, erlotinib-bexarotene, vandetanib, or sorafenib. Retrospective subgroup analyses were conducted comparing outcomes among age groups (< 65 versus ≥ 65 years; < 70 versus ≥ 70 years; < 75 versus ≥ 75 years), treatments, and sex. : Median age was 62 years (range, 26-84); 38% were aged 65 years or more. No significant differences among age groups were seen in rates of biopsy-related pneumothorax, treatment-related death, compliance, grade 3 to 4 hematologic toxicities, response rate, nor overall survival. However, older women aged 65 years or more had more grade 3 to 4 nonhematologic toxicities (p = 0.05). Elderly men aged 65 years or more (p = 0.008) had a higher disease-control rate at 8 weeks and a better progression-free survival (PFS) (p = 0.0068). Elderly women aged 70 years or more had a trend toward higher 8-week disease-control rate (p = 0.06). Older men aged 65 years or more treated with vandetanib had a better median PFS (p = 0.03) whereas PFS of older women aged 70 years or more was worse (p = 0.03) compared with younger patients. Elderly men aged 70 years or more treated with sorafenib had a higher overall survival compared with younger men (p = 0.04). Tumor tissue biomarkers show distinct differences by sex and age. : Fit elderly NSCLC patients should be considered for salvage targeted therapy. In this subset of patients, older men seem to have significant clinical benefit from certain agents. Tumor biomarker analysis demonstrates sex and age variations, and is hypothesis-generating.
  Journal of thoracic oncology: official publication of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 10/2012; 7(11):1645-52. · 4.55 Impact Factor
• Article: Predictors of Survival in Never-Smokers with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Large-Scale, Two-Phase Genetic Study.

  Xia Pu, Yuanqing Ye, Margaret R Spitz, Liang Wang, Jian Gu, Scott M Lippman, Michelle A T Hildebrandt, Waun Ki Hong, John D Minna, Jack A Roth, Ping Yang, Xifeng Wu
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  ABSTRACT: PURPOSE: Lung cancer in never-smokers (LCINS) is increasingly recognized as a distinct disease from that in ever-smokers owing to substantial differences in etiology, clinical characteristics, and prognosis. Therefore, we aimed to identify prognostic markers specific for LCINS.EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: First, 11,930 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in 904 inflammation-related genes were genotyped, and their associations with overall survival in 411 patients with LCINS at MD Anderson Cancer Center were analyzed. Next, validation of the top 27 SNPs in 311 patients with LCINS at Mayo Clinic was conducted.RESULTS: Three SNPs (IL17RA:rs879576, BMP8A:rs698141, and STY:rs290229) were validated (P < 0.05), and two SNPs (CD74:rs1056400 and CD38:rs10805347) reached borderline significance (P = 0.08) in the Mayo Clinic population. We validated a survival-tree created in the MD Anderson population exploring gene-gene interactions in the Mayo Clinic population. This survival-tree stratified patients into subsets with significantly different risks of death: patients with the rs1056400_GG/rs698141_GA+AA genotype had significantly higher risk of death in both MD Anderson (HR:2.32, 95%CI: 1.58-3.41) and Mayo (HR:1.97, 95%CI: 1.11-3.50) populations compared with those with the rs1056400_GG/rs698141_GG or rs1056400_GA + AA genotype. We evaluated these five SNPs in 996 ever-smokers from MD Anderson and found no significant associations.CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides strong evidence that inflammation-related genetic variations can affect clinical outcomes in LCINS, which may lead to significant biologic insight into these outcomes. Clin Cancer Res; 1-9. ©2012 AACR.
  Clinical Cancer Research 09/2012; · 7.74 Impact Factor
• Article: Genetic variants in the PI3K/PTEN/AKT/mTOR pathway predict head and neck cancer patient second primary tumor/recurrence risk and response to retinoid chemoprevention.

