Search Results - EGA European Genome-Phenome Archive

Lengthening and shortening of plasma DNA in hepatocellular carcinoma patients

Study EGAS00001001024

Genetic_profiling_of_mucosal_melanoma

Primary mucosal melanomas (MMs) arise from melanocytes located in mucosal membranes lining the respiratory, gastrointestinal and urogenital tracts. MMs frequently present late and have a poor prognosis; the 5-year survival rate is only 14%. MM makes up only ~1.4% of all melanomas and it is this rarity that makes knowledge of the genetic changes that contribute to its pathogenesis limited to a small number of exome/genome studies and other targeted studies. Thus to investigate the somatic alterations and mutation spectra in MM genomes, we have extracted genomic DNA from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) human MMs, and subjected them to whole exome sequencing. Given the propensity of MM to metastasize, we will also be sequencing metastatic MM lesions; primary and metastatic lesions from the same individual represent an excellent opportunity to identify potential drivers of metastasis in MM. Finally we will sequence ‘normal’ DNA from the same individual, where possible, to exclude germline variations.

Study EGAS00001001115

Predicting brain tumor recurrence: development and validation of a DNA-methylation based nomogram in meningioma

Our work is the first to demonstrate the transformative utility of integrating clinical and molecular factors for use beyond simple classification into the realm of individualized prognostication for any brain tumor. Using our developed and validated tools that are publicly available, clinicians will be able combine clinical and molecular factors to determine an individualized probability of recurrence for patients with meningiomas. This represents a major advance in the field of personalized medicine for neuro-oncology, and the use of this tool can help clinicians overcome one of the most challenging limitations we face when treating patients with meningiomas.

Study EGAS00001003490

The Spatial Heterogeneity in Multiple Myeloma - from the Subclonal Architecture to the Immune Microenvironment (partly hipo_K08K)

Multiple myeloma (MM) cells show pronounced heterogeneity not only within a given patient but also between spatially separated tumor loci in the bone marrow. Understanding this spatial heterogeneity is emerging as a critical challenge for the successful treatment of the disease. Yet, our understanding of spatial differences in the subclonal architecture, molecular signatures and interactions with the tumor microenvironment remains very limited. To address this shortcoming, we performed bulk and single-cell multi-region sequencing, including random bone marrow samples from the iliac crest and paired imaging-guided focal lesion specimens from 15 newly diagnosed MM patients. We found a median of 5 subclones per patient and unique subclones in focal lesions. Central features of spatial heterogeneity included a consistent down-regulation of the chemoattractant cytokines CXCL7 and CXCL12 in focal lesion tumor cells as well as a significant depletion of macrophages in the focal lesion microenvironment. In contrast, a site-specific expansion of T-cell clones was not detected in focal lesions. In conclusion, our results demonstrate the relevance of considering spatial heterogeneity with potential implications for immunotherapies and molecular studies analyzing the role of gene signatures and MM-microenvironment interactions in disease progression.

Study EGAS00001006090

Human melanoma samples with and without resistance to BRAF inhibitor therapy

Human melanoma samples were collected pre, on, and progression on BRAF inhibitor therapy. RNA was extracted and run on RNA-seq. This has provided insights into different categories of BRAF inhibitor resistance mechanisms.

Study EGAS00001000992

Phenotypic_characterisation_of_LRRN4CL_over_expression

This study aims to use RNAseq to identify differentially expressed transcripts in human melanoma cells that over-express the cell surface protein, LRRN4CL, relative to empty-vector control cells, to provide mechanistic insight into how LRRN4CL over-expression confers enhanced pulmonary metastatic colonisation abilities.

Study EGAS00001003976

Structure and evolution of double minutes in diagnosis and relapse brain tumors

Double minute chromosomes are extrachromosomal circular DNA fragments frequently found in brain tumors. To understand their evolution, we characterized the double minutes in paired diagnosis and relapse tumors from a pediatric high-grade glioma and four adult glioblastoma patients. We determined the full structures of the major double minutes using a novel approach combining multiple types of supporting genomic evidence. Among the double minutes identified in the pediatric tumor, only one carrying EGFR was maintained at high abundance in both samples, whereas two others were resent in only trace amounts at diagnosis but abundant at relapse, and the rest were found either in the relapse sample only or in the diagnosis sample only. For the EGFR-carrying double minutes, we found a secondary somatic deletion in all copies at relapse, after erlotinib treatment, but this was rare at diagnosis, suggesting potential resistance to the EGFR inhibitor. This mutation caused an in-frame RNA transcript to skip exon 16, a novel transcript absent in EST database and in about 700 brain tumors that we reviewed. We observed similar patterns involving longitudinal copy number shift of double minutes in another four pairs (diagnosis / relapse) of adult glioblastoma. Overall, in three of five paired tumor samples, we found that although the same oncogenes were amplified at diagnosis and relapse, they were amplified on different double minutes. Our results suggest that double minutes readily evolve, increasing tumor heterogeneity rapidly. Understanding patterns of double minute evolution can shed light on future therapeutic solutions to brain tumors carrying such variants.

