JAK3

Gene Summary

Gene:JAK3; Janus kinase 3
Aliases: JAKL, LJAK, JAK-3, L-JAK, JAK3_HUMAN
Location:19p13.11
Summary:The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the Janus kinase (JAK) family of tyrosine kinases involved in cytokine receptor-mediated intracellular signal transduction. It is predominantly expressed in immune cells and transduces a signal in response to its activation via tyrosine phosphorylation by interleukin receptors. Mutations in this gene are associated with autosomal SCID (severe combined immunodeficiency disease). [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]
Databases:OMIM, HGNC, Ensembl, GeneCard, Gene
Protein:tyrosine-protein kinase JAK3
Source:NCBIAccessed: 30 August, 2019

Ontology:

What does this gene/protein do?
Show (39)
Pathways:What pathways are this gene/protein implicaed in?
Show (9)

Cancer Overview

Research Indicators

Publications Per Year (1994-2019)
Graph generated 30 August 2019 using data from PubMed using criteria.

Literature Analysis

Mouse over the terms for more detail; many indicate links which you can click for dedicated pages about the topic.

  • Neoplasm Proteins
  • siRNA
  • Chromosome 19
  • Tyrphostins
  • Stomach Cancer
  • Cancer Gene Expression Regulation
  • Receptors, Thrombopoietin
  • Single Nucleotide Polymorphism
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
  • Apoptosis
  • STAT5 Transcription Factor
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors
  • STAT3 Transcription Factor
  • Xenograft Models
  • Transcriptional Activation
  • Retroviridae
  • Mutation
  • beta Catenin
  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Childhood Cancer
  • fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3
  • Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
  • Janus Kinase 3
  • Uniparental Disomy
  • JAK2
  • Signal Transduction
  • Phosphorylation
  • DNA Sequence Analysis
  • Messenger RNA
  • DNA Mutational Analysis
  • Acute Lymphocytic Leukaemia
  • JAK1
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Trans-Activators
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta
  • Receptors, Cytokine
  • NIH 3T3 Cells
  • Myeloproliferative Disorders
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Transcription
  • Transduction
Tag cloud generated 30 August, 2019 using data from PubMed, MeSH and CancerIndex

Specific Cancers (3)

Data table showing topics related to specific cancers and associated disorders. Scope includes mutations and abnormal protein expression.

Note: list is not exhaustive. Number of papers are based on searches of PubMed (click on topic title for arbitrary criteria used).

Latest Publications: JAK3 (cancer-related)

Liu J, Liang L, Li D, et al.
JAK3/STAT3 oncogenic pathway and PRDM1 expression stratify clinicopathologic features of extranodal NK/T‑cell lymphoma, nasal type.
Oncol Rep. 2019; 41(6):3219-3232 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
The inactivation of tumor suppressor gene positive regulatory domain containing I (PRDM1) and activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) have been detected in the majority of extranodal NK/T‑cell lymphoma, nasal type (EN‑NK/T‑NT) cases. In the present study, their association with and effects on the clinicopathologic features of EN‑NK/T‑NT are described. PRDM1 was revealed to be expressed in 19 out of 58 patients (32.8%) with EN‑NK/T‑NT, and phosphorylated STAT3 was overexpressed in 42 out of 58 (72.4%). Oncogenic pathways were investigated by NanoString encounter technology in 5 PRDM1(+) and 5 PRDM1(‑) EN‑NK/T‑NT specimens. Multiple oncogenic pathways involved in cell apoptosis, cellcycle (CC) and angiogenesis were discriminately activated in EN‑NK/T‑NT cases, and in PRDM1(+) cases in particular. The sustained activation of the Janus kinase 3 (JAK)/STAT3 pathway was more pronounced. In addition, missense mutations in the SRC homology 2 domain of STAT3 were detected in 7 out of 37 EN‑NK/T‑NT cases (18.92%), and the acquired mutation was related to the activation of the JAK3/STAT3 pathway. The downregulation of PRDM1 and upregulation of phospho‑STAT3 (Tyr705) were associated with angiocentric infiltration of EN‑NK/T‑NT (P=0.039). Notably, the prognosis of patients in the PRDM1(+)/STAT3 [mutated (mut‑)] group was considerably improved than that of patients in the STAT3(mut+)/PRDM(‑) group (P=0.037). In addition, the inhibition of NK/T cell lymphoma cell lines by Stattic and tofacitinib could suppress cell proliferation by inducing cell apoptosis or arresting the CC. The present results revealed that the JAK3/STAT3 oncogenic pathway and PRDM1 expression could stratify clinicopathologic features of EN‑NK/T‑NT. The inhibition of the JAK3/STAT3 pathway may serve as a treatment option for EN‑NK/T‑NT.

Liu JB, Jian T, Yue C, et al.
Chemo-resistant Gastric Cancer Associated Gene Expression Signature: Bioinformatics Analysis Based on Gene Expression Omnibus.
Anticancer Res. 2019; 39(4):1689-1698 [PubMed] Related Publications
BACKGROUND/AIM: This study aimed to identify biomarkers for predicting the prognosis of advanced gastric cancer patients who received docetaxel, cisplatin, and S-1 (DCS).
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Gene expression profiles were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database (GSE31811). Gene-Ontology-enrichment and KEGG-pathway analysis were used for evaluating the biological functions of differentially-expressed genes. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were employed to assess the prognostic values of hub genes.
RESULTS: A total of 1,486 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, including 13 up-regulated and 1,473 down-regulated genes. KEGG pathways such as metabolic pathways, cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and pathways in cancer were significantly represented. In the PPI network, the top ten hub genes ranked by degree were GNG7, PLCB1, CALML5, FGFR4, GRB2, JAK3, ADCY7, ADCY9, GNAS and KDR. Five DEGs, including ANTXR1, EFNA5, GAMT, E2F2 and NRCAM, were associated with relapse-free survival and overall survival.
CONCLUSION: ANTXR1, EFNA5, GAMT, E2F2 and NRCAM are potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for DCS treatment in GC.

