Genomic alterations in retinoblastoma tumors of Argentine patients.

Introduction: Retinoblastoma is initiated by inactivation of gene, but additional alterations may be required for tumor progression. Substitution and INDEL variants in different genes, aside , are infrequent, while large copy number variants (CNVs) like gains on 1q, 2p, 6p and loss on 16q are common, they include oncogenes or tumor suppressors and are typical of retinoblastoma.

Aim: To provide the molecular profile that is useful for prognosis and understanding of retinoblastoma development.

Methods: To identify genomic variants in six retinoblastoma tumors whole exome sequencing and informatic analysis were performed.

Results: was the only gene with nonsense or frameshift mutations. SNVs in other 11 genes were missense and at non-canonical splice-sites, all nonpathogenic. CNVs, similar to those reported, were identified in all retinoblastoma tumors. The most frequent were 1q gain and 16q loss. Additionally, deletions were identified on 13q, including RB1 gene, and on the X chromosome, including BCOR gene, the most frequently mutated, after RB1, in retinoblastoma. The number of CNVs detected in each tumor was between 1 and 7, depending on the age at diagnosis.

Conclusion: The analysis of genomic alterations in retinoblastoma is useful to understand the severity of tumor progression and to apply appropriate treatments.