Publikation

Are Fusion Transcripts in Relapsed/Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer Patients Predictive of Response to Anti-EGFR Therapies?

Wissenschaftlicher Artikel/Review - 12.11.2017

Bereiche
PubMed
DOI

Zitation
Bossi P, Licitra L, Canevari S, Locati L, Pilotti S, Perrone F, Marchesi E, Paoli A, Tonella L, Giannoccaro M, Sponghini A, Cossu Rocca M, Bergamini C, Siano M, De Cecco L. Are Fusion Transcripts in Relapsed/Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer Patients Predictive of Response to Anti-EGFR Therapies?. Dis Markers 2017; 2017:6870614.
Art
Wissenschaftlicher Artikel/Review (Englisch)
Zeitschrift
Dis Markers 2017; 2017
Veröffentlichungsdatum
12.11.2017
eISSN (Online)
1875-8630
Seiten
6870614
Kurzbeschreibung/Zielsetzung

Prediction of benefit from combined chemotherapy and the antiepidermal growth factor receptor cetuximab is a not yet solved question in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). In a selected series of 14 long progression-free survival (PFS) and 26 short PFS patients by whole gene and microRNA expression analysis, we developed a model potentially predictive of cetuximab sensitivity. To better decipher the "omics" profile of our patients, we detected transcript fusions by RNA-seq through a Pan-Cancer panel targeting 1385 cancer genes. Twenty-seven different fusion transcripts, involving mRNA and long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), were identified. The majority of fusions (81%) were intrachromosomal, and 24 patients (60%) harbor at least one of them. The presence/absence of fusions and the presence of more than one fusion were not related to outcome, while the lncRNA-containing fusions resulted enriched in long PFS patients (P = 0.0027). The CD274-PDCD1LG2 fusion was present in 7/14 short PFS patients harboring fusions and was absent in long PFS patients (P = 0.0188). Among the short PFS patients, those harboring this fusion had the worst outcome (P = 0.0172) and increased K-RAS activation (P = 0.00147). The associations between HNSCC patient's outcome following cetuximab treatment and lncRNA-containing fusions or the CD274-PDCD1LG2 fusion deserve validation in prospective clinical trials.