Van De Maele K, Smulders C, Ecury-Goossen G, et al.
Stüve-Wiedemann syndrome: recurrent neonatal infections caused by impairment of JAK/STAT 3 pathway.
Clin Dysmorphol. 2019; 28(2):57-62 [PubMed] Related Publications
Stüve-Wiedemann syndrome (OMIM #601559) is a rare, autosomal recessive disorder characterized by skeletal dysplasia, consecutive infections, feeding difficulties and autonomic dysregulation. We present an Afro-Caribbean family with two siblings diagnosed with Stüve-Wiedemann syndrome. The underlying loss-of-function mutation in the leukemia inhibitory factor receptor gene is thought to impair proper functioning of the JAK/STAT 3 pathway. As this affects normal functioning of T-helper cells, these patients are prone to infections with uncommon pathogens as illustrated by this case.

Li X, Cai Y
Methylation-Based Classification of Cervical Squamous Cell Carcinoma into Two New Subclasses Differing in Immune-Related Gene Expression.
Int J Mol Sci. 2018; 19(11) [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Cervical cancer is traditionally classified into two major histological subtypes, cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) and cervical adenocarcinoma (CA). However, heterogeneity exists among patients, comprising possible subpopulations with distinct molecular profiles. We applied consensus clustering to 307 methylation samples with cervical cancer from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Fisher's exact test was used to perform transcription factors (TFs) and genomic region enrichment. Gene expression profiles were downloaded from TCGA to assess expression differences. Immune cell fraction was calculated to quantify the immune cells infiltration. Putative neo-epitopes were predicted from somatic mutations. Three subclasses were identified: Class 1 correlating with the CA subtype and Classes 2 and 3 dividing the CSCC subtype into two subclasses. We found the hypomethylated probes in Class 3 exhibited strong enrichment in promoter region as compared with Class 2. Five TFs significantly enriched in the hypomethylated promoters and their highly expressed target genes in Class 3 functionally involved in the immune pathway. Gene function analysis revealed that immune-related genes were significantly increased in Class 3, and a higher level of immune cell infiltration was estimated. High expression of 24 immune genes exhibited a better overall survival and correlated with neo-epitope burden. Additionally, we found only two immune-related driver genes,

Endo S, Nishimura N, Kawano Y, et al.
MUC1/KL-6 expression confers an aggressive phenotype upon myeloma cells.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2018; 507(1-4):246-252 [PubMed] Related Publications
The sialic glycoprotein, MUC1, is known to be involved in the pathogenesis of various types of cancers. KL-6 is one of the surface antigens of MUC1 and also a marker of interstitial pneumonitis. A fraction of patients with myeloma (3.9%) have elevated serum KL-6 levels without any evidence of interstitial pneumonitis and their myeloma cells have high MUC1 expression. We established a myeloma cell line designated EMM1 from a patient with multiple myeloma accompanied with elevated serum KL-6. EMM1 cells expressed high levels of MUC1 compared with other myeloma cell lines. Knockdown of MUC1 in EMM1 cells induced cell cycle arrest during S phase and apoptosis, suggesting that the MUC1 expression is involved in accelerated growth of EMM1 cells. RNA-seq analysis suggests that MUC1 expression activates k-ras and TNFα-induced NFκB pathways in EMM1 cells. We injected EMM1 cells subcutaneously into Rag2

Sekiguchi N, Nomoto J, Nagata A, et al.
Gene Expression Profile Signature of Aggressive Waldenström Macroglobulinemia with Chromosome 6q Deletion.
Biomed Res Int. 2018; 2018:6728128 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Background: Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare, indolent B-cell lymphoma. Clinically, chromosome 6q deletion (6q del) including loss of the B lymphocyte-induced maturation protein 1 gene (BLIMP-1) is reported to be associated with poor prognosis. However, it remains unclear how the underlying biological mechanism contributes to the aggressiveness of WM with 6q del.
Methods: Here, we conducted oligonucleotide microarray analysis to clarify the differences in gene expression between WM with and without 6q del. Gene ontology (GO) analysis was performed to identify the main pathways underlying differences in gene expression. Eight bone marrow formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples of WM were processed for interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis, and three were shown to have 6q del.
Results: GO analysis revealed significant terms including "lymphocyte activation" (corrected p value=6.68E-11), which included 31 probes. Moreover,
Conclusion: The present study suggested that the BCR signaling pathway and

Kim JS, Kim MW, Kang SJ, et al.
Tumor-specific delivery of therapeutic siRNAs by anti-EGFR immunonanoparticles.
Int J Nanomedicine. 2018; 13:4817-4830 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Background: Efficient target-specific siRNA delivery has always been a primary concern in the field of siRNA clinical application.
Purpose: In this study, four different types of anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antibody-conjugated immunonanoparticles were prepared and tested for cancer cell-targeted therapeutic siRNA delivery.
Materials and methods: The prepared nanoparticles encapsulating siRNAs were character-ized by gel retardation and particle analysis using a Zetasizer. In vitro transfection and reduction of target genes, vimentin and JAK3, were determined using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. In vivo tumor targeting and antitumoral efficacies of the nanoparticles were evaluated in mice carrying tumors.
Results: Among these immunonanoparticles, anti-EGFR immunolipoplexes and immunoviroplexes exhibited remarkable cell binding and siRNA delivery to EGFR-expressing tumor cells compared to immunoliposomes and immunovirosomes. Especially, the anti-EGFR immunoviroplexes exhibited the most efficient siRNA transfection to target tumor cells. Therefore, antitumoral vimentin and Janus kinase-3 siRNAs were loaded in the anti-EGFR immunolipoplexes and immunoviroplexes, which were tested in mice carrying SK-OV-3 tumor xenografts. In fact, the therapeutic siRNAs were efficiently delivered to the tumor tissues by both delivery vehicles, resulting in significant inhibition of tumor growth. Moreover, administration of doxorubicin in combination with anti-EGFR immunoviroplexes resulted in remarkable and synergistic tumor growth inhibition.
Conclusion: This study provides experimental proof that cancer cell-targeted immunoviroplexes are an efficient siRNA delivery system for cancer therapy. Moreover, this study also suggests that a combination of conventional chemotherapy and tumor-directed anticancer siRNA therapy would be a better modality for cancer treatment.

