3775 results for "*oma"

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• WES of 2 human osteosarcoma and corresponding cell lines

  Progress in the systemic control of osteosarcoma has been limited over the past decades thus indicating the urgent clinical need for the development of novel treatment strategies. Therefore, we have recently developed new preclinical models to study promising novel agents for the treatment of pediatric osteosarcoma. The checkpoint kinase (chk) inhibitor prexasertib (LY2606368) and its salt form (LSN2940930) have recently been shown to be active in adult and pediatric malignancies, including sarcoma. We have now tested the potency of prexasertib in clonogenic survival assays in two new lines of primary patient-derived osteosarcoma cells and in two established osteosarcoma cell lines as a single agent and in combination with cisplatin and the poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor talazoparib. Prexasertib alone results in strongly reduced clonogenic survival at low nanomolar concentrations and acts by affecting cell cycle progression, induction of apoptosis and induction of double-stranded DNA breakage at concentrations that are well below clinically tolerable and safe plasma concentrations. In combination with cisplatin and talazoparib, prexasertib acts in a synergistic fashion. Chk1 inhibition by prexasertib and its combination with the DNA damaging agent cisplatin and the PARP-inhibitor talazoparib thus emerges as a potential new treatment option for pediatric osteosarcoma which will now have to be tested in preclinical primary patient derived in vivo models and clinical studies.

  Study EGAS00001003923

• Sequencing data of multiple sarcoma samples for personalized medicine and endotype identification

  Sequencing data derived from multiple patient samples was used to guide multiple patient-specific experiments and identify potential therapeutic options. These diseases are rare and high-risk (undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma) and thus have few available validated clinical options. This leaves the population of patients with few options if, and when, standard therapy fails to cure or control disease. An aspect of the personalize therapy design included the identification of broader disease endotypes (a combination of genetic and clinical data describing patient status) to identify subgroups of the individual disease that could better define treatments and could segment patient populations for deeper preclinical research.

  Study EGAS00001003981

• SCC ctDNA sequencing

  In this study we have sequenced the ctDNA of 28 Squamous Cell Carcinoma patients in the TP53 gene, each sample has been sequenced twice.

  Study EGAS00001003987

• SCC tumor sequencing

  In this study we have sequenced the tumor of 28 Squamous Cell Carcinoma patients.

  Study EGAS00001003988

• MYO5B mutations in Pheochromocytoma/Paraganglioma promote cancer progression

  Identification of additional cancer-associated genes and secondary mutations driving the metastatic progression in pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL) is important. We recently reported novel recurrent nonsynonymous mutations in the MYO5B gene in metastatic PPGL. Here, we explored the functional impact of these MYO5B mutations, and analyzed MYO5B expression in primary PPGL tumor cases in relation to mutation status.Immunohistochemistry and mRNA expression analysis in 30 primary PPGL tumors revealed an increased MYO5B expression in metastatic compared to non-metastatic tumor cases. In addition, subcellular localization of MYO5B protein was altered from cytoplasmatic to membranous in some metastatic tumors, and the strongest and most abnormal expression pattern was observed in a PGL case harboring a MYO5B:p.G1611S mutation. Mutation analysis of additional PPGL tumors revealed additional, and hence recurrent, mutations in the paralog MYO5A. Three missense mutations in MYO5B were functionally studied using site directed mutagenesis and stable transfection into human neuroblastoma cells (SK-N-AS) and embryonic kidney cells (HEK293 cell line). Functional analysis of the mutants verified a significant increased proliferation rate in all MYO5B mutated clones (p.L587P, p.G1611S, and p.R1641C). The two somatically derived mutations p.L587P and p.G1611S were also found to increase the migration rate, and all three mutants affected intracellular transport by increased transferrin uptake. Downstream expression analysis of MYO5B mutants demonstrated a transcriptional activation of genes involved in glucose metabolism, proliferation, homeostasis, and migration. Our study validates the functional role of novel MYO5B mutations in proliferation and migration, and suggest the MYO5-pathway to be involved the malignant progression of PPGL tumors.

  Study EGAS00001003991

• Lindsey E. Jones et al. Patient-derived cells from recurrent tumors that model the evolution of IDH-mutant glioma. Neuro-Oncology Advances, 2020. We established robust, versatile, and well-characterized Patient Derived Cells (PDC) of an IDH1-mutant astrocytoma and an IDH1-mutant oligodendroglioma that represents defined evolutionary stages of chemotherapy-induced hypermutation. The PDCs retain tumor subtype defining features over time as well as classic hallmarks of cancer, including anchorage independent growth and cell immortality. The integrated phylogenies composed of PDCs,single-cell-derived PDCs, patient-derived xenografts, and corresponding spatiotemporal tumor tissue samples also provide new insight into the clonality, evolutionary pattern, and immense mutational load of hypermutated IDH mutant gliomas.

