BACKGROUND To identify novel effectors and markers of localized but potentially life-threatening prostate cancer (PCa), we evaluated chromosomal copy number alterations (CNAs) in tumors from patients who underwent prostatectomy and correlated these with clinicopathologic features and outcome. METHODS CNAs in tumor DNAs from 125 prostatectomy patients in the discovery cohort were assayed with high resolution Affymetrix 6.0 SNP microarrays and then analyzed using the Genomic Identification of Significant Targets in Cancer (GISTIC) algorithm. RESULTS The assays revealed twenty significant regions of CNAs, four of them novel, and identified the target genes of four of the alterations. By univariate analysis, seven CNAs were significantly associated with early PCa-specific mortality. These included gains of chromosomal regions that contain the genes MYC, ADAR, or TPD52 and losses of sequences that incorporate SERPINB5, USP10, PTEN, or TP53. On multivariate analysis, only the CNAs of PTEN and MYC contributed additional prognostic information independent of that provided by pathologic stage, Gleason score, and initial PSA level. Patients whose tumors had alterations of both genes had a markedly elevated risk of PCa-specific mortality (OR = 53; C.I.= 6.92–405, P = 1 × 10−4). Analyses of 333 tumors from three additional distinct patient cohorts confirmed the relationship between CNAs of PTEN and MYC and lethal PCa. CONCLUSION This study identified new CNAs and genes that likely contribute to the pathogenesis of localized PCa and suggests that patients whose tumors have acquired CNAs of PTEN, MYC, or both have an increased risk of early PCa-specific mortality.

Purpose: Chromosome 6q14-21is commonly deleted in prostate cancers, occurring in f22% of all tumors and f40% of metastatic tumors. However, candidate prostate tumor suppressor genes in this region have not been identified, in part due to the large and broad nature of the deleted region implicated in previous studies. Experimental Design: We first used high-resolution Affymetrix single nucleotide polymorphism arrays to examine DNA from malignant and matched nonmalignant cells from 55 prostate cancer patients. We identified a small consensus region on 6q14-21 and evaluated the deletion status within the region among additional 40 tumors and normal pairs using quantitative PCR and fluorescence in situ hybridization.We finally tested the association between the deletion and Gleason score using the Fisher's exact test. Results: Tumors with small, interstitial deletions at 6q14-21defined an 817-kb consensus region that is affected in 20 of 21tumors. The MAP3K7 gene is one of five genes located in this region. In total, MAP3K7 was deleted in 32% of 95 tumors. Importantly, deletion of MAP3K7 was highly associated with higher-grade disease, occurring in 61% of tumors with Gleason score z8 compared with only 22% of tumors with Gleason score V7. The difference was highly significant (P = 0.001). Conclusion: Our study provides strong evidence for the first time that a small deletion at 6q15, including the MAP3K7 gene and four other genes, is associated with high-grade prostate cancers. Although the deletion may be a marker for high-grade prostate cancer, additional studies are needed to understand its molecular mechanisms.Many if not most prostate cancers do not pose a major health threat to their hosts. The molecular factors responsible for variations in the aggressiveness of prostate cancers are poorly defined. Deletion of DNA sequences from chromosome 6q14-21 is one of the most common deletion events in the genome of prostate tumors (reviewed in ref. 1). In a recent study that estimated the frequency of DNA copy number alterations in the prostate cancer genome based on all published comparative genomic hybridization studies of prostate cancers, about one quarter of the 891 prostate cancers had a deletion at 6q14-21 (2). More importantly, the deletion seemed to be more common in metastatic/ advanced tumors (40%) than in localized/primary tumors (19%). Despite this overwhelming evidence for frequent 6q deletions, specific prostate tumor suppressor genes have not been identified in this region. One of the major obstacles is the size of the deleted region implicated in previous studies, due at least in part to limited resolution of the detection methods. In our combined analysis of all published comparative genomic hybridization studies, the deleted region at 6q spans f30 Mb (2). The large number of genes (>170) located within the broad deletion interval poses a significant challenge to effective searches for tumor suppressor genes in the region. Therefore, efforts are needed to define a smaller candidate region. Hi...

Biallelic mutations of UBE3B have recently been shown to cause Kaufman oculocerebrofacial syndrome (also reported as blepharophimosis-ptosis-intellectual disability syndrome), an autosomal recessive condition characterized by hypotonia, developmental delay, intellectual disability, congenital anomalies, characteristic facial dysmorphic features, and low cholesterol levels. To date, six patients with either missense mutations affecting the UBE3B HECT domain or truncating mutations have been described. Here, we report on the identification of homozygous or compound heterozygous UBE3B mutations in six additional patients from five unrelated families using either targeted UBE3B sequencing in individuals with suggestive facial dysmorphic features, or exome sequencing. Our results expand the clinical and mutational spectrum of the UBE3B-related disorder in several ways. First, we have identified UBE3B mutations in individuals who previously received distinct clinical diagnoses: two sibs with Toriello-Carey syndrome as well as the patient reported to have a "new" syndrome by Buntinx and Majewski in 1990. Second, we describe the adult phenotype and clinical variability of the syndrome. Third, we report on the first instance of homozygous missense alterations outside the HECT domain of UBE3B, observed in a patient with mildly dysmorphic facial features. We conclude that UBE3B mutations cause a clinically recognizable and possibly underdiagnosed syndrome characterized by distinct craniofacial features, hypotonia, failure to thrive, eye abnormalities, other congenital malformations, low cholesterol levels, and severe intellectual disability. We review the UBE3B-associated phenotypes, including forms that can mimick Toriello-Carey syndrome, and suggest the single designation "Kaufman oculocerebrofacial syndrome".

Introduction: Much of the higher risk for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in African American individuals relates to ancestry-specific variation in the apolipoprotein L1 gene (APOL1). Relative to kidneys from European American deceased-donors, kidneys from African American deceased-donors have shorter allograft survival and African American living-kidney donors more often develop ESKD. The National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored APOL1 Long-term Kidney Transplantation Outcomes Network (APOLLO) is prospectively assessing kidney allograft survival from donors with recent African ancestry based on donor and recipient APOL1 genotypes. Methods: APOLLO will evaluate outcomes from 2614 deceased kidney donor-recipient pairs, as well as additional living-kidney donor-recipient pairs and unpaired deceased-donor kidneys. Results: The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), Association of Organ Procurement Organizations, American Society of Transplantation, American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, and nearly all U.S. kidney transplant programs, organ procurement organizations (OPOs), and histocompatibility laboratories are participating in this observational study. APOLLO employs a central institutional review board (cIRB) and maintains voluntary partnerships with OPOs and histocompatibility laboratories. A Community Advisory Council composed of African American individuals with a personal or family history of kidney disease has advised the NIH Project Office and Steering Committee since inception. UNOS is providing data for outcome analyses. Conclusion: This article describes unique aspects of the protocol, design, and performance of APOLLO. Results will guide use of APOL1 genotypic data to improve the assessment of quality in deceased-donor kidneys and could increase numbers of transplanted kidneys, reduce rates of discard, and improve the safety of living-kidney donation.

Our results suggest that LMB has anti-cancer potential and provides a new regimen of individualized therapy for lung cancer treatment.