Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 17, 2026

Multiomics Analysis of TMEM200A as a Pan-Cancer Biomarker
Published on: September 15, 2023
Molecular alterations associated with breast cancer mortality
Laura M Voeghtly1, Kim Mamula, J Leigh Campbell
1Clinical Breast Care Project, Windber Research Institute, Windber, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Genomic instability, measured by allelic imbalance (AI), is higher in aggressive breast cancer. AI at chromosome 8p22 independently predicts breast cancer mortality, aiding in risk assessment for aggressive disease.
Area of Science:
- Genomics
- Cancer Biology
- Molecular Pathology
Background:
- Breast cancer exhibits significant heterogeneity, leading to varied clinical outcomes despite similar treatments.
- Identifying molecular alterations is crucial for improving risk stratification and treatment strategies for aggressive breast cancer.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between allelic imbalance (AI) and clinical outcomes in invasive breast cancer.
- To identify specific chromosomal regions with AI that correlate with disease-specific mortality (DOD) versus long-term disease-free survival (DFS).
Main Methods:
- Generated allelic imbalance (AI) data from 122 invasive breast tumors with known clinical outcomes.
- Compared AI levels and patterns between patients who died of disease (DOD) and those with ≥5 years disease-free survival (DFS) using statistical analyses (Student t-test, chi-square).
Main Results:
- AI levels were significantly higher in tumors from DOD patients (28.6%) compared to DFS patients (20.1%).
- AI at chromosomes 7q31, 8p22, 13q14, 17p13.3, 17p13.1, and 22q12.3 correlated with DOD, while AI at 16q22-q24 correlated with DFS.
- AI at chromosome 8p22 emerged as an independent predictor of breast cancer mortality after multivariate analysis.
Conclusions:
- Breast tumors from DOD patients demonstrate increased genomic instability compared to DFS patients.
- AI at chromosome 8p22 is a significant, independent predictor of breast cancer mortality.
- AI at chromosome 13q14 is associated with late mortality, suggesting distinct genetic underpinnings for short- and long-term mortality in breast cancer patients.
Related Concept Videos
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Tumor Progression
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell
Cancer Survival Analysis
Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
Loss of Tumor Suppressor Gene Functions
When the tumor suppressor genes develop mutations or are lost, cells start growing out of control, leading to cancer. However, a single functional copy of the tumor suppressor gene is enough for the cells to maintain their normal functions and cell...
