BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Cell lines serve as invaluable tools in studying lung cancer biology and developing new therapies to combat the disease. However, commercially available cell lines are typically of Caucasian origin and may be less representative of the local genetic background. To address this, our lab previously immortalized cells from pleural fluid of a Filipino non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patient via CDK4 transduction. Copy number variations (CNVs) are a type of genetic variation which may affect physiology and disease by disrupting gene function or altering gene expression, and in cancer, these may be associated with patient outcomes. CNV profiling can be valuable for understanding the biology of our immortalized cells and identifying genes that could serve as potential targets for diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic interventions. This study aimed to characterize previously immortalized NSCLC-derived cells, GL01, in comparison with an established lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) cell line, A549, through whole-genome microarray-based copy number profiling.

DNA was extracted from GL01 and A549 cells using a commercially-available silica-based DNA extraction kit. DNA extracts were quantified and normalized for microarray analysis. Whole-genome copy number profiling was done using the OncoScan CNV Plus Assay following the manufacturer’s protocols, and data was analyzed using the Chromosome Analysis Suite software. Functional analysis of genes identified to be involved in copy number aberrations was done using the PANTHER Classification System.

Copy number aberrations span 1,592,737,105 bp in GL01 and 1,715,708,552 bp in A549, with a high degree of concordance between the two. Large-scale and focal copy number aberrations previously identified to be recurrent in various LUAD cohorts were present in both GL01 and A549. Focal copy number aberrations associated with previously described lung cancer-related genes involve the PDE4D gene in GL01 and the SKIL and CDKN2A/CDKN2B genes in both GL01 and A549. PANTHER Pathway analysis of genes positively correlated with mRNA expression showed that the ubiquitin proteasome pathway was significantly overrepresented in both GL01 (FDR p = 0.000074) and A549 (FDR p = 0.000075), with 20 genes involved. Additionally, the KRAS:p.G12C/S:c.34G>T/A somatic mutation variant was detected in both GL01 and A549.

This study provides a method for identifying potentially clinically-relevant genes associated with a sample’s copy number aberrations and the pathways they represent, providing personalized mechanistic, prognostic, and therapeutic insights into the cancer biology of our cells.

OBJECTIVES: To propose a new method for optimizing radiotherapy planning for lung cancer by incorporating prognostic models that take into account individual patient information and assess the feasibility of treatment planning optimization directly guided by minimizing the predicted prognostic risk. METHODS: A mixed fluence map optimization objective was constructed, incorporating the outcome-based objective and the physical dose constraints. The outcome-based objective function was constructed as an equally weighted summation of prognostic prediction models for local control failure, radiation-induced cardiac toxicity, and radiation pneumonitis considering clinical risk factors. These models were derived using Cox regression analysis or Logistic regression. The primary goal was to minimize the outcome-based objective with the physical dose constraints recommended by the clinical guidelines. The efficacy of the proposed method for optimizing treatment plans was tested in 15 cases of non-small cell lung cancer in comparison with the conventional dose-based optimization method (clinical plan), and the dosimetric indicators and predicted prognostic outcomes were compared between different plans. RESULTS: In terms of the dosemetric indicators, D_95% of the planning target volume obtained using the proposed method was basically consistent with that of the clinical plan (100.33% vs 102.57%, P=0.056), and the average dose of the heart and lungs was significantly decreased from 9.83 Gy and 9.50 Gy to 7.02 Gy (t=4.537, P<0.05) and 8.40 Gy (t=4.104, P<0.05), respectively. The predicted probability of local control failure was similar between the proposed plan and the clinical plan (60.05% vs 59.66%), while the probability of radiation-induced cardiac toxicity was reduced by 1.41% in the proposed plan. CONCLUSIONS The proposed optimization method based on a mixed objective function of outcome prediction and physical dose provides effective protection against normal tissue exposure to improve the outcomes of lung cancer patients following radiotherapy.
Humans ; Lung Neoplasms/radiotherapy* ; Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted/methods* ; Prognosis ; Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated/methods* ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/radiotherapy* ; Radiotherapy Dosage ; Female ; Male ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of curcumin on lipid metabolism in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its molecular mechanism. METHODS: The inhibitory effect of curcumin (0-70 μmol/L) on proliferation of A549 and H1299 cells was assessed using MTT assay, and 20 and 40 μmol/L curcumin was used in the subsequent experiments. The effect of curcumin on lipid metabolism was evaluated using cellular uptake assay, wound healing assay, triglyceride (TG)/free fatty acid (NEFA) measurements, and Oil Red O staining. Western blotting was performed to detect the expressions of PGC-1α, PPAR-α, and HIF-1α in curcumin-treated cells. Network pharmacology was used to predict the metabolic pathways, and the results were validated by Western blotting. In a nude mouse model bearing A549 cell xenograft, the effects of curcumin (20 mg/kg) on tumor growth and lipid metabolism were assessed by measuring tumor weight and observing the changes in intracellular lipid droplets. RESULTS: Curcumin concentration-dependently inhibited the proliferation of A549 and H1299 cells and significantly reduced TG and NEFA levels and intracellular lipid droplets. Western blotting revealed that curcumin significantly upregulated PGC-1α and PPAR‑α expressions in the cells. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis predicted significant involvement of the HIF-1 signaling pathway in curcumin-treated NSCLC, suggesting a potential interaction between HIF-1α and PPAR‑α. Western blotting confirmed that curcumin downregulated the expression of HIF-1α. In the tumor-bearing mice, curcumin treatment caused significant reduction of the tumor weight and the number of lipid droplets in the tumor cells. CONCLUSIONS Curcumin inhibits NSCLC cell proliferation and lipid metabolism by downregulating the HIF-1α pathway.
Curcumin/pharmacology* ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit/metabolism* ; Animals ; Lipid Metabolism/drug effects* ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/pathology* ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology* ; Mice, Nude ; Down-Regulation ; Mice ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha ; PPAR alpha/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; A549 Cells