Study EGAS00001003212

Whole Exome Sequencing in Multiple Myeloma

By whole exome sequencing (WES) our group observed the accumulation of mutations in receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), adhesion molecules and their effectors and developed a signaling network that was affected by at least one mutation in almost 100% of MM patients and by more than one mutation in around 50% of MM patients which we decided to call inter- and intra-individual pathway redundancy. Interestingly, the extension of our WES dataset to 67 primary MM samples with correspond normal tissue which were collected at the Medizinische Klinik and Poliklinik II in Würzburg within the frame of the CRU216 has tentatively led to the designation of three molecular subgroups based on their mutation profile: "adhesion only", "adhesion & downstream" and "RTK & adhesion & downstream

Study EGAS00001003227

ICGC PedBrain DNA methylation sequencing

DNA methylation profiling of 107 medulloblastoma and 8 control samples by high-coverage whole-genome bisulfite (WBGS) sequencing and Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450k array.

Study EGAS00001000561

Leeds_Melanoma_Cohort

Leeds Melanoma Cohort

Study EGAS00001001158

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

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

Study EGAS00001004074

MINCR is a MYC-induced lncRNA able to modulate MYC’s transcriptional network in Burkitt lymphoma cells

Despite the established role of the transcription factor MYC in cancer, little is known about the involvement of lncRNAs in mediating MYC’s function. Here we have intersected RNA-sequencing data from MYC-inducible cell lines, from a cohort of 91 mature B-cell lymphomas and from sorted germinal-center B-cells. By this approach, we identified 13 lncRNAs differentially expressed in IG-MYC-positive Burkitt lymphoma and regulated by MYC in the model cell lines. Among them we focused on a lncRNA that we named MINCR, showing a strong correlation with MYC expression in MYC-positive lymphomas and in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas. RNAi experiments showed that MINCR controls cellular viability by influencing the expression of MYC-regulated cell cycle genes. Finally we provide evidences that down-regulation of AURKA, AURKB and CTD1 may explain the reduction in cellular proliferation observed upon MINCR knock-down. We therefore suggest that MINCR acts as a modulator of MYC transcriptional control of cell cycle genes.

Study EGAS00001001199

Spatial heterogeneity in medulloblastoma

Spatial heterogeneity of transcriptional and genetic markers between physically isolated biopsies of a single tumor poses major barriers to the identification of biomarkers and the development of targeted therapies that will be effective against the entire tumor. We analyzed the spatial heterogeneity of multiregional biopsies from 35 patients, using a combination of transcriptomic and genomic profiles. Medulloblastomas (MBs), but not high-grade gliomas (HGGs), demonstrated spatially homogeneous transcriptomes, which allowed for accurate subgrouping of tumors from a single biopsy. Conversely, somatic mutations that affect genes suitable for targeted therapeutics demonstrated high levels of spatial heterogeneity in MB, malignant glioma, and renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Actionable targets found in a single MB biopsy were seldom clonal across the entire tumor,which brings the efficacy of monotherapies against a single target into question. Clinical trials of targeted therapies for MB should first ensure the spatially ubiquitous nature of the target mutation.

Study EGAS00001001014

Exome and transcriptome sequencing of Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Sarcoma

To conduct exome and transcriptome profiling to identify secondary recurrent mutations, multi-site phylogenetic analyse and immune characterization of Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Sarcoma.

Study EGAS00001004575

Exploration of CNV’s and SNV’s in cancers with well-known genetic rearrangements: Identification of additional genetic changes in rearrangements-driven cancer

