5731 results for "canc*"

in 43.17 milliseconds.

• Association of DNA-methylation profiles with immune responses in breast cancer patients

  Study EGAS00001004211

• 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

• Neoadjuvant immunotherapy leads to pathological responses in MMR proficient and MMR deficient early stage colon cancers

  PD-1 plus CTLA-4 blockade is highly effective in advanced-stage, mismatch repair (MMR)-deficient (dMMR) colorectal cancers, yet not in MMR-proficient (pMMR) tumors. We postulated a higher efficacy of neoadjuvant immunotherapy in early-stage colon cancers. In the exploratory NICHE study (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03026140), patients with dMMR or pMMR tumors received a single dose of ipilimumab and two doses of nivolumab before surgery, the pMMR group with or without celecoxib. The primary objective was safety and feasibility; 40 patients with 21 dMMR and 20 pMMR tumors were treated, and 3 patients received nivolumab monotherapy in the safety run-in. Treatment was well tolerated and all patients underwent radical resections without delays, meeting the primary endpoint. Of the patients who received ipilimumab + nivolumab (20 dMMR and 15 pMMR tumors), 35 were evaluable for efficacy and translational endpoints. Pathological response was observed in 20/20 (100%; 95% exact confidence interval (CI): 86–100%) dMMR tumors, with 19 major pathological responses (MPRs, ≤10% residual viable tumor) and 12 pathological complete responses. In pMMR tumors, 4/15 (27%; 95% exact CI: 8–55%) showed pathological responses, with 3 MPRs and 1 partial response. CD8+PD-1+ T cell infiltration was predictive of response in pMMR tumors. These data indicate that neoadjuvant immunotherapy may have the potential to become the standard of care for a defined group of colon cancer patients when validated in larger studies with at least 3 years of disease-free survival data.

  Study EGAS00001004160

• Chromatin run-on and RNA sequencing of fibrolamellar carcinoma

  Fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC) is a rare, therapeutically intractable liver cancer that disproportionately affects youth. Here we used chromatin run-on sequencing to characterize the enhancer landscape in FLC and RNA sequencing to identify dysregulated genes in FLC.

  Study EGAS00001004169

• 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

• JAK and STAT alterations in CD30 positive LPD

  Study EGAS00001004181

• Targeted sequencing of breast cancers with germline BRCA1/2 mutations

  Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women, where a germline predisposition plays a substantial role. However, the effects of pathogenic germline variants on accompanying breast cancers have not been fully characterized in terms of somatic alterations. We obtained tumor samples from 30 patients with pathogenic germline variants in BRCA2 (n = 25) and BRCA1 (n = 5), as well as an additional 30 patients without pathogenic germline mutations, in which somatic mutations in common breast cancer drivers and CNAs were analyzed using targeted panel sequencing.

  Study EGAS00001004182

• Prostate Cancer mitochondrial DNA heteroplasmies and mitochondrial gene expression

  Study EGAS00001004186

• HSC_population_dynamics___KX007_samples

  My research project aims to use the clonal dynamics of spontaneously occurring somatic mutations to answer fundamental questions about human haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) biology. The four major questions I will address are: 1. How do age and aging affect normal human HSC dynamics in vivo? 2. How do in vivo perturbations, particularly chemotherapy and increased levels of reactive oxygen species, affect HSC population dynamics? 3. Is response to in vitro perturbation heritable and/or correlated with other features such as age of individual and contribution of the lineage to peripheral blood? 4. How are HSC dynamics altered in people with early driver mutations (clonal haematopoiesis)?

  Study EGAS00001004193

• cfRRBS on cfDNA from pediatric cancer

  In the clinical management of pediatric solid tumors, histological examination of tumor tissue obtained by a biopsy remains the gold standard to establish a conclusive pathological diagnosis. The DNA methylation pattern of a tumor is known to correlate with the histopathological diagnosis across cancer types and is showing promise in the diagnostic workup of tumor samples. This methylation pattern can be detected in the cell-free DNA. Here, we provide proof-of-concept of histopathologic classification of pediatric tumors using cell-free reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (cf-RRBS) from retrospectively collected plasma and cerebrospinal fluid samples. We determined the correct tumor type in 49 out of 60 (81.6%) samples starting from minute amounts (less than 10 ng) of cell-free DNA. We demonstrate that the majority of misclassifications were associated with sample quality and not with the extent of disease. Our approach has the potential to help tackle some of the remaining diagnostic challenges in pediatric oncology in a cost-effective and minimally invasive manner.

