Canonical Amplifications and CDKN2A/B Loss Refine IDH1/2-mutant Astrocytoma Prognosis.

Background: Molecular features have been incorporated alongside histologic criteria to improve glioma diagnostics and prognostication. CDKN2A/B homozygous-loss associates with worse survival in IDH1/2-mutant astrocytomas (IDHmut-astrocytomas), the presence of which denotes grade 4 tumor independent of histologic features. However, no molecular features distinguish survival amongst histologically-defined grade 2 and 3 IDHmut-astrocytomas.

Re-irradiation plus pembrolizumab: Phase II study for recurrent glioblastoma patients.

Purpose: Radiation therapy may enhance anti-tumor immune responses by several mechanisms including induction of immunogenic cell death. We performed a phase 2 study of pembrolizumab with re-irradiation in patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

Methods: Sixty recurrent glioblastoma patients received pembrolizumab with re-irradiation alone (cohort A, bevacizumab-naïve; n=30) or with bevacizumab continuation (cohort B, n=30).

Multimodal Deep Learning Improves Recurrence Risk Prediction in Pediatric Low-Grade Gliomas.

Background: Postoperative recurrence risk for pediatric low-grade gliomas (pLGGs) is challenging to predict by conventional clinical, radiographic, and genomic factors. We investigated if deep learning of MRI tumor features could improve postoperative pLGG risk stratification.

Methods: We used pre-trained deep learning (DL) tool designed for pLGG segmentation to extract pLGG imaging features from preoperative T2-weighted MRI from patients who underwent surgery (DL-MRI features).

Surgical window of opportunity trial reveals mechanisms of response and resistance to navtemadlin (KRT-232) in patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

Unlabelled: We investigated the effectiveness of navtemadlin (KRT-232) in treating recurrent glioblastoma. A surgical window-of-opportunity trial ( NCT03107780 ) was conducted on 21 patients to determine achievable drug concentrations within tumor tissue and examine mechanisms of response and resistance. Both 120 mg and 240 mg daily dosing achieved a pharmacodynamic impact.

Velcrin molecular glues induce apoptosis in glioblastomas with high and expression.

Background: Velcrins are molecular glues that kill cells by inducing the formation of a protein complex between the RNase SLFN12 and the phosphodiesterase PDE3A. Formation of the complex activates SLFN12, which cleaves tRNA(TAA) and induces apoptosis. Velcrins such as the clinical investigational compound, BAY 2666605, were found to have activity across multiple solid tumor cell lines from the cancer cell line encyclopedia, including glioblastoma cell lines.

A comparative analysis of IDH-mutant glioma in pediatric, young adult, and older adult patients.

Background: The frequency and significance of IDH mutations in glioma across age groups are incompletely understood. We performed a multi-center retrospective age-stratified comparison of patients with IDH-mutant gliomas to identify age-specific differences in clinico-genomic features, treatments, and outcomes.

Methods: Clinical, histologic, and sequencing data from patients with IDH-mutant, grades 2-4 gliomas, were collected from collaborating institutions between 2013 and 2019.

Measuring single-cell density with high throughput enables dynamic profiling of immune cell and drug response from patient samples.

Cell density, the ratio of cell mass to volume, is an indicator of molecular crowding and therefore a fundamental determinant of cell state and function. However, existing density measurements lack the precision or throughput to quantify subtle differences in cell states, particularly in primary samples. Here we present an approach for measuring the density of 30,000 single cells per hour with a precision of 0.

A heterogeneous pharmaco-transcriptomic landscape induced by targeting a single oncogenic kinase.

Over-activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a hallmark of glioblastoma. However, EGFR-targeted therapies have led to minimal clinical response. While delivery of EGFR inhibitors (EGFRis) to the brain constitutes a major challenge, how additional drug-specific features alter efficacy remains poorly understood.

Pilot trial of perampanel on peritumoral hyperexcitability and clinical outcomes in newly diagnosed high-grade glioma.

Background: Glutamatergic neuron-glioma synaptogenesis and peritumoral hyperexcitability promote glioma growth in a positive feedback loop. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and estimated effect sizes of the AMPA-R antagonist, perampanel, on intraoperative electrophysiologic hyperexcitability and clinical outcomes.

Methods: An open-label trial was performed comparing perampanel to standard of care (SOC) in patients undergoing resection of newly-diagnosed radiologic high-grade glioma.

Targeting TRIP13 in favorable histology Wilms tumor with nuclear export inhibitors synergizes with doxorubicin.

Wilms tumor (WT) is the most common renal malignancy of childhood. Despite improvements in the overall survival, relapse occurs in ~15% of patients with favorable histology WT (FHWT). Half of these patients will succumb to their disease.

Noninvasive Molecular Subtyping of Pediatric Low-Grade Glioma with Self-Supervised Transfer Learning.

Purpose To develop and externally test a scan-to-prediction deep learning pipeline for noninvasive, MRI-based mutational status classification for pediatric low-grade glioma. Materials and Methods This retrospective study included two pediatric low-grade glioma datasets with linked genomic and diagnostic T2-weighted MRI data of patients: Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Hospital (development dataset, = 214 [113 (52.8%) male; 104 (48.

Clinical and Genomic Predictors of Adverse Events in Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma.

Purpose: Adverse clinical events cause significant morbidity in patients with GBM (GBM). We examined whether genomic alterations were associated with AE (AE) in patients with GBM.

Experimental Design: We identified adults with histologically confirmed IDH-wild-type GBM with targeted next-generation sequencing (OncoPanel) at Dana Farber Cancer Institute from 2013 to 2019.

Translation of non-canonical open reading frames as a cancer cell survival mechanism in childhood medulloblastoma.

A hallmark of high-risk childhood medulloblastoma is the dysregulation of RNA translation. Currently, it is unknown whether medulloblastoma dysregulates the translation of putatively oncogenic non-canonical open reading frames (ORFs). To address this question, we performed ribosome profiling of 32 medulloblastoma tissues and cell lines and observed widespread non-canonical ORF translation.

2D and 3D multiplexed subcellular profiling of nuclear instability in human cancer.

Nuclear atypia, including altered nuclear size, contour, and chromatin organization, is ubiquitous in cancer cells. Atypical primary nuclei and micronuclei can rupture during interphase; however, the frequency, causes, and consequences of nuclear rupture are unknown in most cancers. We demonstrate that nuclear envelope rupture is surprisingly common in many human cancers, particularly glioblastoma.