Specific cancers are well known to have specific gene rearrangements. Representative cancer is chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) which is famous for BCR/ABL gene rearrangements. By the way, also genetic rearrangements are not infrequently found in acute leukemia, and those include CBFB/MYH11 rearrangements, PML/RARA rearrangements, AML/ETO rearrangements, and BCR/ABL rearrangements. The situation is same is for lung adenocarcinoma of non-smokers and prostate cancers, and ALK and RET gene rearrangements are recently found. However, not all these rearrangements are sufficient to develop cancer, and it is suggested that some genetic aberrations are required for the development and progression of cancer in addition to these genetic rearrangements. In this study, we have a plan to explore the existence of additional genetic changes including single nucleotide variants (SNV’s) and copy number variations (CNV’s) in cancers with specific genetic rearrangements so as to define additional genetic changes that confer full oncogenic potential to cancer cells. So as to look at SNV’s and small indels, we are going to use whole exome sequencing (WES) data. And as for CNV’s, we are going to use array-CGH data. Also, to check the functionality of these genetic changes, we are going to use whole transcriptome data (WTS). In addition, in samples with whole genome sequencing (WGS ) data, we are going to explore genetic changes in intronic regions also. In fact, we sequenced 10 AML samples which are known to have specific genetic rearrangements. Analysis of these WGS, WES and WTS data are under the way. If we have a chance to access WES, array-CGH and WTS data of other cancer samples with specific genetic rearrangements, we would be able to compare additional genetic changes required for oncogenesis in cancer cells with various genetic rearrangements. We hope this result will enlighten our understanding of cancer genetics further.

Study EGAS00001000673

Evolution of GBM through therapy

Primary glioblastoma (GBM) tumours recur following treatment. This is likely due to intratumour heterogeneity (ITH), which reduces the effectiveness of cancer therapies by enabling therapy-driven tumour evolution: Darwinian selection of genotypically and/or phenotypically distinct cells (subclones) that resist treatment to seed regrowth of an even less treatable recurrence. To investigate this we sequenced a pilot cohort of nine paired primary and locally recurrent GBM tumours, alongside matched blood samples, in order to begin characterising therapy resistant cells and thereby infer the mechanisms by which they evaded treatment. These data were included in the first data release from the Glioma Longitudinal AnalySiS (GLASS) consortium.

Study EGAS00001003546

Blueprint RNAseq profile of purified plasma cells from multiple myeloma patients and tonsils of healthy donors

In the context of an epigenomic study of multiple myeloma, a have generated RNAseq profiles of purified plasma cells from 11 multiple myeloma patients and tonsils of 4 healthy donors

Study EGAS00001001110

Pediatric Low-Grade Glioma RNA and Targeted Sequencing

Pediatric low-grade gliomas (pLGG) are frequently driven by genetic alterations in the RAS/MAPK pathway yet show unexplained variability in their clinical outcome. To address this, we characterized a cohort of >1,000 clinically annotated pLGG. 84% of cases harbored a driver alteration, while those without an identified alteration also often exhibited up-regulation of the RAS/MAPK pathway. pLGG could be broadly classified based on their alteration type. Rearrangement-driven tumors were diagnosed at a younger age, enriched for WHO grade I histology, infrequently progressed, and rarely resulted in death as compared to SNV-driven tumors. Further sub-classification of clinical-molecular correlates stratified pLGG into risk categories. These data highlight the biological and clinical differences between pLGG subtypes and opens avenues for future treatment refinement.

Study EGAS00001004242

Analysis of four key cell types (epithelial, fbroblast, myeloid and T cells)

Alterations of the normal prostate epithelial cell genome trigger the emergence of carcinoma, however cancer-only analyses of genomic aberrations have resulted in little clinical translation. A deep understanding of the tumor microenvironment is likely to inform on key drivers of disease progression and novel therapeutic opportunities. We investigated the role of key cell types along disease progression, profiling the RNA abundance of 52 samples from 13 patients enriched for one of four key cell types, spanning a wide CAPRA-S risk score range. Using a novel differential transcription Bayes method, TABI, we avoided a priori patient stratification, and mapped transcriptional alteration events to specific risk scores. The developmental and cell-type resolution yielded a landscape of concurrent transcriptional alterations from the tumour microenvironment, including key hallmarks. These transcriptional signatures permitted the identification of a “high survival” patient cluster in an independent prostate cancer dataset. Most importantly, together with our integrated transcriptional analysis, differential tissue composition analysis provided evidence for a key role for monocytes and macrophages in prostate cancer progression and disease recurrence.

Study EGAS00001003579

Neuroblastoma relapse trio series from the AMC

The majority of neuroblastoma patients have tumors that initially respond to chemotherapy, but a large proportion of patients will experience therapy-resistant relapses. The molecular basis of this aggressive phenotype is unknown. Whole genome sequencing of 23 paired diagnostic and relapsed neuroblastomas showed clonal evolution from the diagnostic tumor with a median of 29 somatic mutations unique to the relapse sample. Eighteen of the 23 relapse tumors (78%) showed RAS-MAPK pathway mutations. Seven events were detected only in the relapse tumor while the others showed clonal enrichment. In neuroblastoma cell lines we also detected a high frequency of activating mutations in the RAS-MAPK pathway (11/18, 61%) and these lesions predicted for sensitivity to MEK inhibition in vitro and in vivo. Our findings provide a rationale for genetic characterization of relapse neuroblastoma and show that RAS-MAPK pathway mutations may function as a biomarker for new therapeutic approaches to refractory disease.

