Project description:The Piedmont study is a prospectively designed retrospective evaluation of a new 48-gene antifolate response signature (AF-PRS) in patients with locally advanced/metastatic NS-NSCLC treated with pemetrexed-containing platinum doublet chemotherapy (PMX-PDC). The study tested the hypothesis that the AF-PRS selects for patients with NS-NSCLC that preferentially respond to PMX-PDC, with a goal of providing clinical support for AF-PRS as potential diagnostic test. Overall, 53% of patients were AF-PRS(+), which was associated with extended PFS, but not OS, vs. AF-PRS(-) (16.6 vs. 6.6 mo; p = 0.025). In patients who were Stage I-III patients at time of treatment, PFS, but not OS, was further extended in AF-PRS(+) vs. AF-PRS(-) (36.2 vs. 9.3 mo; p = 0.03). A complete response (CR) to therapy was noted in 14 of 95 patients. AF-PRS(+) preferentially selected a majority (79%) of CRs, which were evenly split between patients Stage I-III (6 of 7) and Stage IV (5 of 7) at time of treatment. AF-PRS identified a significant population of patients with extended survival and/or clinical response following PMX-PDC treatment. AF-PRS may be a useful diagnostic test for patients indicated for systemic chemotherapy, especially when determining the optimal PDC regimen for locally advanced disease.
Project description:In early embryogenesis, the primitive streak (PrS) generates the mesendoderm and is essential for organogenesis. However, because the PrS is a minute and transient tissue, elucidating the mechanism of its formation had been challenging. We had identified ceramide metabolism to regulate PrS formation. We investigated how C2 ceramide, a cell-permeable form of ceramide, affects gene expression for PrS formation.