  Michelle A T Hildebrandt, Scott M Lippman, Carol J Etzel, Edward Kim, J Jack Lee, Fadlo R Khuri, Margaret R Spitz, Reuben Lotan, Waun Ki Hong, Xifeng Wu
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  ABSTRACT: The development of second primary tumors (SPT) or recurrence alters prognosis for curatively treated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients. The 13-cis-Retinoic acid (13-cRA) has been tested as a chemoprevention agent in clinical trials with mixed results. Therefore, we investigated whether genetic variants in the PI3K/PTEN/AKT/mTOR pathway could serve as biomarkers to identify which patients are at high risk of an SPT/recurrence, while also predicting response to 13-cRA chemoprevention. A total of 137 pathway single-nucleotide polymorphisms were genotyped in 440 patients from the Retinoid Head and Neck Second Primary Trial and assessed for SPT/recurrence risk and response to 13-cRA. Risk models were created based on epidemiology, clinical, and genetic data. Twenty-two genetic loci were associated with increased SPT/recurrence risk, with six also being associated with a significant benefit following chemoprevention. Combined analysis of these high-risk/high-benefit loci identified a significant (P = 1.54 × 10(-4)) dose-response relationship for SPT/recurrence risk, with patients carrying four to five high-risk genotypes having a 3.76-fold [95% Confidence Interval (CI), 1.87-7.57] increase in risk in the placebo group (n = 215). Patients carrying four to five high-risk loci showed the most benefit from 13-cRA chemoprevention, with a 73% reduction in SPT/recurrence (95% CI, 0.13-0.58) compared with those with the same number of high-risk genotypes who were randomized to receive placebo. Incorporation of these loci into a risk model significantly improved the discriminatory ability over models with epidemiology, clinical, and previously identified genetic variables. These results show that loci within this important pathway could identify individuals with a high-risk/high-benefit profile and are a step toward personalized chemoprevention for HNSCC patients.
  Clinical Cancer Research 05/2012; 18(13):3705-13. · 7.74 Impact Factor
• Article: Prognostic impact of insulin receptor expression on survival of patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer.

  Jin-Soo Kim, Edward S Kim, Diane Liu, J Jack Lee, Luisa Solis, Carmen Behrens, Scott M Lippman, Waun Ki Hong, Ignacio I Wistuba, Ho-Young Lee
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  ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to characterize insulin receptor (IR) and insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) expression in patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A total of 459 patients who underwent curative resection of NSCLC were studied (median follow-up duration, 4.01 years). Expression of the IR and IGF-1R protein in tumor specimens was assessed immunohistochemically using tissue microarrays. The cytoplasmic IR score was higher in patients with adenocarcinoma (ADC) than in those with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), whereas cytoplasmic IGF-1R score was higher in patients with SCC than those with ADC. Neither IR nor IGF-1R expression was associated with sex, smoking history, or clinical stage. Patients with positive IR or IGF-1R expression levels had poor recurrence-free (RFS) (3.8 vs 3.3 years; 3.8 vs 2.0 years, respectively), but similar overall survival (OS). Patients with high expression levels of IR and IGF-1R had shorter RFS and OS compared with those with low levels of IR and/or IGF-1R expression. Finally, a multivariate analysis revealed the impact of IR, but not of IGF-1R, as an independent predictive marker of NSCLC survival: hazard ratio (HR) for OS, 1.005 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.001-1.010], HR for RFS, 1.005 (95% CI, 1.001-1.009), when IR score was tested as a continuous variable. Overexpression of IR predicts a poor survival among patients with NSCLC, especially those with SCC. These results might serve as future guidance to the clinical trials involving IR or IGR-1R targeting agents.
  Cancer 09/2011; 118(9):2454-65. · 4.77 Impact Factor
• Chapter: Biology and reversal of aerodigestive tract carcinogenesis

  Scott M. Lippman, Gary L. Clayman, Martin H. Huber, Steven E. Benner, Waun Ki Hong
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  ABSTRACT: Squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract is a cosmetically, functionally, and economically devastating class of diseases yet to come under control with standard approaches to prevention, early detection, or therapy [1,2]. Three principle modalities are currently used to control this disease: tobacco/alcohol cessation programs, surgery and radiotherapy for early and local-regional advanced disease, and chemotherapy in advanced, recurrent, and metastatic disease.
  07/2011: pages 89-115;
• Article: The BATTLE to personalize lung cancer prevention through reverse migration.