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the inhibitory effect of Fuzheng Huaji Decoction against non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells in vitro and explore the underlying mechanism. METHODS: The active ingredients and targets of Fuzheng Huaji Decoction were identified using TCMSP and SwissTargetPrediction databases. NSCLC-related targets from GeneCards and PharmGKB were intersected with the targets of the Decoction, and a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed to identify the core targets, which were analyzed with GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Cultured A549 cells were treated with different concentrations of Fuzheng Huaji Decoction-medicated serum, and the changes in cell proliferation, apoptosis, and protein expressions were examined using CCK-8 assay, annexin V-FITC/PI staining and Western blotting. RESULTS: Fuzheng Huaji Decoction contained 140 active ingredients, and 707 drug-disease intersecting targets were identified. Among these targets, TP53, AKT1, HIF1A, GAPDH, ALB, EGFR, CTNNB1, and TNF were identified as the core targets which were involved in the biological processes related to kinases and receptors and the PI3K-AKT, Ras, calcium, and MAPK pathways. Molecular docking studies indicated strong binding affinity of the active ingredients with TP53, AKT1, and HIF1A. In cultured A549 cells, treatment with 2.5%, 5%, and 10% Fuzheng Huaji Decoction-medicated serum significantly inhibited cell proliferation, promoted cell apoptosis, and downregulated the expression levels of HIF1A, p-AKT (Thr308), and TP53 proteins. CONCLUSIONS Fuzheng Huaji Decoction inhibits proliferation of NSCLC cells possibly by downregulating the expressions of HIF1A, p-AKT (Thr308), and TP53.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/metabolism* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects* ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Lung Neoplasms/metabolism* ; A549 Cells ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; Protein Interaction Maps ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Cell Line, Tumor

