Publications by authors named "Jennifer Morrissette"

Myeloid leukemias are heterogeneous cancers with diverse mutations, sometimes in genes with unclear roles and unknown functional partners. PHF6 and PHIP are two poorly-understood chromatin-binding proteins recurrently mutated in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). mutations are associated with poorer outcomes, while was recently identified as the most common selective mutation in Black patients in AML.

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  • Genomic analysis can help assess risk and guide treatment for patients with large B cell lymphomas (LBCL) by identifying key genetic alterations linked to disease progression.
  • In a study of 698 newly diagnosed LBCL patients undergoing standard immunochemotherapy, MYC rearrangements and TP53 mutations were found to significantly increase the likelihood of disease progression within 24 months.
  • The research highlights the potential of using specific genomic features as biomarkers to tailor therapies for LBCL patients, which may improve treatment outcomes by addressing the unique characteristics of their disease.
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Mutations commonly found in AML such as , and can be found in the peripheral blood of otherwise healthy adults - a phenomenon referred to as clonal hematopoiesis (CH). These mutations are thought to represent the earliest genetic events in the evolution of AML. Genomic studies on samples acquired at diagnosis, remission, and at relapse have demonstrated significant stability of CH mutations following induction chemotherapy.

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Since the discovery of the Philadelphia chromosome in 1960, cytogenetic studies have been instrumental in detecting chromosomal abnormalities that can inform cancer diagnosis, treatment, and risk assessment efforts. The initial expansion of cancer cytogenetics was with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to assess submicroscopic alterations in dividing or non-dividing cells and has grown into the incorporation of chromosomal microarrays (CMA), and next generation sequencing (NGS). These molecular technologies add additional dimensions to the genomic assessment of cancers by uncovering cytogenetically invisible molecular markers.

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The cohesin complex is a ring-shaped protein structure involved in DNA repair and chromosomal segregation. Studies have showed that genomic alterations in the cohesin complex members are among the initial occurrences in the development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). is the most commonly mutated and best-studied member of the cohesin complex in AML and mutations in this gene have been associated with adverse outcomes and are diagnostically relevant.

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The diversity of genetic and genomic abnormalities observed in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) reflects the complexity of these hematologic neoplasms. The detection of cytogenetic and molecular alterations is fundamental to diagnosis, risk stratification and treatment of AML. Chromosome rearrangements are well established in the diagnostic classification of AML, as are some gene mutations, in several international classification systems.

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  • Glioblastoma shows significant variation both in its physical characteristics and genetic makeup, making personalized treatment crucial.
  • This study used advanced machine learning techniques to analyze MRI scans and genetic data from 571 glioblastoma patients, leading to the identification of three risk-based subtypes: high-risk, medium-risk, and low-risk.
  • The integration of radiomic and genomic data revealed distinct patterns that could enhance our understanding of glioblastoma biology and improve patient outcomes through tailored therapies.
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  • A T cell lymphoma (TCL) case was reported occurring three months after a patient received anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapy for non-Hodgkin B cell lymphoma, diagnosed through surgery for lung cancer.
  • The TCL showed a CD8 cytotoxic profile and a JAK3 variant, and it was identified at low levels prior to CAR T infusion and also in the lung cancer samples.
  • An analysis of 449 patients treated with CAR T therapy revealed that 3.6% developed a secondary primary malignancy, with a low overall risk of TCL after such treatment.
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Genetic subgroups of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) have been identified through comprehensive genomic analysis; however, it is unclear whether this can be applied in clinical practice. We assessed whether mutations detected by clinical laboratory mutation analysis (CLMA) were predictive of outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL/high-grade B-cell lymphoma (HGBL). Patients diagnosed from 2018 to 2022 whose biopsy samples were subjected to CLMA and who received rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone or rituximab plus etoposide, prednisolone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin were analyzed for overall/complete response rate (ORR/CRR) and estimated progression-free/overall survival (PFS/OS).

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Innovative and self-sustaining clinical genomics laboratories specializing in cutting-edge oncology testing are critical to the success of academic pathology departments and resident and fellow education in molecular pathology. However, the pressures and challenges facing these laboratories are numerous, including the complexities of validating comprehensive cancer next-generation sequencing (NGS) panels, competition from commercial laboratories, and the reimbursement and regulatory hurdles inherent in high-complexity testing. Cross-institutional collaborations, including shared assay content and interpretative frameworks, are a valuable element to academic laboratory success.

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Gliomas harboring oncogenic ROS1 alterations are uncommon and primarily described in infants. Our goal was to characterize the clinicopathological features and molecular signatures of the full spectrum of ROS1 fusion-positive gliomas across all age groups. Through a retrospective multi-institutional collaboration, we report a collection of unpublished ROS1 fusion gliomas along with the characterization and meta-analysis of new and published cases.

