Genomic Analyses of Breast Cancer Progression Reveal Distinct Routes of Metastasis Emergence

TY - JOUR

T1 - Genomic Analyses of Breast Cancer Progression Reveal Distinct Routes of Metastasis Emergence

AU - Krøigård, Anne Bruun

AU - Larsen, Martin Jakob

AU - Brasch-Andersen, Charlotte

AU - Lænkholm, Anne-Vibeke

AU - Knoop, Ann S

AU - Jensen, Jeanette Dupont

AU - Bak, Martin

AU - Mollenhauer, Jan

AU - Thomassen, Mads

AU - Kruse, Torben A

PY - 2017/3/9

Y1 - 2017/3/9

N2 - A main controversy in cancer research is whether metastatic abilities are present in the most advanced clone of the primary tumor or result from independently acquired aberrations in early disseminated cancer cells as suggested by the linear and the parallel progression models, respectively. The genetic concordance between different steps of malignant progression is mostly unexplored as very few studies have included cancer samples separated by both space and time. We applied whole exome sequencing and targeted deep sequencing to 26 successive samples from six patients with metastatic estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. Our data provide support for both linear and parallel progression towards metastasis. We report for the first time evidence of metastasis-to-metastasis seeding in breast cancer. Our results point to three distinct routes of metastasis emergence. This may have profound clinical implications and provides substantial novel molecular insights into the timing and mutational evolution of breast cancer metastasis.

AB - A main controversy in cancer research is whether metastatic abilities are present in the most advanced clone of the primary tumor or result from independently acquired aberrations in early disseminated cancer cells as suggested by the linear and the parallel progression models, respectively. The genetic concordance between different steps of malignant progression is mostly unexplored as very few studies have included cancer samples separated by both space and time. We applied whole exome sequencing and targeted deep sequencing to 26 successive samples from six patients with metastatic estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. Our data provide support for both linear and parallel progression towards metastasis. We report for the first time evidence of metastasis-to-metastasis seeding in breast cancer. Our results point to three distinct routes of metastasis emergence. This may have profound clinical implications and provides substantial novel molecular insights into the timing and mutational evolution of breast cancer metastasis.

U2 - 10.1038/srep43813

DO - 10.1038/srep43813

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 28276460

SN - 2045-2322

VL - 7

JO - Scientific Reports

JF - Scientific Reports

M1 - 43813

ER -