Whole Tumor spatial heterogeneity in metastatic melanoma
Heterogeneous inter-tumoral responses, sustained periods of apparent clinical benefit despite lack of objective response to various therapies, and even spontaneous remission are well known within a subpopulation of advanced melanoma patients. The molecular and cellular dynamics facilitating long-term survival remain poorly defined, particularly in the current era ofexposure to multiple potentially active therapies. We studied an exceptional case of long-term survival in a patient with non-responding metastatic melanoma in order to characterize the clonal and microenvironmental factors.We performed immunogenomic analysis of 3 metachronous tumors, and of 67 intratumor sub-regions of one metastatic lesion, usingwhole exome sequencing, RNA-sequencing, immunohistochemistry, and T cell receptor sequencing. Longitudinal analysesidentified mutations in severalknownresistance genes affecting distinctmetastases. Intra-tumoral immune signatures revealed spatially-distinct pockets of immune activation and suppression throughout the metastasis. A specific T cell VBeta CDR3 rearrangement was identified as both dominant and recurrent not only across multiple spatial points within a single tumor mass, but also across metachronous tumors spanning the patient’s disease course. Immunophenotyping of this T cell population with single-cell sequencingsuggestedrepeatedT-cell priming events leading to the persistence of both activated and exhausted T cells bearing this same TCR-Beta at any given time.Our findings highlight genomic and immune heterogeneityin metastatic disease, extending to the intra-tumoral leveland provide a rationale for integrative spatiotemporal analysis of metastatic lesions in the context of immune checkpoint blockade.
- Type: Other
- Archiver: European Genome-Phenome Archive (EGA)
Click on a Dataset ID in the table below to learn more, and to find out who to contact about access to these data
Dataset ID | Description | Technology | Samples |
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EGAD00001005819 | Illumina HiSeq 2500 | 8 | |
EGAD00001005820 | Illumina HiSeq 2500 | 48 | |
EGAD00001005821 | Illumina HiSeq 2500 | 35 | |
EGAD00001006013 | Illumina MiSeq Illumina NovaSeq 6000 | 5 |
Publications | Citations |
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Spatially resolved analyses link genomic and immune diversity and reveal unfavorable neutrophil activation in melanoma.
Nat Commun 11: 2020 1839 |
10 |