  Kathryn A Gold, Edward S Kim, J Jack Lee, Ignacio I Wistuba, Carol J Farhangfar, Waun Ki Hong
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  ABSTRACT: Agents can enter clinical development for cancer prevention either initially or after previous development for a different indication, such as arthritis, with both approaches consuming many years of development before an agent is fully evaluated for cancer prevention. We propose the following, third approach: reverse migration, that is, importing agents, targets, and study designs to personalize interventions and concepts developed in advanced cancer to the setting of cancer prevention. Importing these "ready-made" features from therapy will allow reverse migration to streamline preventive agent development. We recently reported the Biomarker-integrated Approaches of Targeted Therapy for Lung Cancer Elimination (BATTLE) trial of personalized lung cancer therapy and now propose the reverse migration development of personalized lung cancer prevention based on the BATTLE model.
  Cancer Prevention Research 07/2011; 4(7):962-72. · 4.91 Impact Factor
• Article: Evaluation of difluoromethylornithine for the chemoprevention of Barrett's esophagus and mucosal dysplasia.

  Frank A Sinicrope, Russell Broaddus, Nina Joshi, Eugene Gerner, Elizabeth Half, Ilan Kirsch, Jan Lewin, Bruce Morlan, Waun Ki Hong
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  ABSTRACT: Patients with Barrett's esophagus (BE) and dysplasia are candidates for chemopreventive strategies to reduce cancer risk. We determined the effects of difluoromethylornithine (DMFO) on mucosal polyamines, gene expression, and histopathology in BE. Ten patients with BE and low-grade dysplasia participated in a single-arm study of DFMO (0.5 g/m(2)/d) given continuously for 6 months. Esophagoscopy with biopsies was conducted at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months. Dysplasia was graded by a gastrointestinal pathologist. Audiology was assessed (at baseline and at 6 months). Mucosal polyamines were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Microarray-based gene expression was analyzed using a cDNA two-color chip. DFMO suppressed levels of the polyamines putrescine (P = 0.02) and spermidine (P = 0.02) and the spermidine/spermine ratio (P < 0.01) in dysplastic BE (6 months vs. baseline) that persisted at 6 months following drug cessation. Among the top 25 modulated genes, we found those regulating p53-mediated cell signaling (RPL11), cell-cycle regulation (cyclin E2), and cell adhesion and invasion (Plexin1). DFMO downregulated Krüppel-like factor 5 (KLF5), a transcription factor promoting cell proliferation, and suppressed RFC5 whose protein interacts with proliferating cell nuclear antigen. Histopathology showed regression of dysplasia (n = 1), stable disease (n = 8), and progression to high-grade dysplasia (n = 1). Polyamines were suppressed in the responder to a greater extent than in stable cases. DFMO was well tolerated, and one patient had subclinical, unilateral ototoxicity. DFMO suppressed mucosal polyamines and modulated genes that may be mechanistically related to its chemopreventive effect. Further study of DFMO for the chemoprevention of esophageal cancer in BE patients is warranted.
  Cancer Prevention Research 06/2011; 4(6):829-39. · 4.91 Impact Factor
• Article: Genome-wide association study of survival in non-small cell lung cancer patients receiving platinum-based chemotherapy.