  IDH-mutant lower-grade gliomas can undergo malignant progression via temozolomide-driven hypermutation. Patient-derived cells (PDC) that model the genetically distinct hypermutated (HM) tumor subgroup are generally lacking, and few if any human brain tumor cell models are from defined evolutionary time points. Here, we characterize multiple PDC derived from independent surgical specimens of IDH1-mutant recurrences, including an ATRX and TP53-mutant astrocytoma and a 1p/19q co-deleted and TERT promoter-mutant oligodendroglioma. We determined the evolutionary time points represented by each PDC using exome sequencing and phylogenetic reconstruction, comparing the PDC and single cell clones of the PDC (scPDC) to multiple spatiotemporal tumor tissue samples, PDC-derived xenografts (PDX) and patient-matched blood. The tumor samples exhibited TMZ-induced mutagenesis and a branching pattern of evolution. We found clear evidence of two fully independent founder HM clones in the tumor tissue that are faithfully represented by independent PDC. The PDC, scPDC and PDX also shared the mutagenesis signature and represent the mid and later evolutionary time points of their corresponding tumors. The PDC maintained the tumor subtype-defining features over many passages, including heterozygosity of the IDH1 R132H mutation, production of 2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG), and subtype-specific telomere maintenance mechanisms. The PDC from both tumors exhibited anchorage-independent growth in soft agar. The oligodendroglioma PDC formed infiltrative intracranial tumors with characteristic oligodendroglioma histology, initially with a long period to tumor formation. We conclude that the PDC, scPDC and PDX faithfully model the heterogeneous clonal origins of the corresponding tumor tissue. The multilevel analysis also provides new insight into the intratumoral heterogeneity and vast mutational load of HM glioma. The PDC from multiple evolutionary time points presented in the context of full clinical timelines may be useful to model evolution and intratumoral heterogeneity, important sources of therapeutic failure.

  Study EGAS00001003992

• Myeloma RNAseq

  Study EGAS00001003999

• Myeloma WGS

  Most patients with multiple myeloma (MM) die from progressive disease after relapse. To advance our understanding of MM evolution mechanisms, we performed whole-genome sequencing of 80 tumour-normal newly diagnosed pairs and 24 matched relapse tumours from the Myeloma XI trial.

  Study EGAS00001004000

• Tumor-specific expression of let-7i and miR-192 is associated with resistance to cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy in patients with larynx and hypopharynx cancer

  Background: The majority of patients with locally advanced larynx or hypopharynx squamous cell carcinoma are treated with organ preserving chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Clinical outcome following CRT varies greatly. We hypothesized tumor microRNA (miRNA) expression is predictive for outcome following CRT. Methods: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) miRNA profiling was performed on 37 formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tumor samples. Patients with a recurrence free survival (RFS) of less than 2 years (“poor outcome”) and patients without recurrence within 2 years (“good outcome”) were compared by differential expression analysis. Tumor-specific miRNAs were selected based on normal mucosa miRNA expression data from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. A model was constructed to predict outcome using group-regularized penalized logistic ridge regression. Candidate miRNAs were validated in the initial sample set by RT-qPCR as well as in 46 additional tumor samples.Results: 1,938 known mature miRNAs were detected. Thirteen miRNAs were differentially expressed (p<0.05, FDR<0.1) according to outcome group. Initial class prediction in the NGS cohort (n=37) resulted in a model combining five miRNAs and disease stage, able to predict CRT outcome with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.82. In the RT-qPCR cohort (n=83), 25 patients (30%) experienced early recurrence (median RFS 8 months; median follow-up 42 months). Class prediction resulted in a model combining let-7i-5p and miR-192-5p and disease stage, able to discriminate with an AUC of 0.80 patients with good versus poor clinical outcome.Conclusion: The combined miRNA expression and disease stage prediction model is superior to using either factor alone. ¬¬¬This study indicates NGS miRNA profiling using FFPE specimens is feasible, resulting in clinically relevant biomarkers.

  Study EGAS00001004001

• A Protein Neddylation Inhibitor MLN4924 Suppresses Patient-Derived Glioblastoma Cells via Inhibition of ERK and AKT Signaling

  Glioblastoma is a highly aggressive and lethal brain tumor, with limited treatment options. Abnormal activation of the neddylation pathway is observed in glioblastoma, and the NEDD8-activating enzyme (NAE) inhibitor, MLN4924 was previously shown to be effective in glioblastoma cell line models. However, its effect has not been tested in patient-derived glioblastoma stem cells. Immunohistochemistry and public data were analyzed to determine whether NEDD8 pathway proteins are important in glioblastoma development and patient survival. The effects of MLN4924 were evaluated in 4 glioblastoma cell lines and 15 patient-derived glioblastoma stem cells using high content analysis. Immunoblot analysis assessed the NEDD8 pathway proteins and biomarkers. Whole transcriptome analysis identified pathways associated with MLN4924 sensitivity. NAE1 and UBA3 levels increased in glioblastoma patients; high NEDD8 levels were associated with poor clinical outcomes. Glioblastoma cell lines and patient-derived stem cells were highly susceptible to MLN4924, while normal human astrocytes were resistant. Genomic analyses indicated that MLN4924 sensitive cells exhibited enrichment of ERK and AKT signaling. We verified that MLN4924 inhibits ERK and AKT phosphorylation in MLN4924 sensitive cells. Our findings suggest that patient-derived glioblastoma stem cells in the context of ERK and AKT activation are sensitive and highly regulated by neddylation inhibition.

  Study EGAS00001004018

• Whole-genome bisulfite sequencing analysis of low-grade astrocytomas in the ICGC PedBrain Tumor Project

  Pilocytic Astrocytoma (PA) is the most common pediatric brain tumor. While genome and transcriptome landscapes are well-studied, data of the complete methylome, tumor cell composition and immune infiltration are scarce. We generated whole genome bisulfite sequence data (WGBS) of nine PAs to find evidence for a link of focal methylation differences and differential gene expression to immune infiltration.

