1
|
Korshunov A, Okonechnikov K, Stichel D, Schrimpf D, Delaidelli A, Tonn S, Mynarek M, Sievers P, Sahm F, Jones DTW, von Deimling A, Pfister SM, Kool M. Gene expression profiling of Group 3 medulloblastomas defines a clinically tractable stratification based on KIRREL2 expression. Acta Neuropathol 2022; 144:339-352. [PMID: 35771282 PMCID: PMC9288368 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-022-02460-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Revised: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Medulloblastomas (MB) molecularly designated as Group 3 (Grp 3) MB represent a more clinically aggressive tumor variant which, as a group, displays heterogeneous molecular characteristics and disease outcomes. Reliable risk stratification of Grp 3 MB would allow for appropriate assignment of patients to aggressive treatment protocols and, vice versa, for sparing adverse effects of high-dose radio-chemotherapy in patients with standard or low-risk tumors. Here we performed RNA-based analysis on an international cohort of 179 molecularly designated Grp 3 MB treated with HIT protocols. We analyzed the clinical significance of differentially expressed genes, thereby developing optimal prognostic subdivision of this MB molecular group. We compared the transcriptome profiles of two Grp 3 MB subsets with various outcomes (76 died within the first 60 months vs. 103 survived this period) and identified 224 differentially expressed genes (DEG) between these two clinical groups (Limma R algorithm, adjusted p-value < 0.05). We selected the top six DEG overexpressed in the unfavorable cohort for further survival analysis and found that expression of all six genes strongly correlated with poor outcomes. However, only high expression of KIRREL2 was identified as an independent molecular prognostic indicator of poor patients' survival. Based on clinical and molecular patterns, four risk categories were outlined for Grp 3 MB patients: i. low-risk: M0-1/MYC non-amplified/KIRREL2 low (n = 48; 5-year OS-95%); ii. standard-risk: M0-1/MYC non-amplified/KIRREL2 high or M2-3/MYC non-amplified/KIRREL2 low (n = 65; 5-year OS-70%); iii. high-risk: M2-3/MYC non-amplified/KIRREL2 high (n = 36; 5-year OS-30%); iv. very high risk-all MYC amplified tumors (n = 30; 5-year OS-0%). Cross-validated survival models incorporating KIRREL2 expression with clinical features allowed for the reclassification of up to 50% of Grp 3 MB patients into a more appropriate risk category. Finally, KIRREL2 immunopositivity was also identified as a predictive indicator of Grp 3 MB poor survival, thus suggesting its application as a possible prognostic marker in routine clinical settings. Our results indicate that integration of KIRREL2 expression in risk stratification models may improve Grp 3 MB outcome prediction. Therefore, simple gene and/or protein expression analyses for this molecular marker could be easily adopted for Grp 3 MB prognostication and may help in assigning patients to optimal therapeutic approaches in prospective clinical trials.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrey Korshunov
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Neuropathology (B300), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany. .,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany. .,Department of Neuropathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany. .,Hopp Children's Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Konstantin Okonechnikov
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany ,Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany ,Division of Pediatric Neuro-Oncology (B062), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Damian Stichel
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Neuropathology (B300), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany ,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany ,Department of Neuropathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Daniel Schrimpf
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Neuropathology (B300), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany ,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany ,Department of Neuropathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Alberto Delaidelli
- Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, BC Canada ,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, BC Canada
| | - Svenja Tonn
- Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Martin Mynarek
- Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Philipp Sievers
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Neuropathology (B300), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany ,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany ,Department of Neuropathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Felix Sahm
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Neuropathology (B300), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany ,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany ,Department of Neuropathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany ,Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - David T. W. Jones
- Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany ,Division of Pediatric Glioma Research (B360), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Andreas von Deimling
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Neuropathology (B300), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany ,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany ,Department of Neuropathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany ,Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stefan M. Pfister
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany ,Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany ,Division of Pediatric Neuro-Oncology (B062), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany ,Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Marcel Kool
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany ,Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany ,Division of Pediatric Neuro-Oncology (B062), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany ,Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|