OBJECTIVES: To construct a nomogram for predicting the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) by integrating chest CT radiomics signature that reflects the tumor microenvironment (TME) and clinical parameters of the patients. METHODS: Transcriptomic and CT imaging data from TCGA, GEO and TCIA databases were integrated for weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) of the GEO cohort to identify the immunotherapy-related genes (IRGs) associated with ICIs response. A prognostic model was built using these IRGs in the TCGA cohort to assess immune microenvironment features across different risk groups. Radiomics features were extracted from TCIA lung_3 cohort using PyRadiomics, and 94 features showing strong association with IRGs (|r|>0.4) were selected. A retrospective cohort consisting of 210 aNSCLC patients receiving first-line ICIs at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital was analyzed and divided into training (n=147) and validation (n=63) groups. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator was used for radiomic features selection, and logistic regression was applied to construct a combined clinical-radiomic model and nomogram for predicting ICIs therapy response. The performance of the model was evaluated using ROC curve, calibration curve, and decision curve analysis. RESULTS: WGCNA identified 84 IRGs enriched in immune activation pathways. The combined model outperformed individual models in both the training (AUC=0.725, 95% CI: 0.644-0.807) and validation cohorts (AUC=0.706, 95% CI: 0.577-0.836). Calibration curve and decision curve analyses confirmed the clinical efficacy of the nomogram for predicting ICIs therapy response in aNSCLC patients. CONCLUSIONS The genomic-radiomic-clinical multidimensional predictive framework established in this study provides an interpretable biomarker combination and clinical decision-making tool for evaluating ICIs efficacy in aNSCLC, potentially facilitating personalized immunotherapy decision-making.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/therapy* ; Tumor Microenvironment ; Lung Neoplasms/therapy* ; Immunotherapy ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Nomograms ; Retrospective Studies ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Prognosis ; Male ; Female ; Radiomics

Mitochondria are the convergence point of multiple pathways that trigger programmed cell death (PCD). Mitochondrial-associated PCD (mtPCD) is involved in the pathogenesis of several diseases. However, the role of mtPCD in the prognostic prediction of cancers including non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains to be investigated. Here, 12 mtPCD patterns were analyzed in transcriptomics, genomics, and clinical data collected from 4 datasets containing 977 patients. A risk-score assessment system containing 18 genes was established. We found that NSCLC patients with a high-risk score had a poorer prognosis. A nomogram was constructed by incorporating the risk score with clinical features. The risk score was further associated with clinicopathological information, tumor-mutation frequency, and immunotherapy responses. NSCLC patients with a high risk score had more Treg cells infiltration. However, these patients had higher tumor-mutation burden scores and may be more sensitive to immunotherapy. Moreover, receptor-interacting serine/threonine protein kinase 2 (RIPK2) was selected from mtPCD gene model for validation. We found that RIPK2 exhibited oncogenic function, and its expression level was inversely associated with the overall survival of NSCLC. Taken together, our results indicated the accuracy and practicability of the mtPCD gene model and RIPK2 in predicting the prognosis of NSCLC.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/pathology* ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology* ; Prognosis ; Male ; Female ; Nomograms ; Middle Aged ; Mitochondria/metabolism* ; Apoptosis/genetics* ; Mutation ; Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics* ; Aged

SMARCA4-deficient non small cell lung cancer (SMARCA4-dNSCLC) has recently garnered increasing attention due to its high malignancy and poor prognosis. The literature suggests that in non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the loss of SMARCA4 frequently co-occurs with mutations in KRAS, KEAP1, and STK11 rather than in EGFR, ALK, and ROS1. Herein, we present the first documented case of SMARCA4-dNSCLC accompanied with rare mutations of EGFR exon 20 S768I and exon 18 G719X. The patient achieved partial response with afatinib for 17 months. Our case highlights the importance of EGFR mutations in the precision targeted treatment of SMARCA4-dNSCLC.
Humans ; Afatinib/therapeutic use* ; Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use* ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/pathology* ; DNA Helicases/genetics* ; ErbB Receptors/genetics* ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology* ; Mutation ; Nuclear Proteins/genetics* ; Transcription Factors/genetics*

Our previous research demonstrated that the Wenxia Changfu Formula (WCF), as a neoadjuvant therapy, inhibits M2 macrophage infiltration in the tumor microenvironment and prevents lung cancer metastasis. Given tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), this study investigated whether WCF impedes lung cancer metastasis by attenuating TAM-induced EMT in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. Utilizing a co-culture model treated with or without WCF, we observed that WCF downregulated cluster of differentiation 163 (CD163) expression in macrophages, reduced CCL18 levels in the conditioned medium, and inhibited the growth, invasion, and EMT of NSCLC cells induced by macrophage co-culture. Manipulation of CCL18 levels and Src overexpression in NSCLC cells revealed that WCF's effects are mediated through CCL18 and Src signaling. In vivo, WCF inhibited recombinant CCL18 (rCCL18)-induced tumor metastasis in nude mice by blocking Src signaling. These findings indicate that WCF inhibits NSCLC metastasis by impeding TAM-induced EMT via antagonistic modulation of CCL18, providing evidence for its potential development and clinical application in NSCLC patients.
Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition/drug effects* ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/metabolism* ; Humans ; Animals ; Lung Neoplasms/metabolism* ; Chemokines, CC/antagonists & inhibitors* ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Tumor-Associated Macrophages/drug effects* ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Signal Transduction/drug effects*