  Study EGAS00001004019

• Uncovering tumor intrinsic and extrinsic factors that regulate hepatocellular carcinoma growth using patient derived xenograft assays

  Several major factors limit our understanding of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). First, human HCCs are infrequently biopsied for diagnosis and thus are not often biologically interrogated. Second, HCC initiation and progression are strongly influenced by the cirrhotic microenvironment, and the exact contributions of intrinsic and extrinsic tumor factors are unclear. A powerful approach to examine the personalized biology of liver cancers and the influence of host tissues is with patient derived xenograft (PDX) models. In Asia, HCCs from hepatitis B virus patients have been efficiently converted into PDXs, but few parallel efforts from the west have been reported. In a large-scale analysis, we implanted 93 HCCs and 8 cholangiocarcinomas (CCAs) to systematically analyze host factors and to define an optimized platform for PDX development from both surgical and biopsy samples. NSG mice that had undergone partial hepatectomy (PHx) represented the best combination of engraftability, growth, and passageability, but overall rates were low and indicative of a unique intrinsic biology for HCCs in the US. PDX models preserved the histology and genetic features of parental tumors, and ultimately, 9 new models were usable for pre-clinical studies. Intriguingly, HCC PDXs were differentially sensitive to regorafenib and sorafenib and CCA PDXs were also highly sensitive to regorafenib. PDX models functionalize early and advanced stage HCCs and revealed unique biological features of liver cancers from the US.

  Study EGAS00001004020

• Cell type-specific transcriptomics of esophageal adenocarcinoma as a scalable alternative for single cell transcriptomics

  We developed a protocol for the separation of esophageal carcinoma tissue into leukocytes (using CD45 as a marker), epithelial cells (EpCAM), and fibroblasts (two out of PDGFRA, CD90, anti-fibroblast) by fluorescence-activated cell sorting followed by RNA-sequencing

  Study EGAS00001004053

• Neoadjuvant combination PD-L1 plus CTLA-4 blockade in patients with cisplatin-ineligible operable urothelial carcinoma

  Immune checkpoint therapy (ICT) is being tested in the neoadjuvant setting for patients with localized urothelial carcinoma (UC), with one study reporting data in cisplatin-ineligible patients who received anti PD-L1 monotherapy. The study reported that patients with bulky tumors, a known high-risk feature defined as greater than clinical T2 disease, had fewer responses, with pathologic complete response (pCR) rate of 17%. Here, we report on the first pilot combination neoadjuvant trial (NCT02812420) with anti-PD-L1 (durvalumab) plus anti-CTLA-4 (tremelimumab) in cisplatin-ineligible patients, with all tumors identified as having high risk features (N=28). Primary endpoint was safety and we observed 6 of 28 patients (21%) with grade ≥3 immune-related adverse events, consisting of asymptomatic laboratory abnormalities (N=4), hepatitis and colitis (N=2). We also observed pCR of 37.5% and downstaging to pT1 or less in 58% of patients who completed surgery (N=24). In summary, we provide initial safety, efficacy and biomarker data with neoadjuvant combination anti-PD-L1 plus anti-CTLA-4, which warrants further development for patients with localized UC, especially cisplatin-ineligible patients with high-risk features who do not currently have an established standard-of-care neoadjuvant treatment. Publication: Gao et al. Neoadjuvant PD-L1 plus CTLA-4 blockade in patients with cisplatin-ineligible operable high-risk urothelial carcinoma. Nature Medicine volume 26, pages1845–1851(2020)

  Study EGAS00001004074

• Molecular and Clonal Evolution in Recurrent Metastatic Gliosarcoma

  We present a rare case of a 37-year-old woman who was initially diagnosed with IDH wild-type gliosarcoma in the frontal lobe and later developed two local recurrences and extracranial metastases to the vertebral and pelvic bones. In order to understand the clonal relationships between the four tumor instances and the origin of metastasis, we performed whole genome sequencing of the intracranial tumors and the tumor located in the right iliac bone. Mutational and copy number profile comparisons of the metastatic to intracranial tumors highlighted a high similarity in molecular profile, but contrasting evidence regarding the origin of the metastasis. Subclonal reconstruction suggested a parallel evolution of the recurrent tumors, and that the metastatic tumor was largely derived from the first recurrence. We conclude that metastasis in glioma can be a late event in tumorigenesis.

  Study EGAS00001004076

• Phased whole genome sequencing of 10 melanoma samples

  We have sequenced 10 melanoma samples using 10X linked reads technology to obtain phased whole genome sequence data. Using this data, we created diploid personalized genomes for each sample and aligned functional genomics data obtained from the same samples in order to find allele specific events (such as allele-specific binding and allele-specific chromatin accessibility).

  Study EGAS00001004136

• Cancer immune control needs senescence induction by Stat1 dependent cell cycle regulator pathways in tumours

  Immune checkpoint bloackade (ICB)-based or natural cancer immune responses largely eliminate tumours. Yet, they require additional mechanisms to arrest those cancer cells that are not rejected. Cytokine-induced senescence (CIS) can stably arrest cancer cells, suggesting that interferon-dependent induction of senescence-inducing cell cycle regulators is needed to control those cancer cells that escape from killing. Here we report in two different cancers sensitive to T cell-mediated rejection, we show that deletion of the senescence-inducing cell cycle regulators p16Ink4a/p19Arf (Cdkn2a) or p21Cip1 (Cdkn1a) in the tumour cells abrogated both, the natural and the ICB-induced cancer immune control. Also in humans, melanoma metastases that progressed rapidly during ICB have losses of senescence-inducing genes and amplifications of senescence inhibitors. Metastatic cells also resist CIS. Such genetic and functional alterations are infrequent in metastatic melanomas regressing during ICB. Thus, activation of tumour-intrinsic, senescence-inducing cell cycle regulators is required to stably arrest those cancer cells that escape from eradication.

  Study EGAS00001004151

• The role of the mammalian SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex in neuroendocrine prostate cancer

  We sought to determine the effects of SMARCA4 and SMARCA2 depletion in prostate cancer cell lines. We performed siRNA-mediated knock-down of SMARCA4 and SMARCA2 in an androgen-sensitive (LNCaP) cell line and in a castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC)-adenocarcinoma cell line (22Rv1) and compared global transcriptional alterations using RNA-seq.