Tingsgaard JK, Henriksen A, Mikkelsen LH, et al.
Primary and secondary mucosal melanoma of the small intestine - a clinical, pathological, and genetic nationwide survey of Danish patients between 1980 and 2014.
APMIS. 2018; 126(9):739-745 [PubMed] Related Publications
The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology, symptomatology, pathology, genetics, and treatment of primary and metastatic small intestine melanoma in a national Danish cohort. All Danish patients diagnosed with small intestinal melanoma during the period 1980-2014 were included. For each patient, clinical data along with available pathology report and tissue was registered. Targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) of known hotspots in 50 oncogenic genes was performed. Twenty patients with small intestinal melanoma were retrieved. Eight of these were primary melanomas. The median age was 66 years for primary melanoma patients and 58 years for secondary melanoma patients. The male/female ratio (M/F) was 3:1 for primary melanoma and 1:1 for secondary melanoma. The median time of survival was 3.5 months and 9 months for primary and secondary melanoma patients, respectively. NGS of primary tumours showed polymorphisms in the HRAS, PI3KCA, and JAK3 genes. Primary mucosal melanoma of the small intestines is a very rare disease, with an incidence of 0.04 cases/million/year in Denmark. Patients aged 59-70 years with abdominal symptoms should make the clinician consider a small bowel melanoma as a differential diagnosis. The prognosis ranged from less than a month to 183.6 months.

Song TL, Nairismägi ML, Laurensia Y, et al.
Oncogenic activation of the STAT3 pathway drives PD-L1 expression in natural killer/T-cell lymphoma.
Blood. 2018; 132(11):1146-1158 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Mature T-cell lymphomas, including peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) and extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma (NKTL), represent a heterogeneous group of non-Hodgkin lymphomas with dismal outcomes and limited treatment options. To determine the extent of involvement of the JAK/STAT pathway in this malignancy, we performed targeted capture sequencing of 188 genes in this pathway in 171 PTCL and NKTL cases. A total of 272 nonsynonymous somatic mutations in 101 genes were identified in 73% of the samples, including 258 single-nucleotide variants and 14 insertions or deletions. Recurrent mutations were most frequently located in

Zięba S, Kowalik A, Zalewski K, et al.
Somatic mutation profiling of vulvar cancer: Exploring therapeutic targets.
Gynecol Oncol. 2018; 150(3):552-561 [PubMed] Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (VSCC) constitutes over 90% of vulvar cancer. Its pathogenesis can follow two different pathways; high risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV)-dependent and HPV-independent. Due to the rarity of VSCC, molecular mechanisms underlying VSCC development remain largely unknown. The study aimed to identify pathogenic mutations implicated in the two pathways of VSCC development.
METHODS: Using next generation sequencing, 81 VSCC tumors, 52 hrHPV(+) and 29 hrHPV(-), were screened for hotspot mutations in 50 genes covered by the Ion AmpliSeq Cancer Hotspot Panel v2 Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific).
RESULTS: Mutations of TP53 (46% and 41%, of hrHPV(+) and hrHPV(-) cases respectively) and CDKN2A (p16) (25% and 21%, of hrHPV(+) and hrHPV(-) cases respectively) were the most common genetic alterations identified in VSCC tumors. Further mutations were identified in PIK3CA, FBXW7, HRAS, FGFR3, STK11, AKT1, SMAD4, FLT3, JAK3, GNAQ, and PTEN, albeit at low frequencies. Some of the identified mutations may activate the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. The activation of mTOR was confirmed in the vast majority of VSCC samples by immunohistochemical staining.
CONCLUSIONS: Detecting pathogenic mutations in 13/50 genes examined at comparable frequencies in hrHPV(+) and hrHPV(-) tumors suggest that genetic mechanisms of the two routes of VSCC pathogenesis may be similar, despite being initiated from different premalignant lesions. Importantly, our data provide a rationale for new anti-VSCC therapies targeting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

Fredholm S, Willerslev-Olsen A, Met Ö, et al.
SATB1 in Malignant T Cells.
J Invest Dermatol. 2018; 138(8):1805-1815 [PubMed] Related Publications
Deficient expression of SATB1 hampers thymocyte development and results in inept T-cell lineages. Recent data implicate dysregulated SATB1 expression in the pathogenesis of mycosis fungoides, the most frequent variant of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Here, we report on a disease stage-associated decrease of SATB1 expression and an inverse expression of STAT5 and SATB1 in situ. STAT5 inhibited SATB1 expression through induction of microRNA-155. Decreased SATB1 expression triggered enhanced expression of IL-5 and IL-9 (but not IL-6 and IL-32), whereas increased SATB1 expression had the opposite effect, indicating that the microRNA-155 target SATB1 is a repressor of IL-5 and IL-9 in malignant T cells. In accordance, inhibition of STAT5 and its upstream activator JAK3 triggered increased SATB1 expression and a concomitant suppression of IL-5 and IL-9 expression in malignant T cells. In conclusion, we provide a mechanistic link between the proto-oncogenic JAK3/STAT5/microRNA-155 pathway, SATB1, and cytokines linked to CTCL severity and progression, indicating that SATB1 dysregulation is involved in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma pathogenesis.

