Search

Background: Because cell-free DNA (cfDNA) analysis facilitates the noninvasive genomic profiling of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), the authors evaluated the association between cfDNA alterations and outcomes and evolution with therapy.Methods: Patients with mCRPC underwent cfDNA genomic profiling using Guardant360, which examines major cancer-associated genes. Clinical factors, therapy information, failure-free survival, and overall survival (OS) were obtained for select patients. The association between genomic alterations and outcomes was investigated.Results: Of 514 men with mCRPC, 482 (94%) had ≥1 circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) alteration. The most common recurrent somatic mutations were in TP53 (36%), androgen receptor (AR) (22%), adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) (10%), neurofibromin 1 (NF1) (9%), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), catenin beta-1 (CTNNB1), and AT-rich interactive domain-containing protein 1A (ARID1A) (6% each); and BRCA1, BRCA2, and phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha (PIK3CA) (5% each) The most common genes with increased copy numbers were AR (30%), MYC (20%), and BRAF (18%). Clinical outcomes were available for 163 patients, 46 of whom (28.8%) were untreated for mCRPC. A higher number of ctDNA alterations, AR alterations, and amplifications of MYC and BRAF were associated with worse failure-free survival and/or OS. On multivariable analysis, MYC amplification remained significantly associated with OS. Prior therapy and serial profiling demonstrated the evolution of alterations in AR and other genes.Conclusions: ctDNA frequently was detected in this large cohort of "real-world" patients with mCRPC, and the alterations appeared to be similar to previously reported tumor tissue alterations. A higher number of alterations, and AR and MYC alterations, appear to compromise clinical outcomes, suggesting a role for immune checkpoint inhibitors and novel AR and BET inhibitors in selected patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Biomarker-guided clinical trials are increasingly common in metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC), yet patients for whom contemporary tumor tissue is not available are not eligible. Technological advancements in sequencing have made cell-free circulating DNA (cfDNA) next-generation sequencing (NGS) readily available in the clinic. The objective of the current study was to determine whether the genomic profile of mUC detected by NGS of cfDNA is similar to historical tumor tissue NGS studies. A secondary objective was to determine whether the frequency of genomic alterations (GAs) differed between lower tract mUC (mLTUC) and upper tract mUC (mUTUC).Methods: Patients from 13 academic medical centers in the United States who had a diagnosis of mUC between 2014 and 2017 and for whom cfDNA NGS results were available were included. cfDNA profiling was performed using a commercially available platform (Guardant360) targeting 73 genes.Results: Of 369 patients with mUC, 294 were diagnosed with mLTUC and 75 with mUTUC. A total of 2130 GAs were identified in the overall mUC cohort: 1610 and 520, respectively, in the mLTUC and mUTUC cohorts. In the mLTUC cohort, frequently observed GAs were similar between cfDNA NGS and historical tumor tissue studies, including tumor protein p53 (TP53) (P = 1.000 and .115, respectively), AT-rich interaction domain 1A (ARID1A) (P = .058 and .058, respectively), phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha (PIK3CA) (P = .058 and .067, respectively), erb-b2 receptor tyrosine kinase 2 (ERBB2) (P = .565 and .074, respectively), and fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) (P = .164 and .014, respectively). No significant difference was observed with regard to the frequency of GAs between patients with mLTUC and mUTUC.Conclusions: Among patients with mUC for whom no tumor tissue was available, cfDNA NGS was able to identify a similar profile of GAs for biomarker-driven clinical trials compared with tumor tissue. Despite the more aggressive clinical course, cases of mUTUC demonstrated a circulating tumor DNA genomic landscape that was similar to that of mLTUC. Cancer 2018;124:2115-24. © 2018 American Cancer Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hereditary haemolytic anaemias are genetically and phenotypically heterogeneous disorders characterized by increased red cell destruction, with consequences ranging from innocuous to severe life-threatening anaemia. Diagnostic laboratories endeavour to assist clinicians reach the exact patient diagnosis by using tests principally based on morphological and biochemical techniques. However, these routine studies may be inconclusive, particularly in newborn infants and when transfusions have recently been administered. Large numbers and size of the potentially involved genes also impose a practical challenge for molecular diagnosis using routine sequencing approaches. To overcome these diagnostic shortcomings, we have utilized next-generation sequencing to provide a high-throughput, highly sensitive assay. We developed a panel interrogating 28 genes encoding cytoskeletal proteins and enzymes with sequencing coverage of the coding regions, splice site junctions, deep intronic and regulatory regions. We then evaluated 19 samples, including infants with unexplained extreme hyperbilirubinaemia and patients with transfusion-dependent haemolytic anaemia. Where possible, inheritance patterns of pathogenic mutations were determined by sequencing of immediate relatives. We conclude that this next-generation sequencing panel could be a cost-effective approach to molecular diagnosis of hereditary haemolytic anaemia, especially when the family history is uninformative or when routine laboratory testing fails to identify the causative haemolytic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Siblings presented as neonates with severe jaundice and transfusion-dependent hemolytic anemia. Next-generation sequencing revealed both to have three heterozygous mutations in the gene encoding erythrocyte pyru vate kinase ( PKLR), plus a heterozygous splice mutation in the beta-spectrin gene ( SPTB). In addition, both have a different 5th mutation in a gene encoding other erythrocyte membrane proteins. The asymptomatic parents and all three asymptomatic siblings have different sets of these mutations. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The somatic activating janus kinase 2 mutation (JAK2)V617F is detectable in most patients with polycythemia vera (PV). Here we report that CP-690,550 exerts greater antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic activity against cells harboring JAK2V617F compared with JAK2WT. CP-690,550 treatment of murine factor-dependent cell Patersen–erythropoietin receptor (FDCP-EpoR) cells harboring human wild-type or V617F JAK2 resulted in inhibition of cell proliferation with a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 2.1 µM and 0.25 µM, respectively. Moreover, CP-690,550 induced a significant pro-apoptotic effect on murine FDCP-EpoR cells carrying JAK2V617F, whereas a lesser effect was observed for cells carrying wild-type JAK2. This activity was coupled with inhibition of phosphorylation of the key JAK2V617F-dependent downstream signaling effectors signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)3, STAT5, and v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog (AKT). Furthermore, CP-690,550 treatment of ex-vivo-expanded erythroid progenitors from JAK2V617F-positive PV patients resulted in specific, antiproliferative (IC50 = 0.2 µM) and pro-apoptotic activity. In contrast, expanded progenitors from healthy controls were less sensitive to CP-690,550 in proliferation (IC50 > 1.0 µM), and apoptosis assays. The antiproliferative effect on expanded patient progenitors was paralleled by a decrease in JAK2V617F mutant allele frequency, particularly in a patient homozygous for JAK2V617F. Flow cytometric analysis of expanded PV progenitor cells treated with CP-690,550 suggests a possible transition towards a pattern of erythroid differentiation resembling expanded cells from normal healthy controls. ( Cancer Sci 2008; 99: 1265–1273) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]