  Study EGAS00001004177

• Immuno-genomic landscape of osteosarcoma

  Osteosarcoma is an orphan disease affecting children and young adults that has seen little to no progress in survival outcomes for >30 years. Despite having heavily rearranged genomes, to date, clinical trials with immunotherapy have shown no benefit for patients with osteosarcoma. In this study, we conducted the first multi-platform immune profiling (whole genome, transcriptome, T-cell receptor sequencing, immunohistochemistry and reverse phase protein array) on every available pediatric and adult osteosarcoma patients from our institution (N = 48) with the goal of describing immune features that may contribute to immunotherapy resistance.

  Study EGAS00001004197

• Pancreatic tropism of metastatic renal cell carcinoma

  Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is characterized by a particularly broad metastatic swath, and enigmatically, when the pancreas is a destination, the disease is associated with improved survival. Intrigued by this observation, we sought to characterize the clinical behavior, therapeutic implications, and underlying biology. While pancreatic metastases (PM) are infrequent, we identified 31 patients across two institutional cohorts and show that improved survival is independent of established prognostic variables, that these tumors are exquisitely sensitive to anti-angiogenic agents and resistant to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), and that they are characterized by a distinctive biology. Primary tumors of patients with PM exhibited frequent PBRM1 mutations, 3p loss, and 5q amplification, along with a lower frequency of aggressive features such as BAP1 mutations and loss of 9p, 14q, and 4q. Gene expression analyses revealed constrained evolution with remarkable uniformity, reduced T-effector gene signatures and increased angiogenesis. Similar findings were observed histopathologically. Thus, RCC metastatic to the pancreas is characterized by indolent biology, heightened angiogenesis, and an uninflamed stroma, likely underlying its good prognosis, sensitivity to anti-angiogenic therapies, and refractoriness to ICI. These data suggest that metastatic organotropism may be an indicator of a particular biology with prognostic and treatment implications for patients.

  Study EGAS00001004208

• Analysis of exonic somatic variants in light-chain amyloidosis (ALA) and ALA concomitant with multiple myeloma

  We aim to provide the very first insight into ALA+MM molecular profiles and compare the results with ALA and with MM. Our detailed study of ALA and ALA+MM represents an important step towards improved understanding of their genetic and transcriptomic background, which is a prerequisite for development of optimal treatment strategies in the future.

  Study EGAS00001004214

• Short and long-read genome sequencing methodologies for somatic variant detection; genomic analysis of a patient with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

  Recent advances in throughput and accuracy mean that the Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) PromethION platform is a now a viable solution for WGS. New bioinformatic methods have been developed to take advantage of this long read data, however much of the validation of these tools has focussed on calling germline variants (both SNVs and structural variants). Somatic variants are outnumbered many-fold by germline variants and their detection is further complicated due to their frequency varying depending on tumour purity/subclonality. Here, we evaluate the extent to which Nanopore WGS enables genome-wide detection and analysis of somatic variation. We do this through sequencing tumour and germline genomes for a patient with diffuse B-cell lymphoma. We examine the capability of currently available tools for calling somatic variants in ONT data by comparing the data with results from 150bp short-read sequencing of the same samples. We then conduct a detailed analysis of the performance of multiple long-read mappers and structural variant callers for calling large, somatic structural variants (SVs) in ONT data. Our protocol achieved yields of up to 96 mapped Gb per PromethION flow cell with average read lengths of ~5kb. Calling germline SNVs from these data achieved good specificity and sensitivity. However, results of somatic SNV calling highlight the need for the development of specialized joint calling algorithms. Our analysis of structural variants shows that the comparative performance of different tools varies significantly between SV types, and suggest long reads are especially advantageous for calling large somatic deletions and duplications. Finally, we highlight the utility of long reads for phasing clinically relevant variants by using the ONT data to confirm that a somatic 1.6Mb deletion and a p.(Arg249Met) mutation involving TP53 are oriented in trans.

  Study EGAS00001004266

• Mutation signatures in melanocytic nevi reveal characteristics of defective DNA repair

  Nevi are common benign melanocytic neoplasms that can be found on any skin location and share many of the genomic hallmarks of melanoma. In our recent report involving whole-exome sequencing of acquired nevi (Stark et al., 2018), ultra-violet radiation (UVR) related somatic mutation signatures (“signature 7”) (Alexandrov et al., 2013) were frequently observed in all lesions that were located on sun-exposed sites. In the study presented herein, we sought to investigate whether an independent Spanish cohort (Valencia, Spain) of minimally sun exposed nevi had genomic features consistent with our previous findings.

  Study EGAS00001004274

• Multiplexed quantification of four neuroblastoma DNA targets in a single droplet digital PCR reaction

  Evaluation of quadruplex ddPCR-based copy number assessment in blood plasma samples paired with genomic DNA from the corresponding primary neuroblastoma from three patients and comparison with copy numbers determined by duplex and triplex ddPCR and re-analyzed from whole-exome sequencing (WES) data.

  Study EGAS00001004275

• Circulating tumor cells for comprehensive and multiregional non-invasive genetic characterization of multiple myeloma (arrays set)

  Multiple myeloma (MM) patients undergo repetitive bone marrow (BM) aspirates for genetic characterization. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are detectable in peripheral blood of virtually all MM cases and are prognostic, but their applicability for non-invasive screening has been poorly investigated. Here, we used next-generation flow cytometry to isolate matched CTCs and BM tumor cells from 42 patients and compare their genetic profile. In 8 cases, tumor cells from extramedullary plasmacytomas were also sorted and whole-exome sequencing performed in the three spatially-distributed clones. Noteworthy, ≥84% mutations present in BM and extramedullary clones were detectable in CTCs. Concordance between BM tumor cells and CTCs was high for chromosome arm-level copy-number alterations (≥94%) though not for translocations (43%). All high-risk genetic abnormalities except one t(4;14) were detected in CTCs whenever present in BM tumor cells. Altogether, these results support CTCs for non-invasive risk-stratification of MM patients based on their numbers and genetic profile.