  Study EGAS00001004194

• Genetics and transcriptomics of human acute erythroid leukemia

  Study EGAS00001004203

• Real-time response profiling through serial plasma analyses during FOLFOX treatment in patients with colorectal cancer

  Response evaluation of cancer therapeutics relies on the assessment of the change in tumor burden, which is performed in accordance with defined criteria every 8-12 weeks. However, predictive factors for response are not available for the majority of patients with advanced stage colorectal cancer. Here we show that measurement of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) levels during one of the most commonly administered drug regimens, i.e. FOLFOX, allows an early, real-time assessment of treatment response. During the 48-hour FOLFOX application, we serially assessed plasma DNA and observed that ctDNA levels initially decreased during the first 23 hours. In patients with stable disease or partial response, ctDNA levels remained low, whereas in patients with progressive disease, ctDNA levels increased at the end of the treatment cycle predicting clinical and radiologic response correctly. Hence, ctDNA monitoring during treatment may contribute to an early outcome prediction with significant implications for the management of patients.

  Study EGAS00001004213

• Hereditary Cancer Diagnostics with I2HCP gene panel

  This dataset contains targetted DNA sequencing data generated in the context of genetic diagnostics of hereditary cancer. Target enrichment was performed with the I2HCP, a custom hereditary cancer gene panel based in Agilent SureSelect and developed by the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP, Badalona, Catalonia, Spain) and the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Catalonia, Spain). After the enrichment, 108 samples were sequenced in Illumina HiSeq machines and 130 in MiSeq machines. Some of the samples were sequenced on both platforms. The dataset also includes MLPA validation data for all identified copy-number alterations, annotated with exon resolution and information about negative MLPA results. All this data was generated in the context of routine diagnostics and compiled together with MPLA validation data for a genetic diagnostics oriented benchmark of germline CNV calling tools.

  Study EGAS00001004316

• NanoSring of PBMC from bladder cancer and RCC patients

  PBMCs from patients were isolated using 50 mL Leucosep™ tubes (Greiner Bio-One International, Germany) and Ficoll-Paque™ PLUS (GE Healthcare, Sweden). Whole blood drawn into sodium heparin blood collection tubes were diluted 3x with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) without calcium or magnesium (Lonza, Walkersville, MD). Diluted cell suspensions were carefully layered on Leucosep tubes and centrifuged for 15 minutes at 800 x g at room temperature (RT). Interphase containing PBMCs were harvested and washed with PBS and subsequently centrifuged for 10 minutes at 250 x g at RT before further processing.

  Study EGAS00001004229

• Whole transcriptome sequencing of chemotherapy-resistant muscle-invasive urothelial bladder cancer

  All mRNA sequencing data were acquired from single patients (BC159T) at a different time (BC159-T#1, BC159-T#2, and BC159-T#3). The first transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TUR-BT) (BC159-T#1) was diagnosed with non-MIUBC (muscle-invasive urothelial bladder cancer). Despite of intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), the patient progressed into MIUBC at the second TUR-BT (BC159-T#2). After undergoing multiple neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimens (gemcitabine/paclitaxel and sequential paclitaxel), the patient developed local recurrence and multiple lung metastases and removed following palliative partial cystectomy (BC159-T#3).

  Study EGAS00001004232

• Single-cell RNA sequencing of chemotherapy-resistant muscle-invasive urothelial bladder cancer

  All single-cell mRNA sequencing data were acquired from a single patient (BC159-T#3) and patient-derived xenografts (BC159-T#3-PDX-vehicle and BC159-T#3-PDX-tipifarnib).

  Study EGAS00001004233

• Bone metastatic biopsies of breast cancer patients progressing on endocrine therapies.

  Study EGAS00001004268

• Genetic characterization of a Unique Neuroendocrine Transdifferentiation Prostate Circulating Tumor Cell - Derived eXplant (CDX) Model

  Study EGAS00001004272

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

  Study EGAS00001004320

• METABRIC: Data from Batra et al (2021); DNA methylation landscapes of 1538 breast cancers reveal a replication-linked clock, epigenomic instability and cis-regulation

