Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab
December 2024
Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas are rare neuroendocrine tumours. Around 20-25 % of patients develop metastases, for which there is an urgent need of prognostic markers and therapeutic stratification strategies. The presence of a MAML3-fusion is associated with increased metastatic risk, but neither the processes underlying disease progression, nor targetable vulnerabilities have been addressed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a central regulator of mammalian metabolism and physiology. Aberrant hyperactivation of the mTOR pathway promotes tumor growth and metastasis, and can also promote tumor resistance to chemotherapy and cancer drugs; this makes mTOR an attractive cancer therapeutic target. mTOR inhibitors have been approved to treat cancer; however, the mechanisms underlying drug sensitivity remain poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe mechanisms triggering metastasis in pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma are unknown, hindering therapeutic options for patients with metastatic tumors (mPPGL). Herein we show by genomic profiling of a large cohort of mPPGLs that high mutational load, microsatellite instability and somatic copy-number alteration burden are associated with ATRX/TERT alterations and are suitable prognostic markers. Transcriptomic analysis defines the signaling networks involved in the acquisition of metastatic competence and establishes a gene signature related to mPPGLs, highlighting CDK1 as an additional mPPGL marker.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Comprehensive molecular studies on tumours are needed to delineate immortalization process steps and identify sensitive prognostic biomarkers in thyroid cancer.
Methods And Results: In this study, we extensively characterize telomere-related alterations in a series of 106 thyroid tumours with heterogeneous clinical outcomes. Using a custom-designed RNA-seq panel, we identified five telomerase holoenzyme-complex genes upregulated in clinically aggressive tumours compared to tumours from long-term disease-free patients, being TERT and TERC denoted as independent prognostic markers by multivariate regression model analysis.
DNA replication can encounter blocking obstacles, leading to replication stress and genome instability. There are several mechanisms for evading this blockade. One mechanism consists of repriming ahead of the obstacles, creating a new starting point; in humans, PrimPol is responsible for carrying out this task.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOne of the main problems we face with PPGL is the lack of molecular markers capable of predicting the development of metastases in patients. Telomere-related genes, such as and have been recently described in PPGL, supporting the association between the activation of immortalization mechanisms and disease progression. However, the contribution of other genes involving telomere preservation machinery has not been previously investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Germline pathogenic variants are estimated to affect 3-5% of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients. However, higher mutational prevalence in non-clear cell RCC (non-ccRCC) and advanced disease has been suggested.
Methods: To clarify the prevalence of pathogenic germline variants in metastatic RCC, we sequenced 29 cancer susceptibility genes in 294 unselected metastatic RCC cases plus 21 patients with clinical hereditary features.
Over the past few years, next generation technologies have been applied to unravel the genetics of rare inherited diseases, facilitating the discovery of new susceptibility genes. We recently found germline gain-of-function variants in two patients with head and neck paragangliomas causing a characteristic hypermethylated DNA profile. Here, whole-exome sequencing identifies a novel germline variant (p.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpecific genetic variants in the mitochondrially encoded 12S ribosomal RNA gene () cause aminoglycoside-induced irreversible hearing loss. Mitochondrial DNA is usually not included in targeted sequencing experiments; however, off-target data may deliver this information. Here, we extract genetic variation, including the most relevant ototoxicity variant m.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChromophobe renal cell carcinoma (chRCC) is a histologically and molecularly distinct class of rare renal tumor. TCGA studies revealed low mutational burden, with only TP53 and PTEN recurrently mutated, and discovered alterations in TERT promoter and in the electron transport chain Complex I genes. However, knowledge on drug targetable genes is limited and treatments at metastatic stage do not follow a molecular rationale.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTheranostics
August 2020
: Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) are rare neuroendocrine tumors that present variable outcomes. To date, no effective therapies or reliable prognostic markers are available for patients who develop metastatic PPGL (mPPGL). Our aim was to discover robust prognostic markers validated through models, and define specific therapeutic options according to tumor genomic features.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt is critical to identify biomarkers and functional networks associated with aggressive thyroid cancer to anticipate disease progression and facilitate personalized patient management. We performed miRNome sequencing of 46 thyroid tumors enriched with advanced disease patients with a median follow-up of 96 months. MiRNome profiles correlated with tumor-specific histopathological and molecular features, such as stromal cell infiltration and tumor driver mutation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway inhibitors are key drugs for the treatment of many tumor types, however, there are no predictive biomarkers in clinical use. Here, we performed a molecular and immunohistochemical characterization of key mTOR pathway components in a series of 105 renal cell carcinoma patients treated with rapalogs, aimed at identifying markers of treatment response. Mutational analysis in MTOR, TSC1 and TSC2 was performed through targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS), and immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed for PTEN, pAKT, pS6K1, pS6 and p21.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) provide some of the clearest genetic evidence for the critical role of metabolism in the tumorigenesis process. Approximately 40% of PPGLs are caused by driver germline mutations in 16 known susceptibility genes, and approximately half of these genes encode members of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. Taking as a starting point the involvement of the TCA cycle in PPGL development, we aimed to identify unreported mutations that occurred in genes involved in this key metabolic pathway and that could explain the phenotypes of additional individuals who lack mutations in known susceptibility genes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Peripheral neuropathy is the dose-limiting toxicity of many oncology drugs, including paclitaxel. There is large interindividual variability in the neuropathy, and several risk factors have been proposed; however, many have not been replicated. Here we present a comprehensive study aimed at identifying treatment and physiopathology-related paclitaxel-induced neuropathy risk factors in a large cohort of well-characterized patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The high percentage of patients carrying germline mutations makes pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas the most heritable of all tumors. However, there are still cases unexplained by mutations in the known genes. We aimed to identify the genetic cause of disease in patients strongly suspected of having hereditary tumors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFmTOR inhibitors are used to treat renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Treatment response is variable and appears to correlate with genetic alterations that activate mTOR signaling. Recently, everolimus was suggested to be more effective than sunitinib in chromophobe RCC (chRCC), a tumor with frequent mTOR pathway defects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: Global DNA hypomethylation is a major event for the development and progression of cancer, although the significance in thyroid cancer remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to investigate its role in thyroid cancer progression and its potential as a prognostic marker.
Methods: Global hypomethylation of Alu repeats was used as a surrogate marker for DNA global hypomethylation, and was assessed using the Quantification of Unmethylated Alu technique.
mTOR pathway inhibitors are important drugs for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, no valid predictive markers have been identified to guide treatment selection and identify patients who are sensitive to these drugs. Mutations activating the mTOR pathway have been suggested to predict response; however, their predictive value is still unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOncogenic mutations are present in 15-30% of thyroid carcinomas. Endogenous expression of mutant Ras is insufficient to initiate thyroid tumorigenesis in murine models, indicating that additional genetic alterations are required. We used Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon mutagenesis to identify events that cooperate with Hras in thyroid tumor development.
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