Lineage survival oncogenes are activated by somatic DNA alterations in cancers arising from the cell lineages in which these genes play a role in normal development.1,2 Here we show that a peak of genomic amplification on chromosome 3q26.33, found in squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) of the lung and esophagus, contains the transcription factor gene SOX2—which is mutated in hereditary human esophageal malformations3 and necessary for normal esophageal squamous development4, promotes differentiation and proliferation of basal tracheal cells5 and co-operates in induction of pluripotent stem cells.6,7,8 SOX2 expression is required for proliferation and anchorage-independent growth of lung and esophageal cell lines, as shown by RNA interference experiments. Furthermore, ectopic expression of SOX2 cooperated with FOXE1 or FGFR2 to transform immortalized tracheobronchial epithelial cells. SOX2-driven tumors show expression of markers of both squamous differentiation and pluripotency. These observations identify SOX2 as a novel lineage survival oncogene in lung and esophageal SCC.

The transcription factor SOX2 (3q26.3-q27) is a key regulator of foregut development and an embryonic stem cell factor cooperating during induction of pluripotency in terminally differentiated somatic cells. Recently, we found SOX2 to be amplified in a subset of squamous cell lung and esophageal cancers. The aim of this study was to explore the prognostic role of SOX2 in a large series of squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas of the lung. A total of 891 samples from two independent population-based cohorts were assessed by fluorescence in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, we assessed for associations between SOX2 amplification/upregulation and clinicopathological features. Similar results were found in the two cohorts. Within squamous cell carcinoma cases, 8% high-level as well as 68 and 65% low-level SOX2 amplifications occurred in the two cohorts, respectively. In adenocarcinomas, no high-level amplification was found and low-level amplification occurred in 6% of the two cohorts. Within squamous cell carcinomas of one cohort, SOX2 amplification was associated with lower tumor grade, while higher levels of SOX2 expression were related to younger age, smaller tumor size, and lower probability of angiolymphatic invasion and metastasis. High SOX2 expression levels proved to be a marker for prolonged overall survival among patients with squamous cell carcinomas. In conclusion, SOX2 amplification and upregulation are frequent events in squamous cell carcinomas of the lung and are associated with indicators of favorable prognosis. Modern Pathology (2011) 24, 944-953;

BackgroundThe SRY-related HMG-box family of transcription factors member SOX2 has been mainly studied in embryonic stem cells as well as early foregut and neural development. More recently, SOX2 was shown to participate in reprogramming of adult somatic cells to a pluripotent stem cell state and implicated in tumorigenesis in various organs. In breast cancer, SOX2 expression was reported as a feature of basal-like tumors. In this study, we assessed SOX2 expression in 95 primary tumors of postmenopausal breast cancer patients.MethodsSamples from 95 patients diagnosed and treated at the University of Tuebingen Institute of Pathology and Women's Hospital were analyzed by immunohistochemistry for SOX2 expression in the primary tumor samples and in corresponding lymph node metastasis, where present. Furthermore, SOX2 amplification status was assessed by FISH in representative samples. In addition, eighteen fresh frozen samples were analyzed for SOX2, NANOG and OCT4 gene expression by real-time PCR.ResultsSOX2 expression was detected in 28% of invasive breast carcinoma as well as in 44% of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) lesions. A score of SOX2 expression (score 0 to 3) was defined in order to distinguish SOX2 negative (score 0) from SOX2 positive samples (score 1-3) and among latter the subgroup of SOX2 high expressors (score 3 > 50% positive cells). Overall, the incidence of SOX2 expression (score 1-3) was higher than previously reported in a cohort of lymph node negative patients (28% versus 16.7%). SOX2 expression was detected across different breast cancer subtypes and did not correlate with tumor grading. However, high SOX2 expression (score 3) was associated with larger tumor size (p = 0.047) and positive lymph node status (0.018). Corresponding metastatic lymph nodes showed higher SOX2 expression and were significantly more often SOX2 positive than primary tumors (p = 0.0432).ConclusionsIn this report, we show that the embryonic stem cell factor SOX2 is expressed in a variety of early stage postmenopausal breast carcinomas and metastatic lymph nodes. Our data suggest that SOX2 plays an early role in breast carcinogenesis and high expression may promote metastatic potential. Further studies are needed to explore whether SOX2 can predict metastatic potential at an early tumor stage.