Mehrad M, Roy S, LaFramboise WA, et al.
KRAS mutation is predictive of outcome in patients with pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma.
Histopathology. 2018; 73(2):207-214 [PubMed] Related Publications
AIMS: Pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma (PSC) is a poorly differentiated non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) with aggressive behaviour. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic clinicopathological and genetic characteristics of PSCs.
METHODS AND RESULTS: Fifty-three cases of surgically treated PSCs were selected, 23 of which were subjected to mutation and copy number variation analysis using the 50-gene Ion AmpliSeq Cancer Panel. The majority of the patients were male (32 of 53, 60.3%) and smokers (51 of 53, 96.2%). Overall, 25 (47.1%) patients died within 2-105 months (mean = 22.7 months, median = 15 months) after diagnosis, and 28 were alive 3-141 months (mean = 38.7 months, median = 21.5 months) after diagnosis. Five-year overall survival was 12.5%. KRAS codon 12/13 mutation in adenocarcinomas (P = 0.01), age more than 70 years (P = 0.008) and tumour size ≥4.0 cm (P = 0.02) were associated strongly with worse outcome. TP53 (17 of 23, 74.0%) and KRAS codon 12 of 13 mutations (10 of 23, 43.4%) were the most common genetic alterations. Potentially actionable variants were identified including ATM (four of 23, 17.3%), MET, FBXW7 and EGFR (two of 23, 8.7%), AKT1, KIT, PDGFRA, HRAS, JAK3 and SMAD4 (one of 23, 4.3%). MET exon 14 skipping and missense mutations were identified in two (11.1%) cases with adenocarcinoma histology. Copy number analysis showed loss of RB1 (three of 23, 13%) and ATM (two of 23, 8.7%). Copy number gains were seen in EGFR (two of 23, 13.0%) and in one (4.3%) of each PIK3CA, KRAS, MET and STK11.
CONCLUSIONS: Potentially targetable mutations can be identified in a subset of PSC, although most tumours harbour currently untargetable prognostically adverse TP53 and KRAS mutations.

Byford ET, Carr M, Ladikou E, et al.
Circulating Tfh1 (cTfh1) cell numbers and PD1 expression are elevated in low-grade B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and cTfh gene expression is perturbed in marginal zone lymphoma.
PLoS One. 2018; 13(1):e0190468 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
CD4+ T-cell subsets are found in the tumour microenvironment (TME) of low-grade B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas such as marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) or follicular lymphoma (FL). Both numbers and architecture of activating follicular helper T-cells (Tfh) and suppressive Treg in the TME of FL are associated with clinical outcomes. There has been almost no previous work on CD4+ T-cells in MZL. It is now recognised that circulating CD4+CXCR5+ T-cells are the memory compartment of Tfh cells. We determined differences in number of circulating Tfh (cTfh) cells and cTfh subsets between normal subjects and patients with FL or MZL. Lymphoma patients showed increased numbers of cTfh1 and reduced cTfh17 cells due to decreased expression of the subset-defining marker CCR6 in patients. PD1, a surface marker associated with Tfh cells, showed increased expression on cTfh subsets in patients. Focusing on MZL we determined expression of 96 T-cell associated genes by microfluidic qRT-PCR. Analysis of differentially expressed genes showed significant differences between normal subjects and patients both for bulk cTfh (CCL4) and the cTfh1 subset (JAK3). While our findings require confirmation in larger studies we suggest that analysis of number and gene expression of circulating T-cells might be a source of clinically useful information as is the case for T-cells within lymphoma lymph nodes.

Degryse S, Bornschein S, de Bock CE, et al.
Mutant JAK3 signaling is increased by loss of wild-type JAK3 or by acquisition of secondary JAK3 mutations in T-ALL.
Blood. 2018; 131(4):421-425 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
The Janus kinase 3 (JAK3) tyrosine kinase is mutated in 10% to 16% of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) cases. JAK3 mutants induce constitutive JAK/STAT signaling and cause leukemia when expressed in the bone marrow cells of mice. Surprisingly, we observed that one third of JAK3-mutant T-ALL cases harbor 2 JAK3 mutations, some of which are monoallelic and others that are biallelic. Our data suggest that wild-type JAK3 competes with mutant JAK3 (M511I) for binding to the common γ chain and thereby suppresses its oncogenic potential. We demonstrate that JAK3 (M511I) can increase its limited oncogenic potential through the acquisition of an additional mutation in the mutant JAK3 allele. These double JAK3 mutants show increased STAT5 activation and increased potential to transform primary mouse pro-T cells to interleukin-7-independent growth and were not affected by wild-type JAK3 expression. These data extend our insight into the oncogenic properties of JAK3 mutations and provide an explanation of why progression of JAK3-mutant T-ALL cases can be associated with the accumulation of additional JAK3 mutations.

de Sousa SF, Diniz MG, França JA, et al.
Cancer genes mutation profiling in calcifying epithelial odontogenic tumour.
J Clin Pathol. 2018; 71(3):279-283 [PubMed] Related Publications
AIMS: To identify calcifying epithelial odontogenic tumour (CEOT) mutations in oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes.
METHODS: A panel of 50 genes commonly mutated in cancer was sequenced in CEOT by next-generation sequencing. Sanger sequencing was used to cover the region of the frameshift deletion identified in one sample.
RESULTS: Missense single nucleotide variants (SNVs) with minor allele frequency (MAF) <1% were detected in
CONCLUSION: CEOT harbours mutations in the tumour suppressor

Li SD, Ma M, Li H, et al.
Cancer gene profiling in non-small cell lung cancers reveals activating mutations in JAK2 and JAK3 with therapeutic implications.
Genome Med. 2017; 9(1):89 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) of cancer gene panels are widely applied to enable personalized cancer therapy and to identify novel oncogenic mutations.
METHODS: We performed targeted NGS on 932 clinical cases of non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) using the Ion AmpliSeq™ Cancer Hotspot panel v2 assay.
RESULTS: Actionable mutations were identified in 65% of the cases with available targeted therapeutic options, including 26% of the patients with mutations in National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guideline genes. Most notably, we discovered JAK2 p.V617F somatic mutation, a hallmark of myeloproliferative neoplasms, in 1% (9/932) of the NSCLCs. Analysis of cancer cell line pharmacogenomic data showed that a high level of JAK2 expression in a panel of NSCLC cell lines is correlated with increased sensitivity to a selective JAK2 inhibitor. Further analysis of TCGA genomic data revealed JAK2 gain or loss due to genetic alterations in NSCLC clinical samples are associated with significantly elevated or reduced PD-L1 expression, suggesting that the activating JAK2 p.V617F mutation could confer sensitivity to both JAK inhibitors and anti-PD1 immunotherapy. We also detected JAK3 germline activating mutations in 6.7% (62/932) of the patients who may benefit from anti-PD1 treatment, in light of recent findings that JAK3 mutations upregulate PD-L1 expression.
CONCLUSION: Taken together, this study demonstrated the clinical utility of targeted NGS with a focused hotspot cancer gene panel in NSCLCs and identified activating mutations in JAK2 and JAK3 with clinical implications inferred through integrative analysis of cancer genetic, genomic, and pharmacogenomic data. The potential of JAK2 and JAK3 mutations as response markers for the targeted therapy against JAK kinases or anti-PD1 immunotherapy warrants further investigation.