  Xifeng Wu, Yuanqing Ye, Rafael Rosell, Christopher I Amos, David J Stewart, Michelle A T Hildebrandt, Jack A Roth, John D Minna, Jian Gu, Jie Lin, [......], Jose Luis Ramirez Serrano, Miquel Taron, Adrian Cassidy, Charles Lu, Joe Y Chang, Scott M Lippman, Waun Ki Hong, Margaret R Spitz, Marjorie Romkes, Ping Yang
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  ABSTRACT: Interindividual variation in genetic background may influence the response to chemotherapy and overall survival for patients with advanced-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To identify genetic variants associated with poor overall survival in these patients, we conducted a genome-wide scan of 307,260 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 327 advanced-stage NSCLC patients who received platinum-based chemotherapy with or without radiation at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (the discovery population). A fast-track replication was performed for 315 patients from the Mayo Clinic followed by a second validation at the University of Pittsburgh in 420 patients enrolled in the Spanish Lung Cancer Group PLATAX clinical trial. A pooled analysis combining the Mayo Clinic and PLATAX populations or all three populations was also used to validate the results. We assessed the association of each SNP with overall survival by multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression analysis. All statistical tests were two-sided. SNP rs1878022 in the chemokine-like receptor 1 (CMKLR1) was statistically significantly associated with poor overall survival in the MD Anderson discovery population (hazard ratio [HR] of death = 1.59, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.32 to 1.92, P = 1.42 × 10(-6)), in the PLATAX clinical trial (HR of death = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.00 to 1.51, P = .05), in the pooled Mayo Clinic and PLATAX validation (HR of death = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.06 to 1.40, P = .005), and in pooled analysis of all three populations (HR of death = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.19 to 1.48, P = 5.13 × 10(-7)). Carrying a variant genotype of rs10937823 was associated with decreased overall survival (HR of death = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.42 to 2.33, P = 1.73 × 10(-6)) in the pooled MD Anderson and Mayo Clinic populations but not in the PLATAX trial patient population (HR of death = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.69 to 1.35). These results have the potential to contribute to the future development of personalized chemotherapy treatments for individual NSCLC patients.
  CancerSpectrum Knowledge Environment 05/2011; 103(10):817-25. · 14.07 Impact Factor
• Article: Immunohistochemical overexpression of platelet-derived growth factor receptor-beta (PDGFR-β) is associated with PDGFRB gene copy number gain in sarcomatoid non-small-cell lung cancer.

  Anne S Tsao, Wei Wei, Elisabetta Kuhn, Loreto Spencer, Luisa M Solis, Milind Suraokar, J Jack Lee, Waun Ki Hong, Ignacio I Wistuba
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  ABSTRACT: Sarcomatoid non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is an uncommon histologic variant that has not been molecularly well-characterized. We conducted immunohistochemical and fluorescence in situ hybridization studies of PDGF-B/PDGFR-b on archived surgically resected specimens and showed high PDGFR-b IHC expression and gene copy number gain. Further studies are warranted to determine whether PDGFR-b is a feasible therapeutic target in this population. Sarcomatoid non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is an uncommon histologic variant that has not been molecularly well-characterized. We hypothesized that the PDGF-B/PDGF-Rβ pathway may be dysregulated in sarcomatoid lung cancer. We conducted immunohistochemical (IHC) and gene copy number gain studies of PDGF-B/PDGFR-β on archived surgically resected specimens, 43 sarcomatoid NSCLCs and 42 control NSCLCs that were age, gender and stage-matched. Biomarkers were correlated to patient demographics, tumor characteristics, and survival. Sarcomatoid tumors had higher PDGFR-β IHC expression than control NSCLC (median score 2.69 vs. 1.93; P < 0.0001). No difference was seen between the two groups of PDGF-B IHC expression; and neither PDGF-B nor PDGFR-β IHC levels correlated with gender, age, clinical or pathologic TNM status, or overall survival. PDGFRB gene copy number was evaluated by FISH using three ways: presence of amplification, gene copy number gain, and gene copy ratio between tumor and normal tissue. PDGFRB gene copy number gain was associated with sarcomatoid histology (P = 0.006), lower clinical and pathologic T-stage (P = 0.07, P = 0.048), and higher pathologic N-stage (P = 0.013). Sarcomatoid NSCLC patients (P = 0.006) and female patients (P = 0.03) had higher gene copy ratios above 1.83. Higher PDGFR-β IHC expression in tumor cells was associated with gene copy number gain (P = 0.021) and higher gene copy ratio status (P = 0.005). This is the first study to demonstrate high PDGFR-β IHC expression and gene copy number gain in sarcomatoid NSCLC tumors and suggests that further studies are warranted to determine whether PDGFR-β is a feasible therapeutic target in this population.
  Clinical Lung Cancer 05/2011; 12(6):369-74. · 2.94 Impact Factor
• Article: Prevention of bronchial hyperplasia by EGFR pathway inhibitors in an organotypic culture model.

