Ultra-Mutation in Wild-Type Glioblastomas of Patients Younger than 55 Years is Associated with Defective Mismatch Repair, Microsatellite Instability, and Giant Cell Enrichment.

Background: Glioblastomas (GBMs) are classified into isocitrate dehydrogenase () mutants and IDH wild-types (-wt). This study aimed at identifying the mutational assets of -wt GBMs in patients aged 18-54 years for which limited data are available.

Methods: Sixteen -wt GBMs from adults < 55 years old were explored for mutations, copy number variations, tumour mutational load (TML), and mutational spectrum by a 409 genes TML panel.

Results: Eight (50%) -wt GBMs were hypermutated (TML > 9 mutations/Mb) and two (12.5%) were ultra-mutated (TML > 100 mutations/Mb). One ultra-mutated GBM had microsatellite instability (MSI), a somatic MSH6 mutation, and a germline POLE mutation. The other ultra-mutated GBMs had MSI and two somatic mutations in MSH2. Both ultra-mutated GBMs featured at least 25% giant cells. The overall survival of eight patients with hypermutated GBMs was significantly longer than that of patients with non-hypermutated GBMs ( = 0.04).

Conclusions: We identified a hyper-mutated subgroup among IDH-wt GBMs in adults < 55 years that had improved prognosis. Two cases were ultra-mutated and characterized by the presence of at least 25% giant cells, MMR mutations, and MSI. Since high TML has been associated with response to immune checkpoint inhibition in paediatric gliomas, the identification of a subtype of ultra-mutated IDH-wt GBM may have implications for immunotherapy.