Study EGAS00001001183

Recurrent mTORC1-activating RRAGC mutations in follicular lymphoma

Follicular lymphoma (FL) is an incurable B-cell malignancy characterized by the t(14;18) and mutations in one or more components of the epigenome. Whilst frequent gene mutations in signaling pathways, including JAK-STAT, NOTCH and NF-κB, have also been defined, the spectrum of these mutations typically overlap with the closely-related diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). A combination of discovery exome and extended targeted sequencing revealed recurrent somatic mutations in RRAGC uniquely enriched in FL patients (17%). More than half of the mutations preferentially co-occurred with ATP6V1B2 and ATP6AP1 mutations, components of the vacuolar H+-adenosine triphosphate ATPase (v-ATPase) known to be necessary for amino acid-dependent mTORC1 activation. RagC mutants increased raptor binding whilst rendering mTORC1 signaling resistant to amino acid deprivation through nucleotide-independent mechanisms. Collectively, the activating nature of the RRAGC mutations, their existence within the dominant clone and stability during disease progression supports their potential as an excellent candidate to be therapeutically exploited.

Study EGAS00001001190

Study of non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Study EGAS00001000926

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

Clinical outcomes in ctDNA-positive urothelial carcinoma patients treated with adjuvant immunotherapy

Minimally invasive approaches to detect residual disease after surgery are urgently needed to select patients at highest risk for metastatic relapse for additional therapies. Circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) holds promise as a biomarker for molecular residual disease (MRD) and relapse,1-3 but its clinical value has yet to be demonstrated in a randomised clinical trial. We evaluated outcomes in post-surgical ctDNA-positive (+) patients in a randomised phase III trial of adjuvant atezolizumab versus observation. IMvigor010 enrolled 809 patients with muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma and did not meet its primary endpoint of disease-free survival (DFS) in the intent-to-treat population. Within the study, an exploratory planned analysis of prospectively collected plasma was performed, which tested the utility of ctDNA to identify patients who may benefit from adjuvant atezolizumab treatment. ctDNA was measured at the start of therapy (cycle 1 day 1; C1D1) and at week 6 (cycle 3 day 1; C3D1), and 581 patients were evaluable for ctDNA. The prevalence of ctDNA positivity at C1D1 was 37% (n=214), and ctDNA positivity identified patients with poor prognosis (observation arm DFS HR= 6.19 (4.29, 8.91), p&lt;0.0001). Here we show that ctDNA(+) patients had improved DFS and overall survival (OS) with atezolizumab versus observation (DFS HR= 0.56 (0.41-0.77); p=0.0003 and OS HR= 0.58 (0.4-0.86); p=0.0063). No difference in DFS or OS between arms was noted for ctDNA-negative patients. The rate of ctDNA clearance was higher with atezolizumab (18%) versus observation (4%) (p=0.0041). Transcriptomic analysis revealed that tumours from ctDNA(+) patients had higher expression of cell cycle and keratin genes. Within the ctDNA(+) patient population in the atezolizumab arm, non-relapsing patients were further enriched in prominent immune response signatures including PD-L1, IFNG, CXCL9, and high tumour mutational burden, whereas relapse was associated with angiogenesis and fibroblast-transforming growth factor-beta signatures (F-TBRS). TCGA molecular subset analysis revealed increased efficacy of atezolizumab in patients with basal-squamous tumours, consistent with underlying tumour-immune contexture. Together these findings suggest that adjuvant atezolizumab may be associated with improved outcomes compared with observation in this high-risk ctDNA(+) population. These findings, if validated in other settings, would shift approaches to post-operative cancer care.

Study EGAS00001004997

Comprehensive Transcriptional Analysis of Early Stage Urothelial Carcinoma using whole transcriptome sequencing

The expression profile and sequence variants of 476 early stage urothelial carcinoma were studied using whole transcriptome sequencing. RNA-Seq libraries were prepared by Ribo-Zero treatment of total-RNA followed by library preparation using ScriptSeq (both Epicentre/Illumina). RNA-Seq libraries were paired-end sequenced (2x 101 bp) on Illumina HiSeq 2000 and the resulting fastq files were processed using tools from the Genome Analysis Toolkit (GATK and from the Tuxedo suite. Access to the sequence data (mapped and un-mapped bam and vcf files), containing person identifying information, needs signature on a controlled access form, and can be accessed at The European Genome-phenome Archive (EGA) following request. An expression matrice of FPKM values are available without restriction at ArrayExpress (E-MTAB-4321).

Study EGAS00001001236

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