  Jangsoon Lee, Seung-Hee Ryu, Shin Myung Kang, Wen-Cheng Chung, Kathryn Ann Gold, Edward S Kim, Walter N Hittelman, Waun Ki Hong, Ja Seok Koo
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  ABSTRACT: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Early detection or prevention strategies are urgently needed to increase survival. Hyperplasia is the first morphologic change that occurs in the bronchial epithelium during lung cancer development, followed by squamous metaplasia, dysplasia, carcinoma in situ, and invasive tumor. This study was designed to determine the molecular mechanisms that control bronchial epithelium hyperplasia. Using primary normal human tracheobronchial epithelial (NHTBE) cells cultured by using the 3-dimensional (3D) organotypic method, we found that the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) ligands, EGF, TGF-α, and amphiregulin induced hyperplasia, as determined by cell proliferation and multilayered epithelium formation. We also found that EGF induced increased cyclin D1 expression, which plays a critical role in bronchial hyperplasia; this overexpression was mediated by activating the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway but not the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt signaling pathway. Erlotinib, an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and U0126, a MAP/ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitor, completely inhibited EGF-induced hyperplasia. Furthermore, a promoter analysis revealed that the activator protein-1 transcription factor regulates EGF-induced cyclin D1 overexpression. Activator protein-1 depletion by using siRNA targeting its c-Jun component completely abrogated EGF-induced cyclin D1 expression. In conclusion, we showed that bronchial hyperplasia can be modeled in vitro by using primary NHTBE cells maintained in a 3D organotypic culture. EGFR and MEK inhibitors completely blocked EGF-induced bronchial hyperplasia, suggesting that they have a chemopreventive role.
  Cancer Prevention Research 04/2011; 4(8):1306-15. · 4.91 Impact Factor
• Article: Erratum to: Assessing environmental and occupational risk factors for lung cancer in Mexican-Americans.

  Michelle K McHugh, Sumesh Kachroo, Mei Liu, Anthony M D'Amelio, Qiong Dong, Waun Ki Hong, Anthony J Greisinger, Margaret R Spitz, Carol J Etzel
  Cancer Causes and Control 04/2011; · 2.88 Impact Factor
• Article: Differential impacts of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) in epithelial IGF-induced lung cancer development.

  Woo-Young Kim, Mi-Jung Kim, Hojin Moon, Ping Yuan, Jin-Soo Kim, Jong-Kyu Woo, Guangcheng Zhang, Young-Ah Suh, Lei Feng, Carmen Behrens, Carolyn S Van Pelt, Hyunseok Kang, J Jack Lee, Waun-Ki Hong, Ignacio I Wistuba, Ho-Young Lee
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  ABSTRACT: The IGF axis has been implicated in the risk of various cancers. We previously reported a potential role of tissue-derived IGF in lung tumor formation and progression. However, the role of IGF-binding protein (IGFBP)-3, a major IGFBP, on the activity of tissue-driven IGF in lung cancer development is largely unknown. Here, we show that IGF-I, but not IGF-II, protein levels in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were significantly higher than those in normal and hyperplastic bronchial epithelium. We found that IGF-I and IGFBP-3 levels in NSCLC tissue specimens were significantly correlated with phosphorylated IGF-IR (pIGF-IR) expression. We investigated the impact of IGFBP-3 expression on the activity of tissue-driven IGF-I in lung cancer development using mice carrying lung-specific human IGF-I transgene (Tg), a germline-null mutation of IGFBP-3, or both. Compared with wild-type (BP3(+/+)) mice, mice carrying heterozygous (BP3(+/-)) or homozygous (BP3(-/-)) deletion of IGFBP-3 alleles exhibited decreases in circulating IGFBP-3 and IGF-I. Unexpectedly, IGF(Tg) mice with 50% of physiological IGFBP-3 (BP3(+/-); IGF(Tg)) showed higher levels of pIGF-IR/IR and a greater degree of spontaneous or tobacco carcinogen [4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone]-induced lung tumor development and progression than did the IGF(Tg) mice with normal (BP3(+/+;) IGF(Tg)) or homozygous deletion of IGFBP-3 (BP3(-/-); IGF(Tg)). These data show that IGF-I is overexpressed in NSCLC, leading to activation of IGF-IR, and that IGFBP-3, depending on its expression level, either inhibits or potentiates IGF-I actions in lung carcinogenesis.
  Endocrinology 03/2011; 152(6):2164-73. · 4.46 Impact Factor
• Article: A genetic variant near the PMAIP1/Noxa gene is associated with increased bleomycin sensitivity.

