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Pardini E, Cucchiara F, Palumbo S, Tarrini G, Di Vita A, Coppedè F, Nicolì V, Guida M, Maestri M, Ricciardi R, Aprile V, Ambrogi MC, Barachini S, Lucchi M, Petrini I. Somatic mutations of thymic epithelial tumors with myasthenia gravis. Front Oncol 2023; 13:1224491. [PMID: 37671056 PMCID: PMC10475716 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1224491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Thymic epithelial tumors are rare malignant neoplasms that are frequently associated with paraneoplastic syndromes, especially myasthenia gravis. GTF2I is an oncogene mutated in a subgroup of thymomas that is reputed to drive their growth. However, for GTF2I wild-type tumors, the relevant mutations remain to be identified. Methods We performed a meta-analysis and identified 4,208 mutations in 339 patients. We defined a panel of 63 genes frequently mutated in thymic epithelial tumors, which we used to design a custom assay for next-generation sequencing. We sequenced tumor DNA from 67 thymomas of patients with myasthenia gravis who underwent resection in our institution. Results Among the 67 thymomas, there were 238 mutations, 83 of which were in coding sequences. There were 14 GTF2I mutations in 6 A, 5 AB, 2 B2 thymomas, and one in a thymoma with unspecified histology. No other oncogenes showed recurrent mutations, while sixteen tumor suppressor genes were predicted to be inactivated. Even with a dedicated assay for the identification of specific somatic mutations in thymic epithelial tumors, only GTF2I mutations were found to be significantly recurrent. Conclusion Our evaluation provides insights into the mutational landscape of thymic epithelial tumors, identifies recurrent mutations in different histotypes, and describes the design and implementation of a custom panel for targeted resequencing. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the genetic basis of thymic epithelial tumors and may have implications for future research and treatment strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonora Pardini
- Department of Translational Research and of New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Federico Cucchiara
- Department of Translational Research and of New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Sara Palumbo
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giulia Tarrini
- Department of Translational Research and of New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Alessia Di Vita
- Department of Translational Research and of New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Fabio Coppedè
- Medical Genetics, Department of Translational Research and of New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Vanessa Nicolì
- Medical Genetics, Department of Translational Research and of New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Melania Guida
- Neurology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Michelangelo Maestri
- Neurology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Roberta Ricciardi
- Neurology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Vittorio Aprile
- Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Marcello C. Ambrogi
- Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Serena Barachini
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Marco Lucchi
- Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Iacopo Petrini
- Department of Translational Research and of New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
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Yang J, Zhang B, Guan W, Fan Z, Pu X, Zhao L, Jiang W, Cai W, Quan X, Miao S, Nie L, He L. Molecular genetic characteristics of thymic epithelial tumors with distinct histological subtypes. Cancer Med 2023; 12:10575-10586. [PMID: 36916520 DOI: 10.1002/cam4.5795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Revised: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Due to the low incidence and histological heterogeneity, the molecular features and underlying carcinogenic mechanisms of thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are yet to be fully elucidated, especially for different subtypes of TETs. METHODS Tumor tissue samples of 43 TETs with distinct histological subtypes were collected. We analyzed the molecular characteristics in different subtypes based on whole exome sequencing data. RESULTS The mutational profiles of the different subtypes of TETs varied. Compared with thymomas, thymic carcinomas (TCs) had a higher mutation frequency of MYO16 (33% vs. 3%, p = 0.024) and a lower frequency of ZNF729 mutations (0% vs. 35%, p = 0.044). No significant difference was observed in the median tumor mutation burden across different subtypes. The value of copy number variation burden, weighted genome instability index, and the number of amplified segments were all higher in TCs than thymomas, and they also tended to be higher in B3 thymoma than in non-B3 thymomas, while they had no significant differences between B3 thymoma and TCs. Clustering analyses revealed that Wnt, MAPK, Hedgehog, AMPK, and cell junction assembly signaling pathways were exclusively enriched in non-B3 thymomas, lysine degradation pathway in B3 thymoma, and extracellular matrix-receptor (ECM-receptor) interaction, positive regulation of cell cycle process, and activation of innate immune response pathways in TCs. CONCLUSIONS This study revealed distinct molecular landscapes of different subtypes of TETs, suggesting diverse pathogenesis of non-B3 thymomas, B3 thymomas, and TCs. Our findings warrant further validation in future large-scale studies and may provide a theoretical basis for potential personalized therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Yang
