Dendritic cells in Barrett's esophagus carcinogenesis: an inadequate microenvironment for antitumor immunity?

in American Journal of Pathology (in press)

Differential proteomic analysis of a human breast tumor and its matched bone metastasis identifies cell membrane and extracellular proteins associated with bone metastasis

in Journal of Proteome Research (2012)

The classical fate of metastasizing breast cancer cells is to seed and form secondary colonies in bones. The molecules closely associated with these processes are predominantly present at the cell surface ... [more ▼]

The classical fate of metastasizing breast cancer cells is to seed and form secondary colonies in bones. The molecules closely associated with these processes are predominantly present at the cell surface and in the extracellular space, establishing the first contacts with the target tissue. In this study, we had the rare opportunity to analyze a bone metastatic lesion and its corresponding breast primary tumor obtained simultaneously from the same patient. Using mass spectrometry, we undertook a proteomic study on cell surface and extracellular protein-enriched material. We provide a repertoire of significantly modulated proteins, some with yet unknown roles in the bone metastatic process as well as proteins notably involved in cancer cell invasiveness and in bone metabolism. The comparison of these clinical data with those previously obtained using a human osteotropic breast cancer cell line highlighted an overlapping group of proteins. Certain differentially expressed proteins are validated in the present study using immunohistochemistry on a retrospective collection of breast tumors and matched bone metastases. Our exclusive set of selected proteins supports the set-up of further investigations on both clinical samples and experimental bone metastasis models that will help to reveal the finely coordinated expression of proteins that favor the development of metastases in the bone microenvironment. [less ▲]

Cancer du sein: importance de la nomenclature anatomo-pathologique

in Revue Médicale de Liège (2011), 66(5-6), 261-4

The breast pathology includes a large array of entities for which macroscopic and microscopic analysis remains fundamental. Tissue and cell morphology allows in most cases the distinction between benign ... [more ▼]

The breast pathology includes a large array of entities for which macroscopic and microscopic analysis remains fundamental. Tissue and cell morphology allows in most cases the distinction between benign or malignant tumours and therefore provides the clinicians with essential information for the therapeutic strategy. In the Pathology laboratory, immunohistochemistry and molecular biology have improved the specificity of the diagnosis and have introduced new prognostic and predictive markers for tumour management. The last edition of the WHO classification, released in 2003, distinguishes 21 varieties of invasive carcinoma and 2 categories of intraepithelial neoplasia based on the morphology and immunohistochemical profile. Other diseases can affect the breast, although much less frequently, such as Paget’s disease of the nipple, phyllode tumours, sarcomas, lymphomas... These diseases will not be reviewed here. [less ▲]