BACKGROUND: Molecular subtyping is an essential complementarity after pathological analyses for targeted therapy. This study aimed to investigate the consistency of next-generation sequencing (NGS) results between circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)-based and tissue-based in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and identify the patient characteristics that favor ctDNA testing. METHODS: Patients who diagnosed with NSCLC and received both ctDNA- and cancer tissue-based NGS before surgery or systemic treatment in Lung Cancer Center, Sichuan University West China Hospital between December 2017 and August 2022 were enrolled. A 425-cancer panel with a HiSeq 4000 NGS platform was used for NGS. The unweighted Cohen's kappa coefficient was employed to discriminate the high-concordance group from the low-concordance group with a cutoff value of 0.6. Six machine learning models were used to identify patient characteristics that relate to high concordance between ctDNA-based and tissue-based NGS. RESULTS: A total of 85 patients were enrolled, of which 22.4% (19/85) had stage III disease and 56.5% (48/85) had stage IV disease. Forty-four patients (51.8%) showed consistent gene mutation types between ctDNA-based and tissue-based NGS, while one patient (1.2%) tested negative in both approaches. Patients with advanced diseases and metastases to other organs would be suitable for the ctDNA-based NGS, and the generalized linear model showed that T stage, M stage, and tumor mutation burden were the critical discriminators to predict the consistency of results between ctDNA-based and tissue-based NGS. CONCLUSION ctDNA-based NGS showed comparable detection performance in the targeted gene mutations compared with tissue-based NGS, and it could be considered in advanced or metastatic NSCLC.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/pathology* ; Circulating Tumor DNA/blood* ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing/methods* ; Female ; Male ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology* ; Middle Aged ; Mutation/genetics* ; Aged ; Adult ; Aged, 80 and over

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of subsequent radiotherapy (RT) following first-line treatment with durvalumab plus chemotherapy in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). METHODS: A total of 122 patients with ES-SCLC from three hospitals during July 2019 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) analysis was performed to address potential confounding factors. The primary focus of our evaluation was to assess the impact of RT on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: After IPTW analysis, 49 patients received durvalumab plus platinum-etoposide (EP) chemotherapy followed by RT (Durva + EP + RT) and 72 patients received immunochemotherapy (Durva + EP). The median OS was 17.2 months vs . 12.3 months (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.38, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.17-0.85, P = 0.020), and the median PFS was 8.9 months vs . 5.9 months (HR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.32-0.97, P = 0.030) in Durva + EP + RT and Durva + EP groups, respectively. Thoracic radiation therapy (TRT) resulted in longer OS (17.2 months vs . 14.7 months) and PFS (9.1 months vs . 7.2 months) compared to RT directed to other metastatic sites. Among patients with oligo-metastasis, RT also showed significant benefits, with a median OS of 17.4 months vs . 13.7 months and median PFS of 9.8 months vs . 5.9 months compared to no RT. Continuous durvalumab treatment beyond progression (TBP) prolonged OS compared to patients without TBP, in both the Durva + EP + RT (NA vs . 15.8 months, HR: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.14-1.63, P = 0.238) and Durva + EP groups (12.3 months vs . 4.3 months, HR: 0.29, 95% CI: 0.10-0.81, P = 0.018). Grade 3 or 4 adverse events occurred in 13 (26.5%) and 13 (18.1%) patients, respectively, in the two groups; pneumonitis was mostly low-grade. CONCLUSION Addition of RT after first-line immunochemotherapy significantly improved survival outcomes with manageable toxicity in ES-SCLC.
Humans ; Small Cell Lung Carcinoma/therapy* ; Retrospective Studies ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Lung Neoplasms/therapy* ; Aged ; Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use* ; Adult ; Immunotherapy/methods* ; Aged, 80 and over