  Jian Gu, Yuanqing Ye, Margaret R Spitz, Jie Lin, Lambertus A Kiemeney, Jingliang Xing, Michelle A T Hildebrandt, Waun Ki Hong, Christopher I Amos, Xifeng Wu
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  ABSTRACT: Mutagen sensitivity, a measurement of chromatid breaks induced by various mutagens in short-term cultures of peripheral blood lymphocytes, is an established risk factor for a number of cancers and is highly heritable. The purpose of this study is to identify genetic predictors of mutagen sensitivity. Therefore, we conducted a multi-stage genome-wide association study. The primary scan analyzed 539,437 autosomal SNPs in 673 healthy individuals, followed by validations in two independent sets of 575 and 259 healthy individuals, respectively. One SNP, rs8093763, on chromosome 18q21 showed significant association with bleomycin (BLM) sensitivity (combined P = 2.64 × 10⁻⁸). We observed significantly lower BLM-induced chromotid breaks for genotypes containing wild-type allele compared with the homozygous variant genotype in the discovery set (0.71 versus 0.90, P= 3.77 × 10⁻⁵) and in replication phase 1 (0.61 versus 0.84, P= 7.00 × 10⁻⁵). The result of replication phase 2 was not statistically significant (0.65 versus 0.68, P= 0.44). This SNP is approximately 64 kb from PMAIP1/Noxa, which is a radiation-inducible gene and exhibits higher expression in BLM-sensitive lymphoblastoid cell lines than insensitive cell lines upon BLM treatment. In conclusion, we identified a biologically plausible genetic variant on 18q21 near the PMAIP1/Noxa gene that is associated with BLM sensitivity.
  Human Molecular Genetics 02/2011; 20(4):820-6. · 7.64 Impact Factor
• Article: Gene expression profiling predicts the development of oral cancer.

  Pierre Saintigny, Li Zhang, You-Hong Fan, Adel K El-Naggar, Vassiliki A Papadimitrakopoulou, Lei Feng, J Jack Lee, Edward S Kim, Waun Ki Hong, Li Mao
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  ABSTRACT: Patients with oral premalignant lesion (OPL) have a high risk of developing oral cancer. Although certain risk factors, such as smoking status and histology, are known, our ability to predict oral cancer risk remains poor. The study objective was to determine the value of gene expression profiling in predicting oral cancer development. Gene expression profile was measured in 86 of 162 OPL patients who were enrolled in a clinical chemoprevention trial that used the incidence of oral cancer development as a prespecified endpoint. The median follow-up time was 6.08 years and 35 of the 86 patients developed oral cancer over the course. Gene expression profiles were associated with oral cancer-free survival and used to develop multivariate predictive models for oral cancer prediction. We developed a 29-transcript predictive model which showed marked improvement in terms of prediction accuracy (with 8% predicting error rate) over the models using previously known clinicopathologic risk factors. On the basis of the gene expression profile data, we also identified 2,182 transcripts significantly associated with oral cancer risk-associated genes (P value < 0.01; univariate Cox proportional hazards model). Functional pathway analysis revealed proteasome machinery, MYC, and ribosomal components as the top gene sets associated with oral cancer risk. In multiple independent data sets, the expression profiles of the genes can differentiate head and neck cancer from normal mucosa. Our results show that gene expression profiles may improve the prediction of oral cancer risk in OPL patients and the significant genes identified may serve as potential targets for oral cancer chemoprevention.
  Cancer Prevention Research 02/2011; 4(2):218-29. · 4.91 Impact Factor
• Article: Global assessment of genetic variation influencing response to retinoid chemoprevention in head and neck cancer patients.