Yang Y, Ding L, Hu Q, et al.
MicroRNA-218 functions as a tumor suppressor in lung cancer by targeting IL-6/STAT3 and negatively correlates with poor prognosis.
Mol Cancer. 2017; 16(1):141 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Aberrant expression of microRNAs in different human cancer types has been widely reported. MiR-218 acts as a tumor suppressor in diverse human cancer types impacting regulation of multiple genes in oncogenic pathways. Here, we evaluated the expression and function of miR-218 in human lung cancer and ALDH positive lung cancer cells to understand the potential mechanisms responsible for disease pathology. Also, the association between its host genes and the target genes could be useful towards the better understanding of prognosis in clinical settings.
METHODS: Publicly-available data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) was mined to compare the levels of miR-218 and its host gene SLIT2/3 between lung cancer tissues and normal lung tissues. Transfection of miR-218 to investigate its function in lung cancer cells was done and in vivo effects were determined using miR-218 expressing lentiviruses. Aldefluor assay and Flow cytometry was used to quantify and enrich ALDH positive lung cancer cells. Levels of miR-218, IL-6R, JAK3 and phosphorylated STAT3 were compared in ALDH1A1 positive and ALDH1A1 negative cells. Overexpression of miR-218 in ALDH positive cells was carried to test the survival by tumorsphere culture. Finally, utilizing TCGA data we studied the association of target genes of miR-218 with the prognosis of lung cancer.
RESULTS: We observed that the expression of miR-218 was significantly down-regulated in lung cancer tissues compared to normal lung tissues. Overexpression of miR-218 decreased cell proliferation, invasion, colony formation, and tumor sphere formation in vitro and repressed tumor growth in vivo. We further found that miR-218 negatively regulated IL-6 receptor and JAK3 gene expression by directly targeting the 3'-UTR of their mRNAs. In addition, the levels of both miR-218 host genes and the components of IL-6/STAT3 pathway correlated with prognosis of lung cancer patients.
CONCLUSIONS: MiR-218 acts as a tumor suppressor in lung cancer via IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway regulation.

Slattery ML, Herrick JS, Mullany LE, et al.
The co-regulatory networks of tumor suppressor genes, oncogenes, and miRNAs in colorectal cancer.
Genes Chromosomes Cancer. 2017; 56(11):769-787 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) and oncogenes (OG) are involved in carcinogenesis. MiRNAs also contribute to cellular pathways leading to cancer. We use data from 217 colorectal cancer (CRC) cases to evaluate differences in TSGs and OGs expression between paired CRC and normal mucosa and evaluate how TSGs and OGs are associated with miRNAs. Gene expression data from RNA-Seq and miRNA expression data from Agilent Human miRNA Microarray V19.0 were used. We focus on genes most strongly associated with CRC (fold change (FC) of ≥1.5 or ≤0.67) that were statistically significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons. Of the 74 TSGs evaluated, 22 were associated with carcinoma/normal mucosa differential expression. Ten TSGs were up-regulated (FAM123B, RB1, TP53, RUNX1, MSH2, BRCA1, BRCA2, SOX9, NPM1, and RNF43); six TSGs were down-regulated (PAX5, IZKF1, GATA3, PRDM1, TET2, and CYLD); four were associated with MSI tumors (MLH1, PTCH1, and CEBPA down-regulated and MSH6 up-regulated); and two were associated with MSS tumors (PHF6 and ASXL1 up-regulated). Thirteen of these TSGs were associated with 44 miRNAs. Twenty-seven of the 59 OGs evaluated were dysregulated: 14 down-regulated (KLF4, BCL2, SSETBP1, FGFR2, TSHR, MPL, KIT, PDGFRA, GNA11, GATA2, FGFR3, AR, CSF1R, and JAK3), seven up-regulated (DNMT1, EZH2, PTPN11, SKP2, CCND1, MET, and MYC); three down-regulated for MSI (FLT3, CARD11, and ALK); two up-regulated for MSI (IDH2 and HRAS); and one up-regulated with MSS tumors (CTNNB1). These findings suggest possible co-regulatory function between TSGs, OGs, and miRNAs, involving both direct and indirect associations that operate through feedback and feedforward loops.

Liu Y, Easton J, Shao Y, et al.
The genomic landscape of pediatric and young adult T-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Nat Genet. 2017; 49(8):1211-1218 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Genetic alterations that activate NOTCH1 signaling and T cell transcription factors, coupled with inactivation of the INK4/ARF tumor suppressors, are hallmarks of T-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), but detailed genome-wide sequencing of large T-ALL cohorts has not been carried out. Using integrated genomic analysis of 264 T-ALL cases, we identified 106 putative driver genes, half of which had not previously been described in childhood T-ALL (for example, CCND3, CTCF, MYB, SMARCA4, ZFP36L2 and MYCN). We describe new mechanisms of coding and noncoding alteration and identify ten recurrently altered pathways, with associations between mutated genes and pathways, and stage or subtype of T-ALL. For example, NRAS/FLT3 mutations were associated with immature T-ALL, JAK3/STAT5B mutations in HOXA1 deregulated ALL, PTPN2 mutations in TLX1 deregulated T-ALL, and PIK3R1/PTEN mutations in TAL1 deregulated ALL, which suggests that different signaling pathways have distinct roles according to maturational stage. This genomic landscape provides a logical framework for the development of faithful genetic models and new therapeutic approaches.

