Osteosarcoma is a highly aggressive cancer for which treatment has remained essentially unchanged for more than 30 years. Osteosarcoma is characterized by widespread and recurrent somatic copy-number alterations (SCNA) and structural rearrangements. In contrast, few recurrent point mutations in protein-coding genes have been identifi ed, suggesting that genes within SCNAs are key oncogenic drivers in this disease. SCNAs and structural rearrangements are highly heterogeneous across osteosarcoma cases, suggesting the need for a genome-informed approach to targeted therapy. To identify patient-specifi c candidate drivers, we used a simple heuristic based on degree and rank order of copy-number amplifi cation (identifi ed by whole-genome sequencing) and changes in gene expression as identifi ed by RNA sequencing. Using patient-derived tumor xenografts, we demonstrate that targeting of patient-specifi c SCNAs leads to signifi cant decrease in tumor burden, providing a road map for genome-informed treatment of osteosarcoma. SIGNIFICANCE: Osteosarcoma is treated with a chemotherapy regimen established 30 years ago. Although osteosarcoma is genomically complex, we hypothesized that tumor-specifi c dependencies could be identifi ed within SCNAs. Using patient-derived tumor xenografts, we found a high degree of response for "genome-matched" therapies, demonstrating the utility of a targeted genome-informed approach.
In recent years, a novel small round cell sarcoma harboring EWSR1-NFATC2 translocation with immunomorphologic overlap with Ewing sarcoma (ES), myoepithelial tumors, and extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma has emerged. There has not been a case series devoted to describing its detailed clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical characteristics. Six sarcomas harboring EWSR1-NFATC2 fusion transcripts by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and amplification of the fusion gene by fluorescence in situ hybridization were identified. The patients were 5 adult men and 1 adult woman. Three were primary bone tumors of the radius and 3 were primary soft tissue tumors. Most tumors showed monomorphic round to epithelioid cells in anastomosing cords and abundant myxohyaline to collagenous extracellular matrix. Two tumors had large areas of a solid, matrix-poor histomorphology. All tumors stained for CD99 and NKX2.2; while EMA, dot-like cytokeratin, and focal WT-1 and SMA were present in some tumors. All but 1 tumor showed poor histologic and radiologic responses to neoadjuvant ES-specific chemotherapy. Local or distant recurrences happened in 4 cases. EWSR1-NFATC2 sarcoma is a novel translocation-associated sarcoma. It presents as either a primary bone or soft tissue tumor, usually exhibits distinctive histopathologic features, and has predilection for long bones of adult men. It consistently shows recurrent fusion gene amplification readily detectable by EWSR1 breakapart fluorescence in situ hybridization, which serves as a diagnostic surrogate. It has potential for local and distant recurrence and histologic progression, and is resistant to Ewing sarcoma-specific chemotherapy.
Data availability Scanned image files of the H&E stained slides from which representative images are presented are available for downloading and viewing at the following link: https://figshare.com/projects/ Primary_intracranial_sarcoma_with_myogenic_differentiation_and_DICER1_mutation/57704. Sequencing and methylation data files are available from the authors upon request. Terms of use and reuse: academic research for non-commercial purposes, see here for full terms. https://www.springer.com/aamterms-v1
- Tumor budding has been shown to be an independent prognostic marker in colorectal carcinomas and the routine reporting of tumor buds is now advocated by using the approach outlined by the ITBCC guidelines. Tumor budding is included in the CAP protocol as a recommended element. Presence of prominent tumor budding in an adenocarcinoma in a polyp may have implications for management, such as additional resection, while it serves as a prognostic factor in other settings.
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