  DNA methylation is aberrant in cancer, but the dynamics, regulatory role and clinical implications of such epigenetic changes are still poorly understood. Here, RRBS-based profiles of 1538 breast tumors and 244 normal breast tissues from the METABRIC cohort are reported, facilitating detailed analysis of DNA methylation within a rich context of genomic, transcriptional, and clinical data. Tumor methylation from immune and stromal signatures are deconvoluted leading to the discovery of a tumor replication-linked clock with genome-wide methylation loss in non-CpG island sites. Unexpectedly, methylation in most tumor CpG islands follows two replication-independent processes of gain (MG) or loss (ML) that we term epigenomic instability. Epigenomic instability is correlated with tumor grade and stage, TP53 mutations and poorer prognosis. After controlling for these global trans-acting trends, as well as for X-linked dosage compensation effects, cis-specific methylation and expression correlations are uncovered at hundreds of promoters and over a thousand distal elements. Some of these targeted known tumor suppressors and oncogenes. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that global epigenetic instability can erode cancer methylomes and expose them to localized methylation aberrations in-cis resulting in transcriptional changes seen in tumors.

  Study EGAS00001004327

• Activating AKT1 and PIK3CA mutations in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer

  Study EGAS00001004328

• Umbrella Study of MASTER/H021 data (not to be released, pool)

  Study EGAS00001004338

• Comprehensive molecular characterization of brainstem glioma

  Brainstem gliomas are the most devastating and lethal tumors. Survival rates are among the lowest in all cancers and options for intervention are likewise low. Due to anatomical delicacy of these areas, resection of tumors is particularly difficult and attempted resections have high perioperative mortality rates. Genomic and epigenetic studies often provide a gateway to functional studies of specific classifications of tumors that can lead to major breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment options.

  Study EGAS00001004341

• Epigenomic profile of diverse cancer

  Epigenomic profile of diverse cancer.

  Study EGAS00001004352

• Phylogenetic reconstruction of breast cancer

  The aim of this study was to identify the evolutionary trajectories of metastatic breast cancer. We present whole genome sequencing data (primary tumours, axillary lymph nodes, distant metastasis and matched normal tissues) from 16 breast cancer patients. This work sheds light on the routes on which tumour cells metastasize and their role in disease progression in ER-positive breast cancer.

  Study EGAS00001004356

• 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

• Epigenetic analyses of methylation and nucleosome occupancy in cell-free DNA (cfNOMe)

  Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) has become essential in cancer diagnostics and prenatal testing. We investigate enzymatic cytosine conversion for epigenetic analyses of cfDNA and find that it reliably measures cytosine methylation and nucleosome occupancy. Whereas previously, separate experiments had to be performed to study either epigenetic marking, this approach delivers reliable results for both, enabling more comprehensive and inexpensive epigenetic profiling of cfDNA.

  Study EGAS00001004370

• Sensitive detection of tumor mutations from blood and its application to immunotherapy prognosis

  Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is attractive for many applications, including cancer detection, locating, and monitoring. A fundamental task underlying these applications is the SNV calling from cfDNA, which, however, faces a new challenge, namely, the generally very low tumor content in cfDNA. Thus all existing callers fail to achieve satisfactory performance. Here we present cfSNV, a method incorporating multi-layer error suppression and hierarchical mutation calling, to address this important challenge. Furthermore, by leveraging cfDNA’s comprehensive coverage of clonal landscape, for the first time cfSNV can profile mutations even in subclones. In both simulated and real patient data, cfSNV vastly outperforms existing tools, showing tens of times increase in sensitivity in detecting mutations with low allele frequency while maintaining high precision. cfSNV can enhance the clinical utilities of cfDNA by dramatically reducing the required sequencing depth and therefore reduce the cost by magnitudes, and further make the Whole-Exome-Sequencing of cfDNA a viable option. As an example, we demonstrate that cfDNA-WES allows a new biomarker to effectively select patients for immunotherapy.

  Study EGAS00001004373

• OSCC WES + WGS Boot et al. 2020

  Study EGAS00001004376

• 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

• Accurate mapping of mitochondrial DNA deletions and duplications using deep sequencing

  Deletions and duplications in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cause mitochondrial disease and accumulate in conditions such as cancer and age-related disorders, but validated high-throughput methodology that can readily detect and discriminate between these two types of events is lacking. Here we present MitoSAlt, a computational method for accurate identification, quantification and visualization of mtDNA deletions and duplications from whole genome, whole exome or transcriptome sequencing data. MitoSAlt was tested on simulated sequencing reads and human patient samples with single deletions and duplications to verify its accuracy. Application to mouse models of mtDNA maintenance disease further demonstrated the ability to detect deletions and duplications even at low levels of heteroplasmy. MitoSAlt paves the way for simple and reliable determination of mtDNA deletions and duplications across a wide range of relevant conditions and available sequencing datasets.  