  Study EGAS00001004314

• Multiregion Whole-Exome Sequencing Uncovers the Genetic Evolution and Mutational Heterogeneity of Early-Stage Metastatic Melanoma.

  Study EGAS00001004320

• Persistent STAG2 mutation in recurrent pediatric glioblastoma

  Similar to their adult counterparts, the prognosis for pediatric patients with high-grade gliomas remains poor. At time of recurrence, treatment options are limited and remain without consensus. This report describes the genetic findings, obtained from whole exome sequencing of a pediatric patient with glioblastoma who underwent multiple surgical resections and treatment with standard chemoradiation, as well as a novel recombinant poliovirus vaccine therapy. Strikingly, despite the variety of treatments, there was persistence of a tumor clone, characterized by a deleterious STAG2 mutation, whose deficiency in pre-clinical studies can cause aneuploidy and aberrant mitotic progression, but remains understudied in the clinical setting. There was near elimination of an EGFR mutated and amplified tumor clone after gross total resection, standard chemoradiation, and poliovirus therapy, followed by the emergence of a persistently STAG2 mutated clone, with rare mutations in PTPN11 and BRAF, the latter composed of a novel deleterious mutation previously not reported in pediatric glioblastoma (p.D594G). This was accompanied by a mutation signature shift towards one characterized by increased DNA damage repair defects, consistent with the known underlying STAG2 deficiency. As such, this case represents a novel report following the clinical and genetic progression of a STAG2 mutated glioblastoma, including treatment with a novel and emerging immunotherapy. Although STAG2 deficiency comprises only a small subset of gliomas, this case adds clinical evidence to existing pre-clinical data supporting a role for STAG2 mutations in tumor formation and resistance to standard therapies.

  Study EGAS00001004340

• Multi-omics profiling of paired primary and recurrent glioblastoma patient tissues

  Despite maximal therapy with surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients have a median survival of only 15 months. Almost all patients inevitably experience symptomatic tumor recurrence. A hallmark of this tumor type is the large heterogeneity between patients and within tumors itself which relate to failure of standardized tumor treatment. In this study, tissue samples of paired primary and recurrent GBM tumors were investigated to identify individual factors related to tumor progression.

  Study EGAS00001004345

• Sequencing of an adolescent patient with germline RET mutant alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma

  An adolescent patient presented with an alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma made more unique by the presence of a germline RET mutation ordinarily associated with and a known driver of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A (MEN2A) cancer. To better understand the role of this germline RET mutation in the genetics and phenotypic response of this unique alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, we performed DNA and RNA sequencing of the patients in addition to functional studies on patient-derived cultures and genetically similar similar cell models.

  Study EGAS00001004359

• Molecular stratification of endometrioid ovarian carcinoma predicts clinical outcome

  Endometrioid ovarian carcinoma (EnOC) is an under-investigated type of ovarian carcinoma. Here, we report the largest genomic study of EnOCs to date, performing whole exome sequencing of 112 cases following rigorous pathological assessment. High frequencies of mutation were detected in CTNNB1(43%), PIK3CA(43%), ARID1A(36%), PTEN(29%), TP53(26%) and SOX8(19%), a novel target of recurrent mutation in EnOC. POLE and mismatch repair protein-encoding genes were mutated at lower frequency (6%, 18%) with significant co-occurrence. A molecular taxonomy was constructed using a novel algorithm (PRISTINE), identifying clinically distinct EnOC subtypes: TP53m cases demonstrated greater genomic complexity, were frequently FIGO stage III/IV at diagnosis (48%) and incompletely debulked (44%), and demonstrated inferior survival; conversely, CTNNB1m cases demonstrated low complexity and excellent clinical outcome, were predominantly stage I/II at diagnosis (89%) and completely resected (87%). Tumour complexity provides further resolution within the TP53wt/CTNNB1wt group. Moreover, we identify the WNT, MAPK/RAS and PI3K pathways as good candidate targets for molecular therapeutics in EnOC.

  Study EGAS00001004366

• Whole genome sequencing of glioblastoma reveals enrichment of non-coding constraint mutations in known and novel genes

  Glioblastoma (GBM) has one of the worst five-year survival rates of all cancers. While genomic studies of the disease have been performed, alterations in the non-coding regulatory regions of GBM have largely remained unexplored. We apply whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to identify non-coding mutations, with regulatory potential in GBM, under the hypothesis that regions of evolutionary constraint are likely to be functional, and somatic mutations are likely more damaging than in unconstrained regions.

  Study EGAS00001004379

• Bulk RNAseq gene expression of baseline tumors from metastatic urothelial bladder cancer patients (IMvigor210) and metastatic renal cell carcinoma (IMmotion150)

  We examined tumors from a large cohort of patients with metastatic urothelial bladder cancer (mUC) and metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) treated with an anti-PD-L1 agent (atezolizumab) and found that high tumor IL8 gene expression was associated with worse overall survival (OS). We further identified the tumoral immune presence based on Teff signature. We found that high tumor IL8 expression continued to be associated with worse OS even in inflamed tumors in mUC and mRCC.

  Study EGAS00001004386

• Accelerated single cell seeding in relapsed multiple myeloma

  Study EGAS00001004404

• The genomic landscape of primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma (pcALCL)

  Primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma (pcALCL) is the second most common variant of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. We subjected tumor biopsies from patients with pcALCL to whole-genome sequencing, whole-exome sequencing and RNA-sequencing to investigate genomic alterations and deregulated gene expression in the disease.