Santos JN, Sousa Neto ES, França JA, et al.
Next-generation sequencing of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in odontogenic myxomas.
J Oral Pathol Med. 2017; 46(10):1036-1039 [PubMed] Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Mutations previously considered drivers of malignant neoplasms also occur in benign tumors. From the biological perspective, the study of malignant and benign neoplasms is equally relevant. The study of rare tumors contributes to the understanding of the more common ones, as both could share the same hallmark genetic drivers. The identification of driver mutations in benign tumors is facilitated by the fact that they harbor quiet genomes. Pathogenic mutations have being described in benign epithelial odontogenic tumors, such as ameloblastomas and adenomatoid odontogenic tumors. However, the molecular pathogenesis of odontogenic myxoma (OM), a benign aggressive ectomesenchymal tumor, is still poorly characterized, precluding the development of personalized therapy. Aiming to find druggable genetic mutations, we investigated in OM mutations in 50 genes commonly mutated in cancer.
METHODS: We used targeted next-generation sequencing to interrogate over 2,800 COSMIC mutations in OM.
RESULTS: Missense single nucleotide variants were detected in KDR, TP53, PIK3CA, KIT, JAK3; however, these did not include pathogenic mutations.
CONCLUSION: These aggressive tumors do not harbor pathogenic mutations in genes commonly mutated in human cancers or if they do, these mutations probably occur in a low proportion of cases.

López JI, Angulo JC, Martín A, et al.
A DNA hypermethylation profile reveals new potential biomarkers for the evaluation of prognosis in urothelial bladder cancer.
APMIS. 2017; 125(9):787-796 [PubMed] Related Publications
DNA hypermethylation has emerged as a molecular biomarker for the evaluation of cancer diagnosis and prognosis. We define a methylation signature of bladder cancer and evaluate whether this profile assesses prognosis of patients. Genome-wide methylation analysis was performed on 70 tumor and 10 normal bladder samples. Hypermethylation status of 1505 CpGs present in the promoter region of 807 genes was studied. Thirty-three genes were significantly hypermethylated in ≥10% of the tumors. Three clusters of patients were characterized by their DNA methylation profile, one at higher risk of dead of disease (p = 0.0012). Association between cluster distribution and stage (p = 0.02) or grade (p = 0.02) was demonstrated. Hypermethylation of JAK3 and absence of hypermethylation of EYA4, GAT6, and SOX1 were associated with low-grade non-invasive disease. On the other hand, in high-grade invasive disease hypermethylation of CSPG2, HOXA11, HOXA9, HS3ST2, SOX1, and TWIST1 was associated with muscle invasiveness. A panel of hypermethylated genes including APC, CSPG2, EPHA5, EYA4, HOXA9, IPF1, ISL1, JAK3, PITX2, SOX1, and TWIST1 predicted cancer-specific survival and SOX1 (HR = 3.46), PITX2 (HR = 4.17), CSPG2 (HR = 5.35), and JAK3 hypermethylation (HR = 0.19) did so independently. Silencing of genes by hypermethylation is a common event in bladder cancer and could be used to develop diagnostic and prognostic markers. Combined hypermethylation of SOX1, PITX2, or CSPG2 signals patients at higher risk of death from bladder cancer.

Fabbri A, Cossa M, Sonzogni A, et al.
Thymus neuroendocrine tumors with CTNNB1 gene mutations, disarrayed ß-catenin expression, and dual intra-tumor Ki-67 labeling index compartmentalization challenge the concept of secondary high-grade neuroendocrine tumor: a paradigm shift.
Virchows Arch. 2017; 471(1):31-47 [PubMed] Related Publications
We herein report an uncommon association of intimately admixed atypical carcinoid (AC) and large cell neuroendocrine (NE) carcinoma (LCNEC) of the thymus, occurring in two 20- and 39-year-old Caucasian males. Both tumors were treated by maximal thymectomy. The younger patient presented with a synchronous lesion and died of disease after 9 months, while the other patient was associated with a recurrent ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone Cushing's syndrome and is alive with disease at the 2-year follow-up. MEN1 syndrome was excluded in either case. Immunohistochemically, disarrayed cytoplasmic and nuclear ß-catenin expression was seen alongside an intra-tumor Ki-67 antigen labeling index (LI) ranging from 2 to 80% in the younger patient's tumor and from 3 to 45% in the other. Both exhibited upregulated cyclin D1 and retinoblastoma, while vimentin was overexpressed in the recurrent LCNEC only. Next-generation sequencing revealed CTNNB1, TP53, and JAK3 mutations in the synchronous tumor and CTNNB1 mutation alone in the metachronous tumor (the latter with the same mutation as the first tumor of 17 years prior). None of the 23 T-NET controls exhibited this hallmarking triple alteration (p = 0.003). These findings suggested that LCNEC components developed from pre-existing CTNNB1-mutated AC upon loss-of-function TP53 and gain-of-function JAK3 mutations in one case and an epithelial-mesenchymal transition upon vimentin overexpression in the other case. Both tumors maintained intact cyclin D1-retinoblastoma machinery. Our report challenges the concept of secondary LCNEC as an entity that develops from pre-existing AC as a result of tumor progression, suggesting a paradigm shift to the current pathogenesis of NET.

Moffitt AB, Ondrejka SL, McKinney M, et al.
Enteropathy-associated T cell lymphoma subtypes are characterized by loss of function of SETD2.
J Exp Med. 2017; 214(5):1371-1386 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Enteropathy-associated T cell lymphoma (EATL) is a lethal, and the most common, neoplastic complication of celiac disease. Here, we defined the genetic landscape of EATL through whole-exome sequencing of 69 EATL tumors.

Kosik P, Skorvaga M, Durdik M, et al.
Low numbers of pre-leukemic fusion genes are frequently present in umbilical cord blood without affecting DNA damage response.
Oncotarget. 2017; 8(22):35824-35834 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Despite widely accepted notion that many childhood leukemias are likely developed from hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPC) with pre-leukemic fusion genes (PFG) formed in embryonic/fetal development, the data on PFG incidence in newborns are contradictive. To provide a better understanding of a prenatal origin of leukemia, umbilical cord blood from 500 newborns was screened for the presence of the most frequent PFG associated with pediatric B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. This screening revealed relatively high incidence of ETV6-RUNX1, BCR-ABL1 (p190) and MLL-AF4 at very low frequencies, averaging ~14 copies per 100,000 cells. We assume that most of these PFG might originate relatively late in embryonic/fetal development and will be eliminated later during postnatal development. The obtained results suggested that higher PFG copy numbers originating in specific time windows of the hematopoietic stem cell hierarchy may define a better prognostic tool for the assessment of leukemogenic potential. We have observed no significant effect of low-copy PFG on radiation-induced DNA damage response, accumulation of endogenous DNA double-stranded breaks, and apoptosis in either lymphocytes or HSPC. Imaging flow cytometry showed lower level of γH2AX foci in HSPC in comparison to lymphocytes suggesting better protection of HSPC from DNA damage.

