Mutations in the RAS/MAPK pathway drive replication repair deficient hypermutated tumors and confer sensitivity to MEK inhibition

The RAS/MAPK pathway is an emerging targeted pathway across a spectrum of both adult and pediatric cancers. Typically, this is associated with a single, well-characterized point mutation in an oncogene. Hypermutant tumors which harbor many somatic mutations may obscure the interpretation of such targetable genomic events. We find that replication repair deficient (RRD) cancers which are universally hypermutant and affect children born with RRD cancer predisposition, are enriched for RAS/MAPK mutations (p=10-8). These mutations are not random, exist in subclones, and increase in allelic frequency over time. The RAS/MAPK pathway is activated both transcriptionally and at the protein level in patient derived RRD tumors and these tumors responded to MEK inhibition in vitro and in vivo. Treatment of patients with RAS/MAPK hypermutant gliomas reveal durable responses to MEK inhibition. Our observations suggest that hypermutant tumors may be addicted to oncogenic pathways resulting in favorable response to targeted therapies.

Type: Other
Archiver: European Genome-Phenome Archive (EGA)

2 Datasets 1 Publication

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
EGAD00001006920	This dataset contains exome sequencing from replication repair deficient brain tumor samples.		7
EGAD00001006921	Hypermutant tumors which harbor many somatic mutations may obscure the interpretation of targetable genomic events. This dataset contains transcriptome sequencing from 21 replication repair deficient brain tumor samples as well as healthy controls.	Illumina HiSeq 2500	30

Publications	Citations
Mutations in the RAS/MAPK Pathway Drive Replication Repair-Deficient Hypermutated Tumors and Confer Sensitivity to MEK Inhibition. Campbell BB, Galati MA, Stone SC, Riemenschneider AN, Edwards M, Sudhaman S, Siddaway R, Komosa M, Nunes NM, Nobre L, Morrissy AS, Zatzman M, Zapotocky M, Joksimovic L, Kalimuthu SN, Samuel D, Mason G, Bouffet E, Morgenstern DA, Aronson M, Durno C, Malkin D, Maris JM, Taylor MD, Shlien A, Pugh TJ, Ohashi PS, Hawkins CE, Tabori U. Cancer Discov 11: 2021 1454-1467	16

Publications

Citations

Mutations in the RAS/MAPK Pathway Drive Replication Repair-Deficient Hypermutated Tumors and Confer Sensitivity to MEK Inhibition.
Campbell BB, Galati MA, Stone SC, Riemenschneider AN, Edwards M, Sudhaman S, Siddaway R, Komosa M, Nunes NM, Nobre L, Morrissy AS, Zatzman M, Zapotocky M, Joksimovic L, Kalimuthu SN, Samuel D, Mason G, Bouffet E, Morgenstern DA, Aronson M, Durno C, Malkin D, Maris JM, Taylor MD, Shlien A, Pugh TJ, Ohashi PS, Hawkins CE, Tabori U. Cancer Discov 11: 2021 1454-1467