Abstract B60: The clinical significance and molecular features of the spatial tumor shapes in breast cancers

Abstract

Background: Each breast cancer has its unique spatial shape, but the clinical importance and the underlying mechanism for the three-dimensional tumor shapes are mostly unknown. Methods: We collected the data on the three-dimensional tumor size and tumor volume data of invasive breast cancers from 2,250 patients who underwent surgery between Jan 2000 and Jul 2007. The degree of tumor eccentricity was estimated by using the difference between the spheroid tumor volume and ellipsoid tumor volume (spheroid-ellipsoid discrepancy, SED). In 39 patients, transcriptome and exome sequencing data obtained. Results: Estimation of more accurate tumor burden by calculating ellipsoid tumor volumes did not improve the outcome prediction when compared to the traditional longest diameter measurement. However, the spatial tumor eccentricity, which was measured by SED, showed significant variation between the molecular subtypes of breast cancer. Additionally, the degree of tumor eccentricity was associated with well-known prognostic factors of breast cancer such as tumor size and lymph node metastasis. Transcriptome data from 39 patients showed significant association between genes involved in metal/ion binding, nucleotide binding, and extracellular matrix, and the degree of tumor eccentricity. Conclusion: The present study validates the usefulness of the current tumor size method in determining tumor stages. Furthermore, we show that the tumors with high eccentricity are more likely to have aggressive tumor characteristics. Genes involved in the extracellular matrix remodeling are candidate regulators of the spatial tumor shapes in breast cancer. Citation Format: Hyeong-Gon Moon, Namshin Kim, Minju Lee, HyunHye Moon, Tae-Kyung Yoo, Han-Byoel Lee, Jisun Kim, Dong-Young Noh, Wonshik Han. The clinical significance and molecular features of the spatial tumor shapes in breast cancers. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Advances in Breast Cancer Research; Oct 17-20, 2015; Bellevue, WA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2016;14(2_Suppl):Abstract nr B60.