  Study EGAS00001004429

• Impact of genetic variants in clinical outcome of a cohort of patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

  Study EGAS00001004430

• ctDNA monitoring using patient-specific sequencing and integration of variant reads - Lung cohort

  Circulating tumor-derived DNA (ctDNA) can be used to monitor cancer dynamics noninvasively. Detection of ctDNA can be challenging in patients with low-volume or residual disease, where plasma contains very few tumor-derived DNA fragments. We show that sensitivity for ctDNA detection in plasma can be improved by analyzing hundreds to thousands of mutations that are first identified by tumor genotyping. We describe the INtegration of VAriant Reads (INVAR) pipeline, which combines custom error-suppression methods and signal-enrichment approaches based on biological features of ctDNA. With this approach, the detection limit in each sample can be estimated independently based on the number of informative reads sequenced across multiple patient-specific loci. We applied INVAR to custom hybrid-capture sequencing data from 176 plasma samples from 105 patients with melanoma, lung, renal, glioma, and breast cancer across both early and advanced disease. By integrating signal across a median of >105 informative reads, ctDNA was routinely quantified to 1 mutant molecule per 100,000, and in some cases with high tumor mutation burden and/or plasma input material, to individual parts per million. This resulted in median Area Under the Curve (AUC) values of 0.98 in advanced cancers, and 0.80 in early stage and challenging settings for ctDNA detection. We generalized this method to whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing, showing that the INVAR may be applied without requiring personalized sequencing panels, so long as a tumor mutation list is available. As tumor sequencing becomes increasingly performed, such methods for personalized cancer monitoring may enhance the sensitivity of cancer liquid biopsies.

  Study EGAS00001004447

• CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing of Schistosoma mansoni acetylcholinesterase

  Here we report successful gene knock-in (KI) in the eggs of Schistosoma mansoni by combining CRISPR/Cas9 with single-stranded oligodeoxynucleotides (ssODNs). We targeted the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) gene of S. mansoni using two synthetic guide RNAs (gRNAs), X5 and X7, respectively. Liver eggs of S. mansoni were exposed to CRISPR-vector containing X5 or X7 by electroporation. Simultaneously, eggs were transfected with a ssODN donor encoding a stop codon in all six frames. Next generation sequencing analysis revealed that CRISPR/Cas9-mediated editing in S. mansoni eggs resulted in Homology-Directed Repair (HDR) when template DNA ssODN provided. Furthermore, soluble egg antigen (SEA) from AChE-modified eggs exhibited markedly reduced AChE activity compared with controls, indicative that programmed Cas9 cleavage mutated the AChE gene. Following injection of modified schistosome eggs into the tail veins of mice, a significant decrease in granuloma size in the lungs of these animals. Notably, an enhanced Th2 response induced by eggs in lung, and splenocytes small intestine-draining mesenteric lymph node cells was also generated in mice injected with X5-KI eggs in different methods. These findings further demonstrate the power and utility of CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing for undertaking functional genomics studies in schistosomes.

  Study EGAS00001004455

• Whole-exome sequencing and microRNA profiling predicted relapse risk of stage I lung adenocarcinomas

  Despite the advance in precision therapy, about 20% of stage I non-small cell lung cancer patients suffer a relapse after surgical resection. To develop molecular signatures for relapse prediction of stage I lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), we conduct comprehensive analyses of multiplatform molecular profiling from 113 treatment-naïve stage I Taiwanese LUAD patients. We identify 16 nonsynonymous non-sporadic point mutations (NSPOPMs) harbored at EGFR, KRAS, TP53, CTNNB1 and 6 other genes, and find that the Non-EGFR NSPOPMs were associated with early relapse in a dose-dependent manner via variant allele fraction (VAF). We define a score, maxVAF, to aggregate the VAFs of these NSPOPMs by the maximum value. MicroRNA expression analysis shows a strong correlation between miR-31 and maxVAF. Combining maxVAF with miR-31 led to a powerful risk prediction for surgically resected stage I patients (hazard ratio = 8.65, P = 0.001). Our study opens up more options for precision management of stage I LUAD patients.

  Study EGAS00001004461

• JHMI Cholangiocarcinoma DAC

  Dac EGAC00001000276

• Targets of MEK inhibition in DIPG

  The survival of children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) remains dismal, with new treatments desperately needed. In the era of precision medicine, targeted therapies represent an exciting treatment opportunity, yet resistance can rapidly emerge, playing an important role in treatment failure. In a prospective biopsy-stratified clinical trial, we combined detailed molecular profiling (methylation BeadArray, exome, RNAseq, phospho-proteomics) linked to drug screening in newly-established patient-derived models of DIPG in vitro and in vivo. We identified a high degree of in vitro sensitivity to the MEK inhibitor trametinib in samples which harboured genetic alterations targeting the MAPK pathway, including the non-canonical BRAF_G469V mutation, and those affecting PIK3R1 and NF1. However, treatment of PDX models and of a patient with trametinib at relapse failed to elicit a significant response. We generated trametinib-resistant clones in the BRAF_G469V model through continuous drug exposure, and identified acquired mutations in MEK1/2 (MEK1_K57N, MEK1_I141S and MEK2_I115N) with sustained pathway up-regulation. These cells showed the hallmarks of mesenchymal transition, and expression signatures overlapping with inherently trametinib-insensitive primary patient-derived cells that predicted an observed sensitivity to dasatinib. Combinations of trametinib with dasatinib and the downstream ERK inhibitor ulixertinib showed highly synergistic effects in vitro. These data highlight the MAPK pathway as a therapeutic target in DIPG, and show the importance of parallel resistance modelling and rational combinatorial treatments likely to be required for meaningful clinical translation.

