This study clearly demonstrates that there are different prognostic subgroups of desmoid tumors that could benefit from different therapeutic strategies, including a wait-and-see policy.

Sarcomas are heterogeneous and aggressive mesenchymal tumors. Histological grading has so far been the best predictor for metastasis-free survival, but it has several limitations, such as moderate reproducibility and poor prognostic value for some histological types. To improve patient grading, we performed genomic and expression profiling in a training set of 183 sarcomas and established a prognostic gene expression signature, complexity index in sarcomas (CINSARC), composed of 67 genes related to mitosis and chromosome management. In a multivariate analysis, CINSARC predicts metastasis outcome in the training set and in an independent 127 sarcomas validation set. It is superior to the Fédération Francaise des Centres de Lutte Contre le Cancer grading system in determining metastatic outcome for sarcoma patients. Furthermore, it also predicts outcome for gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), breast carcinomas and lymphomas. Application of the signature will permit more selective use of adjuvant therapies for people with sarcomas, leading to decreased iatrogenic morbidity and improved outcomes for such individuals.

Objective To construct a postoperative nomogram to estimate the risk of local recurrence for patients with desmoid tumors. Background The standard management of desmoid tumors is resection, but many recur locally. Other options include observation or novel chemotherapeutics, but little guidance exists on selecting treatment. Methods Patients undergoing resection during 1982-2011 for primary or locally recurrent desmoids were identified from a single-institution prospective database. Cox regression analysis was used to assess risk factors and to create a recurrence nomogram, which was validated using an international, multi-institutional dataset. Results Desmoids were treated surgically in 495 patients (median follow-up 60 months). Of 439 patients undergoing complete gross resection, 100 (23%) had recurrence. Five-year local recurrence–free survival (LRFS) was 69%. Eight patients died of disease, all after R2 resection. Adjuvant radiation was not associated with improved LRFS. In multivariate analysis, factors associated with recurrence were extremity location, young age, and large tumor size, but not margin. Abdominal wall tumors had the best outcome (5-year LRFS 91%). Age, site, and size were used to construct a nomogram with concordance index 0.703 in internal validation and 0.659 in external validation. Integration of additional variables (R1 margin, gender, depth, and primary vs. recurrent presentation) did not importantly improve concordance (internal concordance index 0.707). Conclusions A postoperative nomogram including only size, site, and age predicts local recurrence and can aid in counseling patients. Systemic therapies may be appropriate for young patients with large, extremity desmoids, but surgery alone is curative for most abdominal wall lesions.

Different diagnostic and prognostic groups of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) have been defined. However, accurate diagnosis and prediction of survival are sometimes difficult. Gene expression profiling might improve these classifications and bring new insights into underlying molecular mechanisms. We profiled 50 cancerous and noncancerous colon tissues using DNA microarrrays consisting of B8000 spotted human cDNA. Global hierarchical clustering was to some extent able to distinguish clinically relevant subgroups, normal versus cancer tissues and metastatic versus nonmetastatic tumours. Supervised analyses improved these segregations by identifying sets of genes that discriminated between normal and tumour tissues, tumours associated or not with lymph node invasion or genetic instability, and tumours from the right or left colon. A similar approach identified a gene set that divided patients with significantly different 5-year survival (100% in one group and 40% in the other group; P ¼ 0.005). Discriminator genes were associated with various cellular processes. An immunohistochemical study on 382 tumour and normal samples deposited onto a tissue microarray subsequently validated the upregulation of NM23 in CRC and a downregulation in poor prognosis tumours. These results suggest that microarrays may provide means to improve the classification of CRC, provide new potential targets against carcinogenesis and new diagnostic and/or prognostic markers and therapeutic targets.

Rhabdomyosarcomas with TFCP2 fusions represent an emerging subtype of tumors, initially discovered by RNA-sequencing. We report herein the clinicopathological, transcriptional and genomic features of a series of 14 cases.Cases were retrospectively and prospectively recruited and studied by immunohistochemistry (MYF4, MYOD1, S100, AE1/E3, ALK), fluorescence in situ hybridization with TFCP2 break-apart probe (n=10/14), array-comparative genomic hybridization (Agilent), whole RNA-sequencing (Truseq Exome, Illumina) or anchored multiplex PCR based targeted next-generation sequencing (Archer® FusionPlex® Sarcoma kit). Patient's age ranged between 11 to 86 years, including 5 pediatric cases. Tumors were located in bone (n=12/14) and soft tissue (n=2/14). Most bone tumors invaded surrounding soft tissue. Craniofacial bones were over-represented (n=8/12). Median survival was 8 months and 5 patients are currently alive with a median follow-up of 20 months. Most tumors displayed a mixed spindle cell and epithelioid pattern with frequent vesicular nuclei. All tumors expressed keratins and showed a rhabdomyogenic phenotype (defined as expression of MYF4 and/or MYOD1). ALK was overexpressed in all but 3 cases without underlying ALK fusion on break-apart FISH (n=5) nor next generation sequencing (n=14).TFCP2 was fused in 5' either to EWSR1 (n=6) or FUS (n=8). EWSR1 was involved in both soft tissue cases. FISH with TFCP2 break-apart probe was positive in all tested cases (n=8), including one case with unbalanced signal. On array-CGH, all tested tumors displayed complex genetic profiles with genomic indexes ranging from 12.8 to 90 and CDKN2A deletion was recurrent (n=9/10). FET-TFCP2 rhabdomyosarcomas clustered together and distinctly from other rhabdomyosarcomas subgroups.Altogether, our data confirm and expand the spectrum of the new family of FET-TFCP2 rhabdomyosarcomas which are associated with a predilection for the craniofacial bones, an aggressive course and recurrent pathological features. Their association with ALK overexpression might represent a therapeutic vulnerability.

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LRI and MRI rates increased between 10 and 20 years so relapses were delayed, suggesting that long-term monitoring is useful. This study also shows that different prognostic SFT sub-groups could benefit from different therapeutic strategies and that use of a survival calculator could become standard practice in SFTs to individualize treatment based on the clinical situation.

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