Honglin Song

Risk Factors for Ovarian Cancer by BRCA Status: A Collaborative Case-Only Analysis

Abstract Background: Women with an inherited pathogenic variant in BRCA1 or BRCA2 have a greatly increased risk of developing ovarian cancer, but the importance of behavioral factors is less clear. We used a case-only design to compare the magnitude of associations with established reproductive, hormonal, and lifestyle risk factors between BRCA mutation carriers and noncarriers. Methods: We pooled data from five studies from the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium including 637 BRCA carriers and 4,289 noncarriers. Covariate-adjusted generalized linear mixed models were used to estimate interaction risk ratios (IRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), with BRCA (carrier vs. noncarrier) as the response variable. Results: IRRs were above 1.0 for known protective factors including ever being pregnant (IRR = 1.29, 95% CI; 1.00–1.67) and ever using the oral contraceptive pill (1.30, 95% CI; 1.07–1.60), suggesting the protective effects of these factors may be reduced in carriers compared with noncarriers. Conversely, the IRRs for risk factors including endometriosis and menopausal hormone therapy were below 1.0, suggesting weaker positive associations among BRCA carriers. In contrast, associations with lifestyle factors including smoking, physical inactivity, body mass index, and aspirin use did not appear to differ by BRCA status. Conclusions: Our results suggest that associations with hormonal and reproductive factors are generally weaker for those with a pathogenic BRCA variant than those without, while associations with modifiable lifestyle factors are similar for carriers and noncarriers. Impact: Advice to maintain a healthy weight, be physically active, and refrain from smoking will therefore benefit BRCA carriers as well as noncarriers.

DGUOK‐AS1 promotes cell proliferation in cervical cancer via acting as a ceRNA of miR‐653‐5p

Cervical cancer (CC) holds the second highest incidence and is the fourth dominating cause of cancer‐induced death in women. It has been widely accepted that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are implicated in pathological and physiological activities of CC. However, the research of lncRNAs is still in the initial stage. The biological function of lncRNA deoxyguanosine kinase antisense RNA 1 (DGUOK‐AS1) in human cancers has not been reported yet. We found that DGUOK‐AS1 was aberrantly upregulated in cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma (CESC) tissues through TCGA database. Real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR) also verified the high expression of DGUOK‐AS1 in CC cell lines. Loss‐of‐function assays indicated that DGUOK‐AS1 silence repressed CC cell growth. In addition, dual‐luciferase reporter and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) experiments validated the binding relation between miR‐653‐5p and DGUOK‐AS1 or EMSY. Results of the rescue assays elucidated that EMSY overexpression or miR‐653‐5p downregulation reversed the suppressive function of DGUOK‐AS1 knockdown on cell growth and DNA repair in CC. To sum up, this research highlighted that DGUOK‐AS1 could promote CC cell proliferation via serving as a ceRNA of miR‐653‐5p to release EMSY, which might inspire us to discover novel strategies for CC treatment.Significance of the studyDGUOK‐AS1 knockdown hinders proliferation of CC cells. DGUOK‐AS1 sequesters miR‐653‐5p to elevate EMSY in CC. EMSY is required for DGUOK‐AS1 to induce cell proliferation and repress DNA damage in CC.

Efficacy and Safety of the Anti–PD-L1 mAb Socazolimab for Recurrent or Metastatic Cervical Cancer: a Phase I Dose-Escalation and Expansion Study

Abstract Purpose: This study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT03676959) is an open, phase I dose-escalation and expansion study investigating the safety and efficacy of the recombinant, fully human anti–programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) mAb socazolimab in patients diagnosed with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer. Patients and Methods: Patients received socazolimab every 2 weeks until disease progression. The study was divided into a dose-escalation phase and a dose-expansion phase. Safety and tolerability were primary endpoints of the dose-escalation phase. The primary endpoints of the dose-expansion phase were safety and the objective response rate (ORR) of the 5 mg/kg dose. Efficacy was assessed by the third-party independent review committee (IRC) using the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1 (RECIST 1.1). Results: 104 patients were successfully enrolled into the study. Twelve patients were included in the dose-escalation phase, with one complete response and two partial responses in the 5 mg/kg treatment group. Ninety-two patients (5 mg/kg) were enrolled in the dose-expansion phase. Fifty-four patients (59.3%) had baseline PD-L1–positive tumor expression (combined positive score ≥1). ORR was 15.4% [95% confidence interval (CI), 8.7%–24.5%]. Median PFS was 4.44 months (95% CI, 2.37–5.75 months), and the median OS was 14.72 months (95% CI, 9.59–NE months). ORR of PD-L1–positive patients was 16.7%, and the ORR of PD-L1–negative patients was 17.9%. No treatment-related deaths occurred. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that socazolimab has durable safety and efficacy for the treatment of recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer and exhibits a safety profile similar to other anti–PD-1/PD-L1 mAbs.

A Clinical Study of PD-L1 Antibody ZKAB001（Drug Code） in Recurrent or Metastatic Cervical Cancer

This is a Phase 1, open-label, dose-escalation, and multidose study, aiming to investigate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics(PK) of ZKAB001 (a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting the Programmed Death - Ligand 1 (PD-L1) membrane receptor on T lymphocytes and other cells of the immune system) administered every 14 days in subjects with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer.