9296 results for "cancer rna-seq"

in 65.69 milliseconds.

• Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research (CSER): Clinical sequencing in cancer: Clinical, ethical, and technological studies

  The Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research (CSER) program supports multi-disciplinary projects that bring together clinicians, bioinformaticians, and ethicists to research the challenges of utilizing genomic sequence data in the clinic in the routine practice of medicine. The challenges are many and not disease-specific. Important aims of the research include: development of technical specifications and standards for sequencing in a clinical setting, investigation of methods to transmit genome-scale data to physicians in a fashion and timescale that fits the normal clinical workflow, exploration of regulatory requirements for applying genomic sequence data to patient care, study of physician and patient preferences regarding presentation of genomic information, and study of the ethical implications of returning unanticipated findings. More information about CSER and the investigators and institutions who comprise the CSER consortium can be found at http://www.genome.gov/27546194. The NEXT (New Exome Technology) Medicine Study utilizes a randomized controlled trial (RCT) structure to compare usual care (UC) practice in Medical Genetics Clinics with the introduction of a powerful research tool of whole exome sequencing plus UC practices for Colorectal Cancer and Polyposis (CRCP) in adults. In doing so, the study aims to explore the practical, economic, and ethical implications of identifying and returning incidental findings ("extra" whole exome genetic risk results not associated with CRCP that includes pharmacogenetic variants) to patients. The study will also attempt to identify novel causal genes for CRCP by studying relatives of selected research subjects.

  Study phs000999

• Genetic Basis for Clinical Response to CTLA-4 Blockade in Melanoma

  Immune checkpoint inhibitors are effective cancer treatments, but molecular determinants of clinical benefit are unknown. Ipilimumab and tremelimumab are antibodies against cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4). Anti-CTLA-4 treatment prolongs overall survival in patients with melanoma. CTLA-4 blockade activates T cells and enables them to destroy tumor cells. We obtained tumor tissue from patients with melanoma who were treated with ipilimumab or tremelimumab. Whole-exome sequencing was performed on tumors and matched blood samples. Somatic mutations and candidate neoantigens generated from these mutations were characterized. Neoantigen peptides were tested for the ability to activate lymphocytes from ipilimumab-treated patients. Malignant melanoma exomes from 64 patients treated with CTLA-4 blockade were characterized with the use of massively parallel sequencing. A discovery set consisted of 11 patients who derived a long-term clinical benefit and 14 patients who derived a minimal benefit or no benefit. Mutational load was associated with the degree of clinical benefit (P = 0.01) but alone was not sufficient to predict benefit. Using genomewide somatic neoepitope analysis and patient-specific HLA typing, we identified candidate tumor neoantigens for each patient. We elucidated a neo-antigen landscape that is specifically present in tumors with a strong response to CTLA-4 blockade. We validated this signature in a second set of 39 patients with melanoma who were treated with anti-CTLA-4 antibodies. Predicted neoantigens activated T cells from the patients treated with ipilimumab.

  Study phs001041

• MAP Kinase-Mutant Hematologic Malignancies and Their Therapeutic Resistance

  The Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway has been critically important in understanding pathology and developing targeted therapy for many cancers, but high frequency mutations in this pathway in hematopoietic malignancies were unknown until a series of sequencing studies from our group and others revealed a high frequency of activating mutations in BRAF (GeneID:673), MAP2K1 (GeneID:5604), and other key components of the MAPK pathway in two groups of rare and poorly studied blood cancers: hairy cell leukemia (HCL) and the systemic histiocytoses (SH). Although HCL and the SH both share common gene mutations in BRAF (BRAFV600E) and MAP2K1, these are distinct blood cancers with different clinical behaviors; however, their actual developmental cellular origins, genomic, and pathogenic differences are poorly understood, which led to our project goal of determining how BRAFV600E, MAP2K1, and other MAPK pathway mutations contribute to the pathogenesis of distinct blood cancers and affect their clinical responses to MAPK pathway inhibitors. This study proposal seeks to advance our understanding of the actual cells of origin of cancer-causing MAPK mutations in HCL and the SH, to determine why BRAFV600E and MAP2K1 mutations can cause two distinct blood cancers, and to understand how these mutations in HCL and SH influence responses to MAPK pathway inhibitor drugs and other receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) inhibitors such as RET and ALK inhibitors that could potentially become effective therapy for these poorly understood blood cancers.

  Study phs001864

• MP2PRT: Comprehensive Genomic Profiling to Identify Alterations Associated with Relapse for NCI Standard Risk (SR) B-Lineage ALL and NCI High Risk (HR) B-Lineage ALL with Favorable Genetic Features

  The Molecular Profiling to Predict Response to Treatment (MP2PRT) program is part of the NCI's Cancer Moonshot Initiative. The aim of this program is the retrospective characterization and analysis of biospecimens collected from completed NCI-sponsored trials of the National Clinical Trials Network and the NCI Community Oncology Research Program. This study, titled "Comprehensive Genomic Profiling to Identify Alterations Associated with Relapse for NCI Standard Risk (SR) B-Lineage ALL and NCI High Risk (HR) B-Lineage ALL with Favorable Genetic Features," is one of the selected studies under this program. For this study, genomic characterization (WGS 30X, WXS, Total RNAseq) was performed on NCI Standard Risk B-lineage ALL patients who relapse and subsets of NCI High Risk B-lineage ALL patients who relapse as well as two non-relapse control cases for each relapse case. It was hypothesized that the comprehensive characterization of these sample sets will allow the identification of somatic genetic features that will facilitate early intervention to improve cure rates for those enrolled on future trials. Data were generated and genetic subtype was integrated with clinical variables, including age, presenting white blood cell count, sex, race, and levels of minimal residual disease at the end of induction. Additional secondary alterations were identified and included if they occurred in more than 10 patients. The study has been completed and a manuscript has been prepared.

  Study phs002005

• A New Pipeline to Predict and Confirm Tumor Neoantigens Predicts Better Response to Checkpoint Blockade

  Mutations that drive oncogenesis in cancer can generate neoantigens that may be recognized by the immune system. Identification of these neoantigens remains challenging due to the complexity of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigen and T-cell receptor interaction. Here we describe the development of a systematic approach to efficiently identify and validate immunogenic neoantigens. Whole exome sequencing of tissue from a melanoma patient was used to identify nonsynonymous mutations, followed by MHC binding prediction and identification of tumor clonal architecture. The top 18 putative class I neoantigens were selected for immunogenicity testing via a novel in vitro pipeline in HLA-A201 healthy donor blood. Naive CD8 T cells from donors were stimulated with allogeneic dendritic cells pulsed with peptide pools and then with individual peptides. The presence of antigen-specific T cells was determined via functional assays. We identified one putative neoantigen that expanded T cells specific to the mutant form of the peptide and validated this pipeline in a subset of patients with bladder tumors treated with durvalumab (N = 5). Within this cohort, the top predicted neoantigens from all patients were immunogenic in vitro. Finally, we looked at overall survival in the whole durvalumab-treated bladder cohort (N = 37) by stratifying patients by tertile measure of tumor mutation burden (TMB) or neoantigen load. Patients with higher neoantigen and TMB load tended to show better overall survival.

  Study phs002269

• Integrative genome profiling in AML

  AML emerges as a consequence of accumulating independent genetic aberrations that direct regulation and/or dysfunction of genes resulting in aberrant activation of signalling pathways, resistance to apoptosis and uncontrolled proliferation. Given the significant heterogeneity of AML genomes, AML patients demonstrate a highly variable response rate and poor median survival in response to current chemotherapy regimens. For the past 4 years we have conducted gene expression profiling on purified bone marrow populations equating to normal haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells from healthy subjects and patients with de novo AML in order to identify AML signatures of aberrantly expressed genes in cancer versus normal. We are now applying a series of bioinformatic methodologies combined with clinical and conventional diagnostic data to establish novel genomics strategies for improved prognostication of AML. Additionally, we use our AML signatures to unravel oncogenic signalling pathway activities in AML patients and test inhibitory drugs for these pathways inn preclinical therapeutic programmes. We consider that superimposing GEP and clinical data for our AML patient cohort with additional data on their mutational status will significantly improve the prognostic power of the study as well as unravel yet unknown mutations associated with aberrant signalling activities of oncogenic pathways.

  Dataset EGAD00001001873

• Deep amplicon sequencing to infer malignant clonal populations for The interface of malignant and immunologic clonal dynamics in high-grade serous ovarian cancer

  A total of 192 positions per patient were deeply sequenced in each corresponding tumor sample (including 4 experimental controls and SNVs predicted to originate at each node of the sample phylogeny, see Zhang et al. for details). Genomic DNA templates were used as starting material to generate PCR products. PCR was set up using Phusion DNA polymerase according to the manufacturer’s specifications. The standard PCR conditions used were an initial denaturation at 98C for 30 seconds, followed by 35 cycles of 98C for 10 seconds, 60C for 15 seconds and 72C for 8 seconds, and a final extension at 72C for 10 minutes. PCR products were cleaned up using PCRClean DX beads. Amplicons were pooled by template for sequencing sample preparation. Sample preparation involved a second round of amplification using Phusion DNA polymerase with 6 PCR cycles, with primers specified in Zhang et al. DNA quality was assessed using the Caliper LabChip GX HighSensitivity Assay and DNA quantity was measured using a Qubit dsDNA HS assay kit on a Qubit fluorometer. The indexed libraries were pooled together and sequenced on the Illumina NextSeq500 platform with paired-end 150bp reads using v2 chemistry reagents.

  Dataset EGAD00001003986

• SS18-SSX-mediated hijacking of BAF complexes drives synovial sarcoma

  Synovial sarcoma (SS) is defined by a recurrent t(x;18) chromosomal translocation, which produces the hallmark SS18-SSX oncogenic fusion. Incorporation of SS18-SSX into BAF complexes renders BAF complexes aberrant in two distinct manners: the addition of 78aa of SSX onto SS18, and concomitant loss of BAF47 assembly. However, the importance and functional contributions of each of these perturbations on BAF complex targeting and gene expression regulation remain unclear. Here we use an integrative set of genomic approaches in human cancer cell lines and primary tumor samples to define the mechanistic consequences of the SS18-SSX fusion oncoprotein. We find that SS18-SSX hijacks BAF complexes to broad polycomb domains to activate bivalent genes, driving a unique gene expression program distinct from other loss-of-function BAF complex malignancies. Importantly, restoration of BAF47 rescues enhancer activation but is dispensable for proliferative arrest in cell lines. These results demonstrate that gain-of-function SS18-SSX-mediated BAF complex targeting and gene activation is the driving event in SS, and present a mechanism by which distinct functions of BAF complexes can be co-opted to drive oncogenesis.

  Dataset EGAD00001004135

• Spatially confined sub-tumor microenvironments in pancreatic cancer

  Intratumoral heterogeneity is a critical frontier in understanding how the tumor microenvironment (TME) propels malignant progression. Here, we deconvolute the human pancreatic TME through large-scale integration of histology-guided regional multiOMICs with clinical data and patient-derived preclinical models. We discover subTMEs, histologically definable tissue states anchored in fibroblast plasticity, with regional relationships to tumor immunity, subtypes, differentiation, and treatment response. Reactive subTMEs rich in complex but functionally coordinated fibroblast communities were immune-hot and inhabited by aggressive tumor cell phenotypes. The matrix-rich deserted subTMEs harbored less activated fibroblasts and tumor- suppressive features yet were markedly chemoprotective and enriched upon chemotherapy. SubTMEs originated in fibroblast differentiation trajectories and transitory states were notable both in single cell transcriptomics and in situ. The intratumoral co-occurrence of subTMEs produced patient-specific phenotypic and computationally predictable heterogeneity tightly linked to malignant biology. Therefore, heterogeneity within the plentiful, notorious pancreatic TME is not random but marks fundamental tissue organizational units.

  Dataset EGAD00001008155

• WGS of TNBC PDXs

  WGS data relative to 36 triple negative breast cancer PDX models.

  Dataset EGAD00001008535

• Whole genome sequencing

  Whole genome sequencing of high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) tumours and matched normals from 15 patients with homologous recombination deficiencies. The dataset includes fastq files from 56 HGSC tumours (1 primary, 1 relapse, 54 end-stage) and 15 matched normals. Sequence libraries were generated from tumour and matched normal genomic DNA using the KAPA HyperPrep PCR-free library preparation kit (Roche), or the Illumina TruSeq DNA Nano kit according to manufacturer’s instructions. Sequencing was carried out by the Kinghorn Centre for Clinical Genomics Sequencing Laboratory (Sydney, Australia) on the HiSeq X Ten System (Illumina) or by the Australian Genome Research Facility (Melbourne, Australia) on an Illumina NovaSeq to a minimum base coverage of 30-fold for normal DNA and 60-fold for tumour DNA samples.

  Dataset EGAD00001009746

• Whole Genomes Define Concordance in Matched Primary, Xenograft, and Organoid Models of Pancreas Cancer

  Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has the worst prognosis of any common solid epithelial tumour. Multiple failed clinical trials necessitate newer approaches to understand the molecular etiology of this disease. Patient-derived xenografts (PDX) and patient-derived organoids (PDO) may serve as pre-clinical disease models; however, characterization remains largely unaddressed at the whole genome level. We conducted a comprehensive assessment of the genetic landscape of tumours and matched PDX and PDO from patients with PDAC. Our data show that PDX and PDO recapitulate PDAC tumourigenesis with respect to simple somatic mutations and copy number changes, and capture major structural variation events.

  Study EGAS00001002597

• WGS___Exploration_of__mutational_processes_in_human_cancer_cell_lines

  Approximately 25 cell lines representative of 11 mutation signatures have been selected and will be grown from a single cell, referred to as parental clone, for a period of 3 months to allow accumulation of mutations. Following that period, we will obtain 2 subclones from each of the parental clone for analysis by exome-sequencing . In total we will therefore be sequencing 2 parental clones and 4 subclones per cell line for approximately 25 cell lines. Once the data has been analysed and the potential ongoing mutation processes determined, we will perform whole-genome sequencing of the parental clones and subclones of the candidate cell lines.

  Study EGAS00001002680

• Genomic analysis Nasopharyngeal cancer through whole exome sequencing and whole genomic sequencing.

  Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a squamous-cell carcinoma and has remarkable ethnic and geographic distribution, with a high prevalence in southern China, southeast Asia, northern Africa and Alaska. Although there are previous studies implicated NF-κB pathway play an important role in NPC. Newer research also found several important cellular processes and pathways in NPC, including chromatin modification, ERBB-PI3K signaling and autophagy machinery. Put these studies together, although, NPC is still poorly understood at the genetic level. Here we determined the mutational landscape of 553 cases with NPC using whole-genomic and whole-exome sequencing. These approaches revealed a distinct mutational signature and significantly mutated genes.

  Study EGAS00001002788

• HSC_population_dynamics___CB001_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 EGAS00001003397

• Clonal selection after gene therapy in sickle cell disease

  While gene therapy (GT) provides a potentially curative treatment option for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD), the occurrence of myeloid malignancies in clinical trials has prompted concern. To interrogate potential mechanisms underlying increased cancer risk, we used hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) clonal tracking by whole genome sequencing (WGS) to map the somatic mutation and clonal landscape of 2,592 gene modified as well as unmodified single stem and progenitor cells from six SCD patients undergoing gene therapy (7-26 years old, average 12.7× depth). Pre-GT phylogenetic trees in SCD were highly polyclonal and mutation burdens per cell were elevated in some, but not all, patients. Post-GT, no clonal expansions were identified. However, an increased frequency of driver mutations associated with myeloid neoplasms or clonal hematopoiesis (DNMT3A- and EZH2-mutated clones in particular) were seen in both genetically modified and unmodified cells suggested positive selection of mutant clones during gene therapy. This work sheds light on the mutation landscape and HSC clonal dynamics in gene therapy for SCD and highlights enhanced fitness of some HSCs harboring pre-existing driver mutations following gene therapy. Future studies should define the long-term fate of mutant clones including any contribution to expansions associated with myeloid neoplasms.

  Dataset EGAD00001010913

• Clonal selection after gene therapy in sickle cell disease

  While gene therapy (GT) provides a potentially curative treatment option for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD), the occurrence of myeloid malignancies in clinical trials has prompted concern. To interrogate potential mechanisms underlying increased cancer risk, we used hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) clonal tracking by whole genome sequencing (WGS) to map the somatic mutation and clonal landscape of 2,592 gene modified as well as unmodified single stem and progenitor cells from six SCD patients undergoing gene therapy (7-26 years old, average 12.7× depth). Pre-GT phylogenetic trees in SCD were highly polyclonal and mutation burdens per cell were elevated in some, but not all, patients. Post-GT, no clonal expansions were identified. However, an increased frequency of driver mutations associated with myeloid neoplasms or clonal hematopoiesis (DNMT3A- and EZH2-mutated clones in particular) were seen in both genetically modified and unmodified cells suggested positive selection of mutant clones during gene therapy. This work sheds light on the mutation landscape and HSC clonal dynamics in gene therapy for SCD and highlights enhanced fitness of some HSCs harboring pre-existing driver mutations following gene therapy. Future studies should define the long-term fate of mutant clones including any contribution to expansions associated with myeloid neoplasms.

  Dataset EGAD00001010914

• Exome-wide analysis identifies three low-frequency missense variants associated with pancreatic cancer risk in Chinese populations

  Germline coding variants have not been systematically investigated for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Here, we report an exome-wide investigation using the Illumina Human Exome Beadchip with 943 PDAC cases and 3,908 controls in the Chinese population, followed by two independent replicate samples including 2,142 cases and 4,697 controls. We identify three low-frequency missense variants associated with the PDAC risk: rs34309238 in PKN1 (OR = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.48-2.12, P = 5.35 X 10-10), rs2242241 in DOK2 (OR = 1.85, 95% CI: 1.50-2.27, P = 4.34 X 10-9) and rs183117027 in APOB (OR = 2.34, 95% CI: 1.72-3.16, P = 4.21 X 10-8).

  Study EGAS00001003040

• HSC_population_dynamics_CBD_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 EGAS00001003091

• 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

• Diet driven microbial ecology underpins associations between cancer immunotherapy outcomes and the gut microbiome

  This study profiled baseline gut (fecal) microbiota signatures and dietary patterns of 103 trial patients from Australia and the Netherlands treated with neoadjuvant ICIs for high risk resectable metastatic melanoma and performed an integrated analysis with data from 115 patients with melanoma treated with ICIs in the United States. We observed geographically distinct microbial signatures of response and immune-related adverse events. Overall, response rates were higher in Ruminococcaceae-dominated microbiomes than in Bacteroidaceae-dominated microbiomes. Poor response was associated with lower fiber and omega 3 fatty acid consumption and elevated levels of C-reactive protein in the peripheral circulation at baseline.

  Study EGAS00001006982

• HSC_population_dynamics_KSP_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 EGAS00001002762

• CINECA_synthetic_cohort_EUROPE_UK1 referencing fake samples

  Please note: This synthetic data set (with cohort “participants” / ”subjects” marked with FAKE) has no identifiable data and cannot be used to make any inference about cohort data or results. The purpose of this dataset is to aid development of technical implementations for cohort data discovery, harmonization, access, and federated analysis. In support of FAIRness in data sharing, this dataset is made freely available under the Creative Commons Licence (CC-BY). Please ensure this preamble is included with this dataset and that the CINECA project (funding: EC H2020 grant 825775) is acknowledged. For any questions please contact isuru@ebi.ac.uk or cthomas@ebi.ac.uk This dataset (CINECA_synthetic_cohort_EUROPE_UK1) consists of 2521 samples which have genetic data based on 1000 Genomes data (https://www.nature.com/articles/nature15393), and synthetic subject attributes and phenotypic data derived from UKBiobank (https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001779). These data were initially derived using the TOFU tool (https://github.com/spiros/tofu), which generates randomly generated values based on the UKBiobank data dictionary. Categorical values were randomly generated based on the data dictionary, continuous variables generated based on the distribution of values reported by the UK Biobank showcase, and date / time values were random. Additionally we split the phenotypes and attributes into 4 main classes - general, cancer, diabetes mellitus, and cardiac. We assigned the general attributes to all the samples, and the cardiac / diabetes mellitus / cancer attributes to a proportion of the total samples. Once the initial set of phenotypes and attributes were generated, the data data was checked for consistency and where possible dependent attributes were calculated from the independent variables generated by TOFU. For example, BMI was calculated from height and weight data, and age at death generated by date of death and date of birth. These data were then loaded to the development instance of Biosamples (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biosamples/) which accessioned each of the samples. The genetic data are derived from the 1000 Genomes Phase 3 release (https://www.internationalgenome.org/category/phase-3/). The genotype data consists of a single joint call vcf files with call genotypes for all 2504 samples, plus bed, bim, fam, and nosex files generated via plink for these samples and genotypes. The genotype data has had a variety of errors introduced to mimic real data and as a test for quality control pipelines. These include gender mismatches, ethnic background mislabelling and low call rates for a randomly chosen subset of sample data as well as deviations from Hardy Weinberg equilibrium and low call rates for a random selection of variants. Additionally 40 samples have raw genetic data available in the form of both bam and cram files, including unmapped data. The gender of the samples in the 1000 genomes data has been matched to the synthetic phenotypic data generated for these samples. The genetic data was then linked to the synthetic data in BioSamples, and submitted to EGA.

  Dataset EGAD00001006673

• pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma exomes in study: Pro-immunogenic Impact of MEK inhibition combined with an anti-CD40 immunostimulatory antibody

  Cancer types with lower mutational load and a non-permissive tumor microenvironment are intrinsically resistant to immune checkpoint blockade. While the combination of cytostatic drugs and immunostimulatory antibodies constitutes an attractive concept for overcoming this refractoriness, suppression of immune cell function by cytostatic drugs may limit therapeutic efficacy. Here we show that targeted inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase (MEK) does not impair dendritic cell-mediated T-cell priming and activation. Accordingly, combining MEK inhibitors (MEKi) with agonist antibodies (Abs) targeting the immunostimulatory CD40 receptor resulted in potent synergistic anti-tumor efficacy. Detailed analysis of the mechanism of action of MEKi GDC-0623 by means of flow cytometric analysis of the tumor immune infiltrate and whole tumor transcriptomics showed that, in addition to its cytostatic impact on tumor cells, this drug exerts multiple pro-immunogenic effects, including the suppression of M2-type macrophages, myeloid derived suppressor cells and CD4+ T-regulatory cells. In addition, MEKi was found to induce tumor-cell intrinsic interferon signaling, which contributed to antigen presentation by tumor cells. Finally, the tumoridical impact of MEKi involves the activation of multiple pro-inflammatory pathways involved in immune cell effector function in the tumor microenvironment. Our data therefore indicate that the combination of MEK inhibition with agonist anti-CD40 Ab is a promising therapeutic concept, especially for the treatment of mutant Kras-driven tumors such as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. The pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma exomes were generated in the context of the Heidelberg Center for Personalized Oncology project HIPO-K28E.

  Study EGAS00001004196

• Evolution of an adenomacarcinoma in response to selection by targeted kinase inhibitors

  Background - Adenocarcinomas of the tongue are rare and represent the minority (20-25%) of salivary gland tumors affecting the tongue. We investigated the utility of massively parallel sequencing to characterize an adenocarcinoma of the tongue, before and after treatment. Results - In the pre-treatment tumor we identified 7,629 genes within regions of copy number gain. 1,078 genes exhibited increased expression relative to the blood and unrelated tumors and four genes contained somatic protein-coding mutations. Our analysis suggested the tumor cells were driven by the RET oncogene. Genes whose protein products are targeted by the RET inhibitors sunitinib and sorafenib correlated with being amplified and or highly expressed. Consistent with our observations administration of sunitinib was associated with stable disease lasting 4 months, after which the lung lesions began to grow. Administration of sorafenib and sulindac provided disease stabilization for an additional 3 months after which the cancer progressed and new lesions appeared. A recurring metastasis possessed 7,288 genes within copy number amplicons, 385 genes exhibiting increased expression relative to other tumours and 9 new somatic protein coding mutations. The observed mutations and amplif ications were consistent with therapeutic resistance arising through activation of the MAPK and AKT pathways. Conclusions - We conclude that complete genomic characterization of a rare tumour has the potential to aid in clinical decision making and identifying therapeutic approaches where no established treatment protocols exist. These results also provide direct in-vivo genomic evidence for mutational evolution within a tumor under drug selection and potential mechanisms of drug resistance accrual.

  Study EGAS00000000074