• AXL inhibition improves BRAF-targeted treatment in melanoma 

      Nyakas, Marta Sølvi; Fleten, Karianne Giller; Haugen, Mads Haugland; Engedal, Nikolai; Sveen, Christina; Farstad, Inger Nina; Flørenes, Vivi Ann; Prasmickaite, Lina; Mælandsmo, Gunhild Mari; Vasiliauskaite, Kotryna (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2022)
      More than half of metastatic melanoma patients receiving standard therapy fail to achieve a long-term survival due to primary and/or acquired resistance. Tumor cell ability to switch from epithelial to a more aggressive mesenchymal phenotype, attributed with AXL<sup>high</sup> molecular profle in melanoma, has been recently linked to such event, limiting treatment efcacy. In the current study, ...
    • Basal‐like breast cancer engages tumor‐supportive macrophages via secreted factors induced by extracellular S100A4 

      Prasmickaite, Lina; Tenstad, Ellen; Pettersen, Solveig; Jabeen, Shakila; Egeland, Eivind Valen; Nord, Silje; Pandya, Abhilash D.; Haugen, Mads Haugland; Kristensen, Vessela N.; Børresen-Dale, Anne-Lise; Engebråten, Olav; Mælandsmo, Gunhild Mari (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2018-05-09)
      The tumor microenvironment (TME) may influence both cancer progression and therapeutic response. In breast cancer, particularly in the aggressive triple‐negative/basal‐like subgroup, patient outcome is strongly associated with the tumor's inflammatory profile. Tumor‐associated macrophages (TAMs) are among the most abundant immune cells in the TME, shown to be linked to poor prognosis and therapeutic ...
    • Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of 6‐substituted quinolines derived from cabozantinib as c‐Met inhibitors 

      Lien, Vegard Torp; Pettersen, Solveig; Haugen, Mads Haugland; Olberg, Dag Erlend; Mælandsmo, Gunhild Mari; Klaveness, Jo (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2019-08-15)
      Based on the cabozantinib scaffold, novel c‐Met inhibitors were rationalized from the limited knowledge of structure‐activity relationships for the quinoline 6‐position. Emphasis was given to modifications capable of engaging in additional polar interactions with the c‐Met active site. In addition, <i>ortho</i>‐fluorinations of the terminal benzene ring were explored. Fifteen new molecules were ...
    • EMMPRIN is associated with S100A4 and predicts patient outcome in colorectal cancer 

      Boye, Kjetil; Nesland, Jahn M; Sandstad, Berit; Haugen, Mads Haugland; Mælandsmo, Gunhild; Flatmark, Kjersti (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2012-07-10)
      BACKGROUND: Proteolytic enzymes and their regulators have important biological roles in colorectal cancer by stimulating invasion and metastasis, which makes these factors attractive as potential prognostic biomarkers. METHODS: The expression of extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN) was characterised using immunohistochemistry in primary tumours from a cohort of 277 prospectively ...
    • Fibroblast-induced switching to the mesenchymal-like phenotype and PI3K/mTOR signaling protects melanoma cells from BRAF inhibitors 

      Vasiliauskaite, Kotryna; Fleten, Karianne Giller; Barkovskaya, Anna; Nygaard, Vigdis; Haugen, Mads Haugland; Engesæter, Birgit Øvstebø; Mælandsmo, Gunhild; Prasmickaite, Lina (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2016)
      The knowledge on how tumor-associated stroma influences efficacy of anti-cancer therapy just started to emerge. Here we show that lung fibroblasts reduce melanoma sensitivity to the BRAF inhibitor (BRAFi) vemurafenib only if the two cell types are in close proximity. In the presence of fibroblasts, the adjacent melanoma cells acquire de-differentiated mesenchymal-like phenotype. Upon treatment with ...
    • Glutamine to proline conversion is associated with response to glutaminase inhibition in breast cancer 

      Grinde, Maria Tunset; Hilmarsdòttir, Bylgja; Tunset, Hanna Maja; Henriksen, Ida Marie; Kim, Jana; Haugen, Mads Haugland; Rye, Morten Beck; Mælandsmo, Gunhild Mari; Moestue, Siver Andreas (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2019-05-14)
      <p><i>Introduction - </i>Glutaminase inhibitors target cancer cells by blocking the conversion of glutamine to glutamate, thereby potentially interfering with anaplerosis and synthesis of amino acids and glutathione. The drug CB-839 has shown promising effects in preclinical experiments and is currently undergoing clinical trials in several human malignancies, including triple-negative breast cancer ...
    • MicroRNA in combination with HER2-targeting drugs reduces breast cancer cell viability in vitro 

