In a new study, researchers identified 14 centromere and kinetochore (CEN/KT) genes regulating genome integrity that were consistently overexpressed in a variety of cancers. This allowed the researchers to create the Centromere and gene Expression Score (CES) signature based upon the degree of gene overexpression.
The findings, published in Nature Communications, could lead to a new biomarker for the early stages of cancer development. Furthermore, the information from the test could potentially help patients from undergoing unnecessary cancer treatments from which they would not benefit.
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Researchers from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory complied a list of 31 CEN/KT genes to investigate their potential roles in cancer prognosis. Using a variety of public databases from cancer patients, the researchers analyzed CEN/KT gene expression levels in 13 data sets from 12 different types of cancer, including breast, lung, liver, and prostate. They also analyzed 13 gene expression microarray data sets from nine cancer types to better understand the contribution that CEN/KT genes make to cancer progression. Next, they identified a subset of CEN/KT genes whose misregulation offers prognostic value for cancer patients. After performing a series of meta-analyses on multiple cancer types, the researchers found that 14 CEN/KT genes were consistently overexpressed in cancer tissue.
For several major types of cancer, including breast and lung cancers, the higher the CES score, the worse the prognosis. Perhaps, more importantly, scores could accurately predict patient response to specific cancer treatment such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, according to the research team.
The researchers pointed out that they found no association between very high levels of genome instability and improved patient survival without adjuvant treatments. Clinical implementation of the CES signature could be prove beneficial when deciding to use a specific therapeutic regimen or not, but the investigators noted translating these findings into clinical practice requires more research.—Eileen Koutnik-Fotopoulos