- Department of Pathology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Biao Zhang
- Department of Pathology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Wenyan Guan
- Department of Pathology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Zhiwen Fan
- Department of Pathology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Xiaohong Pu
- Department of Pathology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Linyue Zhao
- Department of Pathology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Wen Jiang
- Department of Pathology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Weijing Cai
- Shanghai Tongshu Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China
| | - Xueping Quan
- Shanghai Tongshu Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China
| | - Shuying Miao
- Department of Pathology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Ling Nie
- Department of Pathology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Lu He
- Department of Pathology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
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Kostic Peric J, Cirkovic A, Srzentic Drazilov S, Samardzic N, Skodric Trifunovic V, Jovanovic D, Pavlovic S. Molecular profiling of rare thymoma using next-generation sequencing: meta-analysis. Radiol Oncol 2023; 57:12-19. [PMID: 36942904 PMCID: PMC10039471 DOI: 10.2478/raon-2023-0013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Thymomas belong to rare tumors giving rise to thymic epithelial tissue. There is a classification of several forms of thymoma: A, AB, B1, B2, B3, thymic carcinoma (TC) and thymic neuroendocrine thymoma. In this meta-analysis study, we have focused on thymoma using articles based on the disease's next-generation sequencing (NGS) genomic profiling. MATERIALS AND METHODS We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of studies that discovered the genes and variants occurring in the less aggressive forms of the thymic epithelial tumors. Studies published before 12th December 2022 were identified through PubMed, Web of Science (WoS), and SCOPUS databases. Two reviewers have searched for the bases and selected the articles for the final analysis, based on well-defined exclusion and inclusion criteria. RESULTS Finally, 12 publications were included in the qualitative as well as quantitative analysis. The three genes, GTF2I, TP53, and HRAS, emerged as disease-significant in the observed studies. The Odds Ratio for all three extracted genes GTF2I (OR = 1.58, CI [1.51, 1.66] p < 0.00001), TP53 (OR = 1.36, CI [1.12, 1.65], p < 0.002), and HRAS (OR = 1.02, CI [1.00, 1.04], p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS According to obtained data, we noticed that the GTF2I gene exhibits a significant prevalence in the cohort of observed thymoma patients. Moreover, analyzing published articles NGS has suggested GTF2I, TP53, and HRAS genes as the most frequently mutated genes in thymoma that have pathogenic single nucleotide variants (SNV) and Insertion/Deletion (InDel), which contribute to disease development and progression. These variants could be valuable biomarkers and target points specific to thymoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jelena Kostic Peric
- Institute for Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Andja Cirkovic
- Department for Medical Statistics and Informatics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Sanja Srzentic Drazilov
- Institute for Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Natalija Samardzic
- University Hospital of Pulmonology, Clinical Centre of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Vesna Skodric Trifunovic
- University Hospital of Pulmonology, Clinical Centre of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | | | - Sonja Pavlovic
- Institute for Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
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Yang W, Chen S, Cheng X, Xu B, Zeng H, Zou J, Su C, Chen Z. Characteristics of genomic mutations and signaling pathway alterations in thymic epithelial tumors. ANNALS OF TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE 2021; 9:1659. [PMID: 34988168 PMCID: PMC8667121 DOI: 10.21037/atm-21-5182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND To elucidate the mechanisms of thymic epithelial tumor (TET) canceration by characterizing genomic mutations and signaling pathway alterations. METHODS Primary tumor and blood samples were collected from 21 patients diagnosed with TETs (thymoma and thymic cancer), 15 of whom were screened by nucleic acid extraction and whole exon sequencing. Bioinformatics was used to comprehensively analyze the sequencing data for these samples, including gene mutation information and the difference of tumor mutation burden (TMB) between thymoma and thymic carcinoma groups. We performed signaling pathway and functional enrichment analysis using the WebGestalt 2017 toolkit. RESULTS ZNF429 (36%) was the gene with the highest mutation frequency in thymic carcinoma. Mutations in BAP1 (14%), ABI1 (7%), BCL9L (7%), and CHEK2 (7%) were exclusively detected in thymic carcinoma, whereas ZNF721 mutations (14%) and PABPC1 (14%) were found exclusively in thymoma. The mean TMB values for thymic carcinoma and thymoma were 0.722 and 0.663 mutations per megabase (Mb), respectively, and these differences were not statistically significant. The ErbB signaling pathway was enriched in the thymoma and intersection groups, and pathways of central carbon metabolism in cancer, longevity regulating and MAPK signaling were only found in the thymoma group, while pathways in cancer (hsa05200) was found in the thymoma and thymic carcinoma groups. CONCLUSIONS Multiple differences in somatic genes and pathways have been identified. Our findings provide insights into differences between thymoma and thymic carcinoma that could aid in designing personalized clinical therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weilin Yang