  Study EGAS00001004495

• An epigenetic single-cell atlas of IDH-mutant glioma reveals the role of ATRX in shaping tumor composition

  Recent single-cell RNA-sequencing studies have identified a hierarchy of cell types that is common to all isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) -mutant gliomas. This finding is somewhat paradoxical since the genetic differences between IDH-mutant astrocytomas and IDH-mutant oligodendrogliomas are prognostic, predictive of therapeutic response, and correlated with differences in immune infiltrates. To integrate these disparate findings, we constructed a single-cell atlas of 22 human IDH-mutant primary untreated grade-II/III gliomas.

  Study EGAS00001004523

• Multiscale heterogeneity in gastric adenocarcinoma evolution is an obstacle to precision medicine

  Study EGAS00001004525

• Multiomic profiling of early-passage melanoma cell lines.

  This study utilises multiomic profiling of early-passage melanoma cell lines to explore the interactions between distinct modalities of molecular regulation influencing melanoma cellular phenotype.

  Study EGAS00001004536

• Clinical relevance of somatic copy-number alterations in plasma circulating tumor DNA from advanced EGFR-mutated NSCLC patients treated with osimertinib

  Background: Somatic copy-number alterations (SCNAs) are associated with drug resistance in patients with advanced epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). The purpose of our study was to assess the clinical relevance and development of genome-wide SCNAs in plasma circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) under osimertinib therapy.Methods: We included 43 patients with advanced EGFR T790M-positive lung adenocarcinoma who were treated with osimertinib after progression under previous EGFR-TKI therapy. We performed genomic profiling of ctDNA in plasma samples from each patient obtained pre-osimertinib and after patients developed resistance to osimertinib. SCNAs were detected by shallow whole-genome plasma sequencing and EGFR mutations were assessed by droplet digital PCR.Results: SCNAs in resistance-related genes (rrSCNAs) were detected in 10 out of 39 (25.6%) evaluable patients before start of osimertinib. The presence of rrSCNAs in plasma before initiation of osimertinib therapy was associated with a lower response rate to osimertinib (50% versus 86%, p=0.02) and was an independent predictor for shorter progression-free survival (adjusted HR 3.26, 95% CI 1.37-7.75, p=0.008) and overall survival (adjusted HR 2.41, 95% CI 1.09-5.34, p=0.03).Conclusions: Genomic profiling of plasma ctDNA is clinically relevant and affects the efficacy and clinical outcome of osimertinib. Our approach allows comprehensive assessment of SCNAs in plasma samples of lung adenocarcinoma patients and may help to guide genotype-specific therapeutic strategies in the future.

  Study EGAS00001004539

• Super enhancers define regulatory subtypes and cell identity in neuroblastoma

  Half of the children diagnosed with neuroblastoma have high-risk disease, disproportionately contributing to overall childhood cancer-related deaths. In addition to recurrent gene mutations, there is increasing evidence supporting the role of epigenetic deregulation in disease pathogenesis. Yet, comprehensive cis-regulatory network descriptions from neuroblastoma tissues are lacking. Here, using genome-wide H3K27ac profiles across 60 neuroblastomas, covering the different clinical and molecular subtypes, we identified four major super enhancer-driven epigenetic subtypes and their underlying master regulatory networks. Three of these subtypes recapitulated known clinical groups, namely MYCN amplified, MYCN non-amplified high-risk and MYCN non-amplified low-risk neuroblastomas. The fourth subtype, exhibiting mesenchymal characteristics, shared features with multipotent Schwann cell precursors, was induced by RAS activation and enriched in relapsed disease. Notably, CCND1, a disease essential gene, was regulated by both mesenchymal and adrenergic regulatory networks converging on distinct super-enhancer modules. Together, this reveals subtype-specific super-enhancer regulation in neuroblastoma.

  Study EGAS00001004551

• MGMT genomic rearrangements contribute to chemotherapy resistance in gliomas

  Temozolomide (TMZ) is an oral alkylating agent used for the treatment of glioblastoma and is now becoming a chemotherapeutic option in patients diagnosed with high-risk low-grade gliomas1. The O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) is responsible for the direct repair of the main TMZ-induced toxic DNA adduct, the O6-Methylguanine lesion. MGMT promoter hypermethylation is currently the only known biomarker for TMZ response in glioblastoma patients2. Here we show that a subset of recurrent gliomas carry MGMT genomic rearrangements that lead to MGMT overexpression, independently from changes in its promoter methylation. By leveraging the CRISPR/Cas9 technology we generated some of these MGMT rearrangements in glioma cells and demonstrated that they lead to TMZ resistance both in vitro and in vivo. Lastly we showed that such fusions can be detected in tumor-derived exosomes and could potentially represent an early detection marker of tumor recurrence in a subset of patients treated with TMZ.

  Study EGAS00001004544

• A Multifactorial Tumor and Immune Cell Profile Determines Response to Immune Checkpoint blockade in Melanoma