  Study EGAS00001004380

• Detailed molecular and immune marker profiling of archival prostate cancer samples

  Study EGAS00001004396

• Matching of actionable mutations with therapies in cancer patients: comparison of three commercial decision support platforms

  Purpose: In oncology, precision medicine centers on tailoring the most appropriate therapy to a patient according to their tumor molecular profile. We addressed the question whether there is a consensus in the classification of actionability of somatic variants and their alignment to treatment recommendations. To this end, we evaluated three commercial clinical decision support tools to assess their variant classification and drug matching strategies.Methods: In this two centers study 48 patients with metastatic breast (n=12), colorectal (n=17) or non-small cell lung cancer (n=19) were recruited based on circulating tumor DNA levels in peripheral blood. In individual patients’ plasma samples, we established somatic copy number alterations and somatic mutations across a 77 cancer-associated gene panel and exposed the obtained molecular profiles to the decision support packages NAVIFY Mutation Profiler (NMP; Roche), Qiagen Clinical Insight (QCI) Interpret (Qiagen) and CureMatch Bionov (CureMatch).Results: In the plasma samples, altogether 492 somatic alterations were assessed. Each decision support platform varied in their format of data input, mode of variant classification and strategies for identifying druggable targets and clinical trials, which resulted in discrepancies in tier classification as well as designations of actionability. The frequency of concordant actionable events for tier I-A or tier I-B classifications, i.e. those with the strongest clinical evidence, was only 4.3%, 9.5% and 28.4% when comparing NMP with QCI, NMP with CureMatch, and CureMatch with QCI, respectively. As a consequence, the obtained treatment recommendations differed drastically, and alignment of treatment recommendations was limited to established predictive markers.Conclusions: The lack of standards for the extraction of treatment recommendations from comprehensive tumor molecular profiling data challenge the promising concepts of precision oncology.

  Study EGAS00001004383

• Immunogenomic landscape of hematological malignancies

  We integrated over 8,000 transcriptomes and over 2,000 samples with multilevel genomic data of hematological cancers to investigate how immunological features are linked to cancer subtypes, genetic and epigenetic alterations, and patient survival. For more detailed follow-up analyses in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), single-cell RNA sequencing was performed on 8 AML bone marrow samples at diagnosis to profile the phenotypes of blasts and infiltrating immune cells in different disease subtypes.

  Study EGAS00001004444

• Genomic study of an AT-AML

  Ataxia Telangiectasia (A-T) is caused by biallelic mutations in ATM and confers predisposition to cancer, with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) being rarely observed. We investigated an AML arising in an A-T patient for secondary genetic events by performing whole exome sequencing of serial samples over the disease course. AML samples were compared to a reference "germline" sample from a much earlier time point. Goldgraben et al 2020, Pediatric Blood & Cancer

  Study EGAS00001004392

• Accelerated single cell seeding in relapsed multiple myeloma

  Study EGAS00001004404

• Homologous recombination DNA repair deficiency and PARP inhibition activity in primary triple negative breast cancer

  Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) encompasses molecularly different subgroups, with a subgroup harboring evidence of defective homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair. Within a phase 2 window clinical trial, RIO trial (EudraCT 2014-003319-12), we investigate the activity of PARP inhibitors in 43 patients with untreated TNBC. The primary endpoint, decreased Ki67, occurs in 12% of TNBC. Multiple different approaches identify HR deficiency in the majority of TNBC, 69% with the mutational-signature-based HRDetect assay. Cancers with mutational signatures of HR deficiency have a functional defect in HR. Following rucaparib treatment there is no association of Ki67 change with HR deficiency. In contrast, early circulating tumor DNA dynamics identify activity of rucaparib in cancers with mutation-signatures of HR deficiency, with rucaparib inducing expression of interferon response genes in HR deficient cancers. The majority of TNBCs have a defect in DNA repair, identifiable by mutational signature analysis, that may be targetable with PARP inhibitors.