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery of East Division, the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Sai Chen
- Center for Private Medical Service & Healthcare, the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xinxin Cheng
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery of East Division, the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Bo Xu
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery of East Division, the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Huilan Zeng
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery of East Division, the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jianyong Zou
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chunhua Su
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhenguang Chen
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery of East Division, the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Thoracic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
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Xu S, Li X, Zhang H, Zu L, Yang L, Shi T, Zhu S, Lei X, Song Z, Chen J. Frequent Genetic Alterations and Their Clinical Significance in Patients With Thymic Epithelial Tumors. Front Oncol 2021; 11:667148. [PMID: 34307137 PMCID: PMC8296820 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.667148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are relatively rare neoplasms, including thymomas (types A, AB, B1, B2, and B3) and thymic carcinomas (TCs). The current knowledge about the biological properties of TETs is limited due to their low incidence. This study aimed to detect genetic alterations in TETs using next-generation sequencing(NGS) and explore their clinical significance in survival. Methods Tumor tissues and clinical data were collected from 34 patients with resected TETs in the Tianjin Medical University General Hospital between January 2011 and January 2019, and 56 cancer-associated genes were analyzed. The data of 123 TETs were retrieved from TCGA, and the information on their clinical and somatic mutations was explored. Results The cohort comprised 34 TETs including 17 thymomas and 17 TCs. The NGS results indicated that 73.08% of TCs+type B3 TETs and 37.50% of non-TCs+type B3 TETs each exhibited gene mutations. For patients with type B3/C, TP53 was the most frequent mutation (19.23%), followed by CDKN2A (11.54%). Similarly, in 123 TETs from the TCGA cohort, TP53 mutations were more frequent in patients with type B3/C than in patients with non-type B3/C (11.53% vs 3.09%). Further, patients with TET with TP53 mutations in the present cohort and the TCGA cohort had a worse prognosis compared with those without TP53 mutations. Conclusions Gene mutation profiles between TCs+type B3 TETs and non-TCs+type B3 TETs were significantly different. The presence of TP53 mutations was more frequent in TCs+type B3 TETs than in non-TCs+type B3 TETs, which was associated with a worse prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Song Xu
- Department of Lung Cancer Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.,Tianjin Key Laboratory of Lung Cancer Metastasis and Tumor Microenvironment, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Xiongfei Li
- Department of Lung Cancer Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.,Tianjin Key Laboratory of Lung Cancer Metastasis and Tumor Microenvironment, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Hongyi Zhang
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Gansu Provincial Hospital, Lanzhou, China
| | - Lingling Zu
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Lung Cancer Metastasis and Tumor Microenvironment, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Lingqi Yang
- Department of Lung Cancer Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.,Tianjin Key Laboratory of Lung Cancer Metastasis and Tumor Microenvironment, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Tao Shi
- Precision Medicine Center, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Shuai Zhu
- Department of Lung Cancer Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.,Tianjin Key Laboratory of Lung Cancer Metastasis and Tumor Microenvironment, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Xi Lei
- Department of Lung Cancer Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.,Tianjin Key Laboratory of Lung Cancer Metastasis and Tumor Microenvironment, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Zuoqing Song
- Department of Lung Cancer Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.,Tianjin Key Laboratory of Lung Cancer Metastasis and Tumor Microenvironment, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Jun Chen
- Department of Lung Cancer Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.,Tianjin Key Laboratory of Lung Cancer Metastasis and Tumor Microenvironment, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
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