Veija T, Koljonen V, Bohling T, et al.
Aberrant expression of ALK and EZH2 in Merkel cell carcinoma.
BMC Cancer. 2017; 17(1):236 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Distinct characteristic features categorize Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) into two subgroups according to the Merkel cell polyomavirus infection. Many mutational studies on MCC have been carried out in recent years without identifying a prominent driver mutation. However, there is paucity reporting the expression of cancer genes at the RNA level in MCC tumors. In this study, we studied the RNA expression profiles of 26 MCC tumors, with a goal to identify prospective molecular targets that could improve the treatment strategies of MCC.
METHODS: RNA expression of 50 cancer-related genes in 26 MCC tumors was analyzed by targeted amplicon based next-generation sequencing using the Ion Torrent technology and the expression compared with that of normal, non-cancerous skin samples. Sequencing data were processed using Torrent Suite™ Software. Expression profiles of MCV-negative and MCV-positive tumors were compared. Fluorescence in situ hybridization was performed to study ALK rearrangements and immunohistochemistry to study ALK expression in tumor tissue.
RESULTS: ALK, CDKN2A, EZH2 and ERBB4 were overexpressed, and EGFR, ERBB2, PDGFRA and FGFR1 were underexpressed in MCC tumors compared to normal skin. In the MCV-negative tumors, MET, NOTCH1, FGFR3, and SMO were overexpressed and JAK3 and NPM1 were under-expressed compared to the MCV-positive tumors.
CONCLUSIONS: High expression of ALK, CDKN2A and EZH2 was recorded in MCC tumors. No ALK fusion was seen by FISH analysis. Overexpression of EZH2 suggests its potential as a drug target in MCC.

Feng J, Li Y, Jia Y, et al.
Spectrum of somatic mutations detected by targeted next-generation sequencing and their prognostic significance in adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
J Hematol Oncol. 2017; 10(1):61 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Target-specific next-generation sequencing technology was used to analyze 112 genes in adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This sequencing mainly focused on the specific mutational hotspots. Among the 121 patients, 93 patients were B-ALL (76.9%), and 28 patients (23.1%) were T-ALL. Of the 121 patients, 110 (90.9%) harbored at least one mutation. The five most frequently mutated genes in T-ALL are NOTCH1, JAK3, FBXW7, FAT1, and NRAS. In B-ALL, FAT1, SF1, CRLF2, TET2, and PTPN1 have higher incidence of mutations. Gene mutations are different between Ph

Waldmann TA
JAK/STAT pathway directed therapy of T-cell leukemia/lymphoma: Inspired by functional and structural genomics.
Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2017; 451:66-70 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Abnormal activation of the γc cytokine JAK/STAT signaling pathway assessed by STAT3 or STAT5b phosphorylation was present in a proportion of many T-cell malignancies. Activating mutations of STAT3/STAT5b and JAK1/3 were present in some but not in all cases with constitutive signaling pathway activation. Using shRNA analysis pSTAT malignant T-cell lines were addicted to JAKs/STATs whether they were mutated or not. Activating JAK/STAT mutations were not sufficient to support leukemic cell proliferation but only augmented upstream pathway signals. Functional cytokine receptors were required for pSTAT expression. Combining a JAK1/2 inhibitor with a Bcl-xL inhibitor navitoclax provided additive/synergistic activity with IL-2 dependent ATLL cell lines and in a mouse model of human IL-2 dependent ATLL. The insight that disorders of the γc/JAK/STAT system are pervasive suggests approaches including those that target gamma cytokines, their receptors or that use JAK kinase inhibitors may be of value in multicomponent therapy for T-cell malignancies.

Li Y, Buijs-Gladdines JG, Canté-Barrett K, et al.
IL-7 Receptor Mutations and Steroid Resistance in Pediatric T cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Genome Sequencing Study.
PLoS Med. 2016; 13(12):e1002200 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common childhood cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in children. T cell ALL (T-ALL) represents about 15% of pediatric ALL cases and is considered a high-risk disease. T-ALL is often associated with resistance to treatment, including steroids, which are currently the cornerstone for treating ALL; moreover, initial steroid response strongly predicts survival and cure. However, the cellular mechanisms underlying steroid resistance in T-ALL patients are poorly understood. In this study, we combined various genomic datasets in order to identify candidate genetic mechanisms underlying steroid resistance in children undergoing T-ALL treatment.
METHODS AND FINDINGS: We performed whole genome sequencing on paired pre-treatment (diagnostic) and post-treatment (remission) samples from 13 patients, and targeted exome sequencing of pre-treatment samples from 69 additional T-ALL patients. We then integrated mutation data with copy number data for 151 mutated genes, and this integrated dataset was tested for associations of mutations with clinical outcomes and in vitro drug response. Our analysis revealed that mutations in JAK1 and KRAS, two genes encoding components of the interleukin 7 receptor (IL7R) signaling pathway, were associated with steroid resistance and poor outcome. We then sequenced JAK1, KRAS, and other genes in this pathway, including IL7R, JAK3, NF1, NRAS, and AKT, in these 69 T-ALL patients and a further 77 T-ALL patients. We identified mutations in 32% (47/146) of patients, the majority of whom had a specific T-ALL subtype (early thymic progenitor ALL or TLX). Based on the outcomes of these patients and their prednisolone responsiveness measured in vitro, we then confirmed that these mutations were associated with both steroid resistance and poor outcome. To explore how these mutations in IL7R signaling pathway genes cause steroid resistance and subsequent poor outcome, we expressed wild-type and mutant IL7R signaling molecules in two steroid-sensitive T-ALL cell lines (SUPT1 and P12 Ichikawa cells) using inducible lentiviral expression constructs. We found that expressing mutant IL7R, JAK1, or NRAS, or wild-type NRAS or AKT, specifically induced steroid resistance without affecting sensitivity to vincristine or L-asparaginase. In contrast, wild-type IL7R, JAK1, and JAK3, as well as mutant JAK3 and mutant AKT, had no effect. We then performed a functional study to examine the mechanisms underlying steroid resistance and found that, rather than changing the steroid receptor's ability to activate downstream targets, steroid resistance was associated with strong activation of MEK-ERK and AKT, downstream components of the IL7R signaling pathway, thereby inducing a robust antiapoptotic response by upregulating MCL1 and BCLXL expression. Both the MEK-ERK and AKT pathways also inactivate BIM, an essential molecule for steroid-induced cell death, and inhibit GSK3B, an important regulator of proapoptotic BIM. Importantly, treating our cell lines with IL7R signaling inhibitors restored steroid sensitivity. To address clinical relevance, we treated primary T-ALL cells obtained from 11 patients with steroids either alone or in combination with IL7R signaling inhibitors; we found that including a MEK, AKT, mTOR, or dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor strongly increased steroid-induced cell death. Therefore, combining these inhibitors with steroid treatment may enhance steroid sensitivity in patients with ALL. The main limitation of our study was the modest cohort size, owing to the very low incidence of T-ALL.
CONCLUSIONS: Using an unbiased sequencing approach, we found that specific mutations in IL7R signaling molecules underlie steroid resistance in T-ALL. Future prospective clinical studies should test the ability of inhibitors of MEK, AKT, mTOR, or PI3K/mTOR to restore or enhance steroid sensitivity and improve clinical outcome.

