Abstract 2709: Transcriptomic meta-analysis of non-Hodgkin’s B-cell lymphomas reveals reliance on pathways associated with extracellular matrix

Abstract

We report here the results of a transcriptomic meta-analysis of public data for B-cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphomas (BCNHL). In 2016, there were 461,000 cases of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma worldwide, resulting in 240,000 deaths that year. BCNHLs pose a significant disease burden worldwide, making up 85-90% of BCNHL cases. BCNHL subtypes include Burkitt’s lymphoma, marginal-zone B-cell lymphomas, follicular lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and mantle cell lymphoma. There is a growing need to understand the mechanisms of BCNHL pathology. The scientific community has spent a great deal of time and effort to identify the hallmarks of cancer. Since cancers of different subtypes can be considered parallel systems, we have performed a meta-analysis including as many BCNHL subtypes as possible to determine common underlying mechanisms. We performed a transcriptomic meta-analysis of publicly available RNA-sequencing data for BCNHL, consisting of 322 relevant samples across seven distinct studies in the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). To our knowledge, no BCNHL meta-analysis of this magnitude has previously been performed. We found ~10,400 significant differentially expressed genes (FDR p-value <= 0.05) and 33 significantly modulated pathways (FDR p-value <= 0.05). We observed potential common mechanisms for BCNHL’s differentially expressed genes and signaling pathways. Our findings include a significant class of proteoglycans not previously associated with lymphomas as well as significant upregulation of extracellular matrix-associated proteins. This meta-analysis offers fresh insights into the inner workings and mechanisms of B-cell lymphomas that could give rise to improved diagnostics and/or therapeutics. Citation Format: Naomi Rapier-Sharman, Brett E. Pickett. Transcriptomic meta-analysis of non-Hodgkin’s B-cell lymphomas reveals reliance on pathways associated with extracellular matrix [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 2709.