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Background: Recurrent gliomas are therapeutically challenging diseases with few treatment options available. One area of potential therapeutic vulnerability is the presence of targetable oncogenic fusion proteins.

Methods: To better understand the clinical benefit of routinely testing for fusion proteins in adult glioma patients, we performed a retrospective review of 647 adult patients with glioma who underwent surgical resection at our center between August 2017 and May 2021 and whose tumors were analyzed with an in-house fusion transcript panel.

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Background: The homologous recombination (HR) repair pathway plays a key role in double-stranded DNA break repair, and germline HR pathway gene variants are associated with increased risk of several cancers, including breast and ovarian cancer. HR deficiency is also a therapeutically targetable phenotype.

Methods: Somatic (tumour-only) sequencing was performed on 1,109 cases of lung tumors, and the pathological data were reviewed to filter for lung primary carcinomas.

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Introduction/background: Samples from endobronchial ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) are frequently used for next generation sequencing (NGS) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to look for genetic driver mutations. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the performance of extended NGS panels using EBUS-TBNA samples in a real-world setting and identify factors associated with the success of NGS.

Materials And Methods: This study included all patients who underwent EBUS and were diagnosed with non-squamous NSCLC with mediastinal metastasis from 2016 to 2019 at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Evaluation of suspected myeloid neoplasms involves testing for recurrent, diagnostically and therapeutically relevant genetic alterations. Current molecular testing requires multiple technologies, different domains of expertise, and unconnected workflows, resulting in variable, lengthy turnaround times that can delay treatment. To address this unmet clinical need, we evaluated the Oncomine Myeloid Assay GX panel on the Ion Torrent Genexus platform, a rapid, integrated nucleic acid to report next-generation sequencing platform for detecting clinically relevant genetic aberrations in myeloid disorders.

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Cancer describes a group of diseases driven by genetic and genomic changes that can occur across hundreds of different genes. Knowledge of the specific variants present in a patient's cancer can help to predict response to different treatment options, confirm disease diagnosis, and understand a patient's prognosis and risks, which ultimately leads to improved survival outcomes. The advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology has allowed pathologists to simultaneously profile the sequences of many genes in a single reaction, but not all NGS assays are built the same.

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Comprehensive genomic analyses of tumor biopsies from patients with newly-diagnosed germinal center B cell (GCB) diffuse large B cell/high grade B cell lymphoma (DLBCL/HGBL) have identified molecular subtypes predictive of inferior survival, which are characterized by somatic mutations that can be detected through clinical laboratory mutation analysis (CLMA). To determine the frequency and predictive value of individual genetic mutations associated with these experimentally-defined poor-risk subgroups, we reviewed the findings from CLMA performed on tumors from patients with newly-diagnosed GCB DLBCL/HGBL who were previously treated at our institution. CLMA was successfully performed on 58/59 patient tumor biopsies with a median turnaround time of 16 days, and 51 on which CLMA was routinely performed with adequate clinical follow-up were analyzed.

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Inherited biallelic pathogenic variants (PVs) in BRCA2 cause Fanconi Anemia complementation group D1 (FA-D1), a severe pediatric bone marrow failure and high-risk cancer syndrome. We identified biallelic BRCA2 PVs in a young adult with multiple basal cell carcinomas, adult-onset colorectal cancer and small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma, without bone marrow failure. No PVs were identified in any other known cancer susceptibility gene, and there was no evidence of reversion mosaicism.

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Glioblastoma is the most common aggressive adult brain tumor. Numerous studies have reported results from either private institutional data or publicly available datasets. However, current public datasets are limited in terms of: a) number of subjects, b) lack of consistent acquisition protocol, c) data quality, or d) accompanying clinical, demographic, and molecular information.

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A vital role of the advanced practitioner is to analyze biomarker testing reports and explain to patients how the results may impact their treatment. At JADPRO Live Virtual 2021, presenters reviewed the importance of molecular testing in non-small cell lung cancer and how to interpret molecular pathology reports.

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The neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase (NTRK) family of genes, including NTRK1, NTRK2, and NTRK3, encodes membrane-bound receptors that normally regulate cell survival and differentiation upon binding of growth factors. Not surprisingly, mutations in these genes are known to contribute to the growth of a diverse number of cancers. With the recent FDA approval of two first-generation tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKIs) for adult and pediatric patients with solid tumors harboring NTRK gene fusions, much of the literature has focused on the biology behind these types of NTRK abnormalities; however, point mutations can also contribute to oncogenesis or resistance to TKI therapy, albeit at a lower frequency than fusions.

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