  The complex crosstalk between tumor and immune cells during immune checkpoint blockade mandates the development of integrated models that interpret the anti-tumor immune response and predict clinical outcome. We have integrated genome-wide sequence and structural alterations with pre and on-therapy transcriptomic and T cell repertoire features for a cohort of 64 immunotherapy-naïve melanomas treated with anti-PD1 monotherapy or combined anti-PD1 and anti-CTLA4 therapy. While tumor mutation burden (TMB) was associated with improved response to therapy, expressed mutation burden was superior to TMB in predicting outcome. An increased pre-existing T cell density differentiated responding from non-responding tumors independent of therapy. Importantly, T cell repertoire reshaping determined by T cell receptor (TCR) clonotypic regressions and expansions reflected response to therapy such that a more dynamic repertoire predicted improved clinical outcome. Through whole-transcriptome analyses, we discovered differential abundance of B cell subsets in responding tumors, which highlights the importance of the interplay between pre-existing T and B cell immunity in shaping therapeutic response. Tumor temporal trajectories during therapy revealed distinct patterns of molecular response related to expressed mutation elimination or retention that accurately interpreted clinical response. High-dimensional genomic, transcriptomic and immune repertoire data were integrated by both a machine learning and a censored regression approach, resulting in a harmonized multi-modal predictor of response to immune checkpoint blockade. B cell abundance, expressed mutation load and tumor aneuploidy were combined to identify patients at high risk for recurrence, such that high risk patients had a significantly shorter progression-free survival (HR=9.18, 95% CI: 3.14-26.85, p=3.4e-06) especially in the anti-PD1/anti-CTLA4 group (HR=20.34, 95% CI: 4.08-101.32, p=1.68e-06).

  Study EGAS00001004548

• Super enhancers define regulatory subtypes and cell identity in neuroblastoma - RNA-seq

  Half of the children diagnosed with neuroblastoma have high-risk disease, disproportionately contributing to overall childhood cancer-related deaths. In addition to recurrent gene mutations, there is increasing evidence supporting the role of epigenetic deregulation in disease pathogenesis. Yet, comprehensive cis-regulatory network descriptions from neuroblastoma tissues are lacking. Here, using genome-wide H3K27ac profiles across 60 neuroblastomas, covering the different clinical and molecular subtypes, we identified four major super enhancer-driven epigenetic subtypes and their underlying master regulatory networks. Three of these subtypes recapitulated known clinical groups, namely MYCN amplified, MYCN non-amplified high-risk and MYCN non-amplified low-risk neuroblastomas. The fourth subtype, exhibiting mesenchymal characteristics, shared features with multipotent Schwann cell precursors, was induced by RAS activation and enriched in relapsed disease. Notably, CCND1, a disease essential gene, was regulated by both mesenchymal and adrenergic regulatory networks converging on distinct super-enhancer modules. Together, this reveals subtype-specific super-enhancer regulation in neuroblastoma.

  Study EGAS00001004552

• Clinical Outcomes by Tumor Mutational Burden and Inflammatory Gene Expression With Combined Nivolumab and Ipilimumab or Monotherapy in Advanced Melanoma - CM67 WES

  Purpose Exploratory analyses of CheckMate 066 and 067 trials were conducted to investigate associations of tumor mutational burden (TMB), a 4-gene inflammatory gene expression signature, and BRAF mutation status with tumor response, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced melanoma. Patients and Methods Patients with known programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and BRAF mutation status received nivolumab (NIVO) or dacarbazine in CheckMate 066 and either NIVO, ipilimumab (IPI), or NIVO+IPI in CheckMate 067. Whole exome sequencing and RNA sequencing were used to determine TMB and inflammatory gene expression signature scores, respectively. These biomarkers were evaluated in terms of their association with PFS and OS. Results In the NIVO, NIVO+IPI, and IPI arms of CheckMate 067, longer survival was associated with high (> median) versus low (≤ median) TMB with hazard ratios (HRs) (95% confidence interval [CI]) for PFS of 0.45 (0.30–0.65), 0.55 (0.38–0.81), and 0.60 (0.43–0.82), and for OS of 0.46 (0.30–0.71), 0.53 (0.34–0.82), and 0.52 (0.36–0.74), respectively. For NIVO-treated patients, these results were confirmed in CheckMate 066. A survival benefit was observed with high TMB and absence of BRAF mutation. Survival was associated with high versus low inflammatory signature scores with HRs (95% CI) for PFS of 0.56 (0.34–0.94), 0.40 (0.23–0.72), and 0.43 (0.27–0.70), and for OS of 0.37 (0.20–0.66), 0.38 (0.19–0.74), and 0.46 (0.27–0.79), in the NIVO, NIVO+IPI, and IPI arms, respectively. Weak correlations were observed between PD-L1, TMB, and the inflammatory signature. Conclusions Combined assessment of TMB, inflammatory gene expression signature, and BRAF mutation status may be predictive for response to immunotherapy in advanced melanoma.

  Study EGAS00001004555

• Regulatory T cell transcriptomic reprogramming characterizes adverse events by checkpoint inhibitors in solid tumors

  Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), which target immune regulatory pathways to unleash antitumor responses, have revolutionized cancer immunotherapy. Despite the remarkable success of ICI immunotherapy, a significant proportion of patients whose tumors respond to these treatments develop immune-related adverse events (irAEs) resembling autoimmune diseases. Although the clinical spectrum of irAEs is well characterized, their successful management remains empiric. This is in part because the pathogenic mechanisms involved in the break-down of peripheral tolerance and induction of irAEs remain elusive. Herein, we focused on regulatory T cells (Tregs) in individuals with irAEs because these cells are vital for maintenance of peripheral tolerance, appear expanded in the peripheral blood of individuals with cancer and abundantly express checkpoint molecules, hence representing direct targets of ICI immunotherapy. Our data demonstrate an intense transcriptomic reprogramming of CD4+CD25+CD127– Tregs in the blood of individuals with advanced metastatic melanoma who develop irAEs following ICI immunotherapy, with a characteristic inflammatory, apoptotic and metabolic signature. This inflammatory signature was shared by Tregs from individuals with different types of cancer developing irAEs and individuals with autoimmune diseases. Our findings propose an inflammatory Treg reprogramming as a feature of immunotherapy-induced irAEs, that may facilitate translational approaches aiming to induce robust antitumor immunity without disturbing peripheral tolerance.

  Study EGAS00001004694