  Study EGAS00001004405

• Genome-wide cell-free DNA mutational integration enables ultra-sensitive cancer monitoring

  In many areas of oncology, we lack sensitive tools to track low burden disease. While cell-free DNA (cfDNA) shows promise in detecting cancer mutations, we found that the combination of low tumor fraction (TF) and limited number of DNA fragments restricts low disease burden monitoring through the prevailing deep targeted sequencing paradigm. We reasoned that breadth may supplant depth of sequencing to overcome the barrier of cfDNA abundance. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) of cfDNA allowed ultra-sensitive detection, capitalizing on the cumulative signal of thousands of somatic mutations observed in solid malignancies, with TF detection sensitivity as low as 10-5. The WGS approach enabled dynamic tumor burden tracking and post-operative residual disease detection, associated with adverse outcome. Thus, we present an orthogonal framework for cfDNA cancer monitoring via genome wide mutational integration, enabling ultra-sensitive detection, overcoming the limitation of cfDNA abundance, and empowering treatment optimization in low-disease burden oncology care

  Study EGAS00001004406

• Scottish High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer

  Scottish HGSOC samples were collected via local Bioresource facilities at Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen and stored in liquid Nitrogen until required. HGSOC patients were determined from pathology records and were included in the study where there was matched tumour and whole blood samples. On receipt of tumour material the tumour was processed as follows: firstly, the tumour sample was divided into two for DNA and RNA extraction. Slivers of tissue were cut from the front and rear faces of the DNA sample, then fixed in formalin and embedded in paraffin wax. Sections from the front and rear tissues from all samples were examined by H&E staining supplemented by WT1/p53 immunohistochemistry if required. Following pathology review, samples were only included if they met the following criteria: they were confirmed as HGSOC and there was greater than 40% tumour cellularity throughout the tumour, determined using the H&E sections. Somatic DNA was extracted using the Qiagen DNeasy Blood and tissue kit (cat no 69504). The tissue was initially homogenised using a Qiagen Bioruptor, followed by the manufacturers recommended protocol (including RNase digestion step). Germline DNA was extracted from 1-3ml whole blood using the Qiagen FlexiGene kit (cat no 51206) following the manufacturers recommended protocol. The resulting DNA underwent quality control as follows: firstly, A260 and A280nm were measured on a Denovix DS-11 Fx to qualitatively illustrate A260/280nm and A260/230nm ratios as surrogate measures of DNA purity. A260/280 had to be 1.8 or greater and A260/230 had to be 2.0 or greater. Then, DNA was quantified using LifeTechnologies Qubit dsDNA BR kit (cat no Q32850) and we required a minimum of 50ul at 25ng/ul for WGS. Thirdly, DNA was diluted to 25ng/ul and a representative sample was loaded onto a 0.8% TAE gel, ran at 100v for 60mins and then imaged using a BioRad ChemiDoc imaging system to visualise the DNA quality. Only when all 4 quality control requirements were satisfied was the DNA sequenced. The DNA was sequenced at the Glasgow Precision Oncology Laboratories.

  Study EGAS00001004410

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

  Study EGAS00001004430

• DO NOT USE - Whole genome sequencing of SI-NETs from five patients

  Small intestine neuroendocrine tumor (SI-NET), the most common cancer of the small bowel, often displays a curious multifocal phenotype with several intestinal tumors centered around a regional lymph node metastasis, yet the typical path of evolution of these lesions remains unclear. Here, we determined the complete genome sequences of 37 tumors from 5 patients with multifocal SI-NET, allowing elucidation of phylogenetic relationships between multiple intestinal tumors and metastases in individual patients.

  Study EGAS00001004435

• Immunogenomics of colorectal cancer response to immune checkpoint blockade

  Molecular and cellular determinants of response to immune checkpoint inhibitors are mostly unknown. Here we use whole exome, RNA and T cell receptor sequencing, imaging mass cytometry, immunohistochemistry and PD1-PDL1 interaction detection to profile 543 regions from 16 colorectal cancers (CRCs) subsequently treated with Pembrolizumab or Nivolumab. Independent of treatment response, CRCs express low levels of PD1 and PDL1 proteins and form less PD1-PDL1 complex than other cancers. Non hypermutated CRCs have no benefit from treatment, show WNT activation and low T cell infiltrates. Among hypermutated CRCs, those with durable benefit have clonal immunogenic alterations, clonally expanded T cells and potential for immune escape through dysfunctional antigen presentation. Responsive tumours are enriched in PD1-expressing cytotoxic and proliferating CD8 T cells and PDL1-expressing antigen presenting macrophages, which form high-density clusters of interacting cells. Our study shows that immune checkpoint inhibitors are most effective in highly infiltrated CRCs where they may release the interactions between macrophages and CD8 T cells thus promoting their priming and expansion in intra-tumour niches.