      Svartdal, Lisa Gregusson; Aure, Miriam Ragle; Leivonen, Suvi-Katri; Haugen, Mads Haugland; Hongisto, Vesa; Kristensen, Vessela N.; Mælandsmo, Gunhild Mari; Sahlberg, Kristine Kleivi (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2021-05-25)
      HER2-positive (HER2 +) breast cancer patients that do not respond to targeted treatment have a poor prognosis. The effects of targeted treatment on endogenous microRNA (miRNA) expression levels are unclear. We report that responsive HER2 + breast cancer cell lines had a higher number of miRNAs with altered expression after treatment with trastuzumab and lapatinib compared to poorly responsive cell ...
    • miR-101-5p Acts as a Tumor Suppressor in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Cells and Improves Targeted Therapy 

      Normann, Lisa Svartdal; Haugen, Mads Haugland; Aure, Miriam Ragle; Kristensen, Vessela N.; Mælandsmo, Gunhild Mari; Sahlberg, Kristine Kleivi (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2022-03-01)
      Purpose: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive (HER2+) breast cancers responding poorly to targeted therapy need improved treatment options. miR-101-5p has shown tumor-suppressive properties in multiple cancer forms, and we assessed the effect and mechanism of action of this miRNA in HER2+ breast cancer.<p> <p>Methods: Expression levels of miR-101-5p in two clinical datasets, TCGA and ...
    • Nuclear Legumain Activity in Colorectal Cancer 

      Haugen, Mads Haugland; Johansen, Harald Thidemann; Pettersen, Solveig; Solberg, Rigmor; Brix, Klaudia; Flatmark, Kjersti; Mælandsmo, Gunhild (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2013)
      The cysteine protease legumain is involved in several biological and pathological processes, and the protease has been found over-expressed and associated with an invasive and metastatic phenotype in a number of solid tumors. Consequently, legumain has been proposed as a prognostic marker for certain cancers, and a potential therapeutic target. Nevertheless, details on how legumain advances ...
    • Protein kinase C isozymes associated with relapse free survival in non-small cell lung cancer patients 

      Halvorsen, Ann Rita; Haugen, Mads Haugland; Øjlert, Åsa Kristina; Lund-Iversen, Marius; Jørgensen, Lars Hilmar; Solberg, Steinar; Mælandsmo, Gunhild Mari; Brustugun, Odd Terje; Helland, Åslaug (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel, 2020-11-25)
      <i>Introduction</i>: Protein expression is deregulated in cancer, and the proteomic changes observed in lung cancer may be a consequence of mutations in essential genes. The purpose of this study was to identify protein expression associated with prognosis in lung cancers stratified by smoking status, molecular subtypes, and EGFR-, TP53-, and KRAS-mutations.<p> <p><i>Methods</i>: We performed ...
    • Protein signature predicts response to neoadjuvant treatment with chemotherapy and bevacizumab in HER2-negative breast cancers 

      Haugen, Mads Haugland; Lingjærde, Ole Christian; Hedenfalk, Ingrid; Garred, Øystein; Borgen, Elin; Loman, Niklas; Hatschek, Thomas; Børresen-Dale, Anne-Lise; Naume, Bjørn; Mills, Gordon B.; Mælandsmo, Gunhild Mari; Engebråten, Olav (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2021-01-28)
      <p>PURPOSE: Antiangiogenic therapy using bevacizumab has proven effective for a number of cancers; however, in breast cancer (BC), there is an unmet need to identify patients who benefit from such treatment. <p>PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the NeoAva phase II clinical trial, patients (N = 132) with large (≥ 25 mm) human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative primary tumors were randomly ...
    • Stroma-induced phenotypic plasticity offers phenotype-specific targeting to improve melanoma treatment 

      Seip, Kotryna; Jørgensen, Kjetil Nordbø; Haselager, Marco Vincent; Albrecht, Marco; Haugen, Mads Haugland; Egeland, Eivind Valen; Lucarelli, Philippe; Engebråten, Olav; Sauter, Thomas; Mælandsmo, Gunhild Mari; Prasmickaite, Lina (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2018-09-18)
      Cancer cells' phenotypic plasticity, promoted by stromal cells, contributes to intra-tumoral heterogeneity and affects response to therapy. We have disclosed an association between fibroblast-stimulated phenotype switching and resistance to the clinically used BRAF inhibitor (BRAFi) vemurafenib in malignant melanoma, revealing a challenge in targeting the fibroblast-induced phenotype. Here we compared ...
    • Targeting AXL and the DNA damage response pathway as a novel therapeutic strategy in melanoma 

      Karlsen, Karine Flem; McFadden, Erin; Omar, Nasrin; Haugen, Mads Haugland; Øy, Geir Frode; Ryder, Truls; Gullestad, Hans Petter; Hermann, Robert; Mælandsmo, Gunhild Mari; Flørenes, Vivi Ann (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2019-12-23)
      Receptor tyrosine kinase AXL is found upregulated in various types of cancer, including melanoma, and correlates with an aggressive cancer phenotype, inducing cell proliferation and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Additionally, AXL has recently been linked to chemotherapy resistance and inhibition of AXL is found to increase DNA damage and reduce expression of DNA repair proteins. In light of ...