Phosphopeptide Signatures Predicting Basal-Like Breast Cancer Recurrence - (HJF 652-23)

Seventeen (17) phosphopeptides that are significantly differentially expressed between relapsed and relapse-free basal-like breast cancer (BC) tissues, were identified and used to develop a prognostic model with a recurrence index score. This recurrence index score could identify cases of relapsed and relapse-free basal-like BC with a significant difference in progression free interval of surviving cases.

Applications and Advantages

Addresses an unmet need for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) identifying signatures
Phosphopeptides could be assayed with IHC, Protein Array or Mass Spectrometry
Of potential clinical utility for management and treatment of cancers

Innovation Description

Researchers at Henry M. Jackson (HJF), Uniformed Services University (USU) and Chan Soon-Shiong Institute of Molecular Medicine at Windber (Windber) have identified a set of seventeen (17) phosphopeptides that are significantly differentially expressed between relapsed and relapse-free basal-like breast cancer (BC) tissues (Fig.1).

This set was used to develop a prognostic model with a recurrence index score that could identify cases of relapsed and relapse-free basal-like BC with a significant difference in progression free interval of surviving cases. These phosphopeptides could be assayed using IHC, or Protein Array, or Mass Spectrometry (MS)-based technologies, using frozen or formalin-fixed samples. Current experiments were performed on frozen samples using MS-based technology.

This research could lead to an option for the management and treatment of cancers. Commercially available PCR and microarray assays based on the expression of specific genes are limited to hormonal receptor positive subtypes and HER2 negative. No such signatures are currently available for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)-an unmet need that’s addressed by this work.

Fig. 1 Hierarchical clustering of differentially expressed
phosphopeptides between 6 Basal cases

Inventors

Hai Hu, Ph.D., Windber
Praveen Kumar-Raj Kumar, Ph.D., Windber
Albert J. Kovatich, Ph.D., HJF
Craig D. Shriver, MD, FACS, USU

Innovation Status

Initial studies/prototype is based on one study of 50 BC tissues which included 17 basal-like BC cases. Please see Breast Cancer Research (2024) 26:76 .