Background Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide. We sought to describe the most common oncogenic mutations in cervical cancers, and to explore genomic differences between the two most common histological subtypes: adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Methods A high-throughput genotyping platform, termed Oncomap, was used to interrogate 80 cervical tumors for 1250 known mutations in 139 cancer genes. Samples were analyzed using a mass spectrometry-based genotyping platform (Sequenom), and validated with an orthogonal chemistry. EGFR mutations were further validated by massively parallel sequencing (Illumina). Human papilloma virus (HPV) genotyping was also performed. Results Validated mutations were detected in 60.0% (48/80) of tumors examined. The highest mutation rates were PIK3CA (31.3%), KRAS (8.8%), and EGFR (3.8%). PIK3CA mutation rates were not significantly different in adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinomas (25.0% vs. 37.5%, respectively, p=0.33). In contrast, KRAS mutations were identified only in adenocarcinoma (17.5% vs. 0%, p=0.01), and a novel EGFR mutation was detected only in squamous cell carcinomas (0% vs. 7.5%, p=0.24). There were no associations between HPV-16 or HPV-18 and somatic mutations or overall survival. In adjusted analyses, PIK3CA mutations were associated with shorter survival—67.1 vs. 90.3 months (HR=9.1, 95% CI 2.8–29.5, p<0.001). Conclusions Cervical cancers harbor high rates of potentially targetable oncogenic mutations. In addition, cervical squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma have distinct molecular profiles, suggesting that clinical outcomes may be improved with the use of more tailored treatment strategies, including PI3-kinase and MEK inhibitors.

Benign metastasizing leiomyomas are a rare cause of pulmonary nodules. They likely represent a clonal spread of uterine leiomyomas to the lungs. Management includes pathologic diagnosis with long-term surveillance with or without hormonal manipulation.

BACKGROUND Endometriosis is frequently associated with and thought of having propensity to develop into ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC), although the molecular transformation mechanism is not completely understood. METHODS We employed immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for marker expression along the potential progression continuum. Expression profiling of microdissected endometriotic and OCCC cells from patient-matched formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples was performed to explore the carcinogenic pathways. Function of novel biomarkers was confirmed by knockdown experiments. RESULTS PTEN was significantly lost in both endometriosis and invasive tumor tissues, while estrogen receptor (ER) expression was lost in OCCC relative to endometriosis. XRCC5, PTCH2, eEF1A2, and PPP1R14B were significantly overexpressed in OCCC and associated endometriosis, but not in benign endometriosis (p≤0.004). Knockdown experiments with XRCC5 and PTCH2 in a clear cell cancer cell line resulted in significant growth inhibition. There was also significant silencing of a panel of target genes with histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation, a signature of polycomb chromatin-remodeling complex in OCCC. IHC confirmed the loss of expression of one such polycomb target gene, the serous ovarian cancer lineage marker WT1 in OCCC, while endometriotic tissues showed significant co-expression of WT1 and ER. CONCLUSIONS Loss of PTEN expression is proposed as an early and permissive event in endometriosis development, while the loss of ER and polycomb-mediated transcriptional reprogramming for pluripotency may play an important role in the ultimate transformation process. Our study provides new evidence to redefine the pathogenic program for lineage-specific transformation of endometriosis to OCCC.