The majority of prostate cancers harbor recurrent gene fusions between the hormone-regulated TMPRSS2 and members of the ETS family of transcription factors, most commonly ERG. Prostate cancer with ERG rearrangements represent a distinct subclass of tumor based on studies reporting associations with histomorphologic features, characteristic somatic copy number alterations, and gene expression signatures. The current study describes the frequency of ERG rearrangement prostate cancer and three 5 prime (5') gene fusion partners (i.e., TMPRSS2, SLC45A3 and NDRG1) in a large prostatectomy cohort.ERG gene rearrangements and mechanism of rearrangement, as well as rearrangements of TMPRSS2, SLC45A3, and NDRG1 were assessed using fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) on prostate cancer samples from 614 patients treated by radical prostatectomy. ERG rearrangement occurred in 53% of the 540 assessable cases. TMPRSS2 and SLC45A3 were the only 5' partner in 78% and 6% of these ERG rearranged cases, respectively. Interestingly, 11% of the ERG rearranged cases demonstrated concurrent TMPRSS2 and SLC45A3 rearrangements. TMPRSS2 or SLC45A3 rearrangements could not be identified for 5% of the ERG rearranged cases. From these remaining cases we identified one case with NDRG1 rearrangement. We did not observe any associations with pathologic parameters or clinical outcome.This is the first study to describe the frequency of SLC45A3-ERG fusions in a large clinical cohort. Most studies have assumed that all ERG rearrangement prostate cancers harbor TMPRSS2-ERG fusions. This is also the first study to report concurrent TMPRSS2 and SLC45A3 rearrangements in the same tumor focus suggesting additional complexity that had not been previously appreciated. This study has important clinical implications for the development of diagnostic assays to detect ETS rearrangement prostate cancer. Incorporation of these less common ERG rearrangement prostate cancer fusion assays could further increase the sensitivity of these PCR-based approaches.

Background Identification of specific somatic gene alterations is crucial for the insight into the development, progression, and clinical behavior of individual cancer types. The recently discovered recurrent ERG rearrangement in prostate cancer (PCa) might represent a PCa specific alteration that has not been systematically assessed in tumors other than PCa. Aim of this study was to assess, whether the ERG rearrangement and the distinct deletion site between TMPRSS2 and ERG, both predominantly resulting in a TMPRSS2-ERG fusion, occurs in tumors other than PCa. Design We assessed 54 different tumor types (2942 samples in total) for their ERG rearrangement status by FISH. To calibrate, we analyzed 285 PCa samples for the ERG rearrangement frequency. Additionally, we interrogated a high-resolution SNP data set across 3131 cancer specimens (26 tumor types) for copy number alterations. Results None of the 54 different tumor types assessed by FISH harbored an ERG rearrangement, whereas the PCa samples revealed an ERG rearrangement in 31.2%–49.5%, depending on the cohort. Furthermore, within the 26 tumor types assessed for copy number alterations by SNP, the distinct deletion site between TMPRSS2 and ERG (21q22.2-3) was detectable exclusively in PCa. Conclusion Although Ewing's sarcoma and AML have known rearrangements rarely involving ERG, we hypothesize that the ERG rearrangement as well as the distinct deletion site on 21q22.2-3 between TMPRSS2 and ERG, are PCa specific genomic alterations. These observations provide further insight into the oncogenesis of PCa and might be critical for the development of ERG rearrangement assessment as a clinical tool.