  J Jack Lee, Xifeng Wu, Michelle A T Hildebrandt, Hushan Yang, Fadlo R Khuri, Edward Kim, Jian Gu, Yuanqing Ye, Reuben Lotan, Margaret R Spitz, Waun Ki Hong
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  ABSTRACT: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients are at an increased risk of developing a second primary tumor (SPT) or recurrence following curative treatment. 13-cis-retinoic acid (13-cRA) has been tested in chemoprevention clinical trials, but the results have been inconclusive. We genotyped 9,465 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in 450 patients from the Retinoid Head and Neck Second Primary Trial. SNPs were analyzed for associations with SPT/recurrence in patients receiving placebo to identify prognosis markers and further analyzed for effects of 13-cRA in patients with these prognostic loci. Thirteen loci identified a majority subgroup of patients at a high risk of SPT/recurrence and in whom 13-cRA was protective. Patients carrying the common genotype of rs3118570 in the retinoid X receptor (RXRA) were at a 3.33-fold increased risk (95% CI, 1.67-6.67) and represented more than 70% of the study population. This locus also identified individuals who received benefit from chemoprevention with a 38% reduced risk (95% CI, 0.43-0.90). Analyses of cumulative effect and potential gene-gene interactions also implicated CDC25C:rs6596428 and JAK2:rs1887427 as 2 other genetic loci with major roles in prognosis and 13-cRA response. Patients with all 3 common genotypes had a 76% reduction in SPT/recurrence (95% CI, 0.093-0.64) following 13-cRA chemoprevention. Carriers of these common genotypes constituted a substantial percentage of the study population, indicating that a pharmacogenetic approach could help select patients for 13-cRA chemoprevention. The lack of any alternatives for reducing risk in these patients highlights the need for future clinical trials to prospectively validate our findings.
  Cancer Prevention Research 02/2011; 4(2):185-93. · 4.91 Impact Factor
• Article: Frequent expression of MAGE1 tumor antigens in bronchial epithelium of smokers without lung cancer.

  Manisha Bhutani, Ashutosh Kumar Pathak, Hongli Tang, You H Fan, Diane D Liu, J Jack Lee, Jonathan Kurie, Rodolfo C Morice, Waun Ki Hong, Li Mao
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  ABSTRACT: Melanoma antigens (MAGE) are frequently expressed in lung cancer and are promising targets of anticancer immunotherapy. Our preliminary data suggested that MAGE may be expressed during early lung carcinogenesis, raising the possibility of targeting MAGE as a lung cancer prevention strategy. The purpose of this study was to investigate MAGE activation patterns in the airways of chronic smokers without lung cancer. MAGE-A1, -A3 and -B2 gene expression was determined in bronchial brush cells from chronic former smokers without lung cancer by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR). The results were correlated with clinical parameters. The 123 subjects had a median age of 57 years, a median of 40 pack-years smoking history, and had quit smoking for at least one year prior to enrollment. Among the subjects, 31 (25%), 38 (31%), and 46 (37%) had detectable MAGE-A1, -A3 and -B2 expression, respectively, in their bronchial brush samples. Expression of MAGE-A1 and -B2 positively correlated with pack-years smoking history (P=0.03 and 0.03, respectively). The frequency of expression did not decrease despite a prolonged smoking cessation period. In conclusion, MAGE-A1, -A3 and -B2 genes are frequently expressed in the bronchial epithelial cells of chronic smokers without lung cancer, suggesting that chronic exposure to cigarette smoke activates these genes even before the malignant transformation of bronchial cells in susceptible individuals. Once activated, the expression persists despite long-term smoking cessation. These data support the targeting of MAGE as a novel lung cancer prevention strategy.
  Experimental and therapeutic medicine 01/2011; 2(1):137-142.