  Study EGAS00001004438

• ctDNA monitoring using patient-specific sequencing and integration of variant reads - Breast 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 EGAS00001004446

• 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

• FOXM1 is a biomarker of resistance to PI3Kα inhibition in ER+ breast cancer that is detectable using metabolic imaging (RNA-seq data)

  PIK3CA, encoding the PI3Kα isoform, is the most frequently mutated oncogene in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Isoform-selective PI3K inhibitors are used clinically but intrinsic and acquired resistance limits their utility. Improved selection of patients that will benefit from these drugs requires novel predictive biomarkers. We show here that persistent FOXM1 expression following drug treatment is a biomarker of resistance to PI3Kα inhibition in ER+ breast cancer. Since the transcription factor drives expression of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) but not hexokinase 2 (HK-II), changes in FOXM1 expression can be detected using magnetic resonance imaging of LDH-catalyzed hyperpolarized 13C label exchange between pyruvate and lactate but not by PET measurements of HK-II-mediated trapping of the glucose analog 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluorodeoxyglucose.

  Study EGAS00001004452

• 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

• Evolutionary analysis of pancreatic neoplastic cysts through whole-exome and targeted sequencing

  Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) and mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCNs) are non-invasive neoplasms that are often observed in association with invasive pancreatic cancers, but their origins and evolutionary relationships are poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed 148 samples from IPMNs, MCNs, and small associated invasive carcinomas from 18 patients using whole exome or targeted sequencing.

  Study EGAS00001004473

• Whole exome sequencing of long-term, never relapse exceptional responders of trastuzumab-treated HER2+ metastatic breast cancer

  Trastuzumab has significantly improved the overall survival of patients with HER2+ metastatic breast cancer (MBC). However, outcomes can vary, with patients progressing within 1-year of treatment or exceptional cases of complete response to trastuzumab for ≥ 10 years. Identification of the underlying genomic aberrations of “exceptional responders (ExRs)” compared to “rapid non-responders (NR)” increases our understanding of the mechanisms involved in MBC progression and identification of biomarkers of trastuzumab response and resistance. Whole exome sequencing was performed on six ExRs compared to five NR. The overall fraction of genome copy number alteration (CNA) burden was higher in NR patients (P=0.07), while more significantly pronounced in copy number gains (P=0.03) in NR compared to ExRs. Delineation of the distribution of CNA burden across the genome identified a greater degree of CNA burden in NR within chr8 (P=0.02) and in chr17 (P=0.06) and conferred a statistically significant benefit in overall survival.

  Study EGAS00001004486

• A higher ctDNA fraction decreases survival in regorafenib-treated metastatic colorectal cancer patients

  The predictive effect of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment is still highly discussed. The primary objective of this study was to investigate a possible prognostic/predictive value of ctDNA under regorafenib treatment. This prospective multicenter translational biomarker phase II pilot study enrolled 30 metastatic CRC patients (67% men, 33% women) treated with regorafenib. ctDNA was assessed in plasma before treatment start and at defined time points during administration. Measurement of tumor fraction as well as mutation and copy number analysis of CRC driver genes were performed by next generation sequencing approaches. Multivariate analyses for survival and treatment efficacy were adjusted to age, gender and ECOG. Disease control rate was 30%. Median tumor fraction at baseline was 18.5% (0-49.9). Mutations in CRC driver genes or genes involved in angiogenesis were identified in 25 patients (83.3%). KRAS mutations were detected in 13 out of 14 KRAS positive tumors, in three patients without KRAS mutation in the respective tumor acquired mutations as a consequence of prior anti-EGFR treatment were detected. In a subset of patients, novel occurring mutations or focal amplifications were detected. A tumor fraction of 5% and higher at baseline was significantly associated with a decreased OS (p=0.022; HHR 3.110 (95%CI: 1.2-8.2). ctDNA is detectable in a high proportion of mCRC patients. Higher ctDNA levels are associated with survival among regorafenib treatment. Moreover, our data highlight the benefit of a combined evaluation of mutations and somatic copy number alterations (SCNA) in advanced cancer patients.

  Study EGAS00001004491

• RNA-seq data from 121 tumor samples with muscle invasive bladder cancer.

  In this study, a total of 300 patients with MIBC receiving chemotherapy were included; 62 received NAC before cystectomy and 245 received first-line chemotherapy upon detection of locally-advanced (T4b) or metastatic disease. Treatment response, defined as pathological downstaging (< pTa,CIS,N0) after NAC or complete or partial response after first-line treatment (RECIST criteria). RNA-seq was performed using the QuantSeq kit FWD HT kit (Lexogen) using 500 ng input RNA from 121 tumor samples. Data provided here consist of 780 fastq files for RNA-seq.

  Study EGAS00001004505