Uehiro N, Sato F, Pu F, et al.
Circulating cell-free DNA-based epigenetic assay can detect early breast cancer.
Breast Cancer Res. 2016; 18(1):129 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) has recently been recognized as a resource for biomarkers of cancer progression, treatment response, and drug resistance. However, few have demonstrated the usefulness of cfDNA for early detection of cancer. Although aberrant DNA methylation in cfDNA has been reported for more than a decade, its diagnostic accuracy remains unsatisfactory for cancer screening. Thus, the aim of the present study was to develop a highly sensitive cfDNA-based system for detection of primary breast cancer (BC) using epigenetic biomarkers and digital PCR technology.
METHODS: Array-based genome-wide DNA methylation analysis was performed using 56 microdissected breast tissue specimens, 34 cell lines, and 29 blood samples from healthy volunteers (HVs). Epigenetic markers for BC detection were selected, and a droplet digital methylation-specific PCR (ddMSP) panel with the selected markers was established. The detection model was constructed by support vector machine and evaluated using cfDNA samples.
RESULTS: The methylation array analysis identified 12 novel epigenetic markers (JAK3, RASGRF1, CPXM1, SHF, DNM3, CAV2, HOXA10, B3GNT5, ST3GAL6, DACH1, P2RX3, and chr8:23572595) for detecting BC. We also selected four internal control markers (CREM, GLYATL3, ELMOD3, and KLF9) that were identified as infrequently altered genes using a public database. A ddMSP panel using these 16 markers was developed and detection models were constructed with a training dataset containing cfDNA samples from 80 HVs and 87 cancer patients. The best detection model adopted four methylation markers (RASGRF1, CPXM1, HOXA10, and DACH1) and two parameters (cfDNA concentration and the mean of 12 methylation markers), and, and was validated in an independent dataset of 53 HVs and 58 BC patients. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for cancer-normal discrimination was 0.916 and 0.876 in the training and validation dataset, respectively. The sensitivity and the specificity of the model was 0.862 (stages 0-I 0.846, IIA 0.862, IIB-III 0.818, metastatic BC 0.935) and 0.827, respectively.
CONCLUSION: Our epigenetic-marker-based system distinguished BC patients from HVs with high accuracy. As detection of early BC using this system was comparable with that of mammography screening, this system would be beneficial as an optional method of screening for BC.

Kovaleva V, Geissler AL, Lutz L, et al.
Spatio-temporal mutation profiles of case-matched colorectal carcinomas and their metastases reveal unique de novo mutations in metachronous lung metastases by targeted next generation sequencing.
Mol Cancer. 2016; 15(1):63 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Targeted next generation sequencing (tNGS) has become part of molecular pathology diagnostics for determining RAS mutation status in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients as predictive tool for decision on EGFR-targeted therapy. Here, we investigated mutation profiles of case-matched tissue specimens throughout the disease course of CRC, to further specify RAS-status dynamics and to identify de novo mutations associated with distant metastases.
METHODS: Case-matched formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) resection specimens (n = 70; primary tumours, synchronous and/or metachronous liver and/or lung metastases) of 14 CRC cases were subjected to microdissection of normal colonic epithelial, primary and metastatic tumour cells, their DNA extraction and an adapted library protocol for limited DNA using the 48 gene TruSeq Amplicon Cancer Panel
RESULTS: By tNGS primary tumours were RAS wildtype in 5/14 and mutated in 9/14 (8/9 KRAS exon 2; 1/9 NRAS Exon 3) of cases. RAS mutation status was maintained in case-matched metastases throughout the disease course, albeit with altered allele frequencies. Case-matched analyses further identified a maximum of three sequence variants (mainly in APC, KRAS, NRAS, TP53) shared by all tumour specimens throughout the disease course per individual case. In addition, further case-matched de novo mutations were detected in synchronous and/or metachronous liver and/or lung metastases (e.g. in APC, ATM, FBXW7, FGFR3, GNAQ, KIT, PIK3CA, PTEN, SMAD4, SMO, STK11, TP53, VHL). Moreover, several de novo mutations were more frequent in synchronous (e.g. ATM, KIT, PIK3CA, SMAD4) or metachronous (e.g. FBXW7, SMO, STK11) lung metastases. Finally, some de novo mutations occurred only in metachronous lung metastases (CDKN2A, FGFR2, GNAS, JAK3, SRC).
CONCLUSION: Together, this study employs an adapted FFPE-based tNGS approach to confirm conservation of RAS mutation status in primary and metastatic tissue specimens of CRC patients. Moreover, it identifies genes preferentially mutated de novo in late disease stages of metachronous CRC lung metastases, several of which might be actionable by targeted therapies.

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