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EML4-ALK Rearrangement and Its Therapeutic Implications in Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumors.

ABSTRACT: With the advent of precision medicine, medical oncology is undergoing a transcendental change. These molecular studies have allowed us to learn about potential targeted therapies for patients with advanced cancers. Perhaps the best-known example of success in precision medicine is chronic myeloid leukemia and its response to tyrosine kinase inhibitors targeting the BCR-ABL kinase. Since that original discovery, the role of molecular therapeutics has expanded, and it now presents us with treatment options for common malignancies and rare atypical tumors. In this article, we present a case of a 61-year-old female with a recurrent pulmonary inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor. Subsequent molecular studies revealed an ALK rearrangement. The significance of this alteration in this tumor type and its therapeutic implications are discussed herein. KEY POINTS:This case exemplifies the heterogeneous behavior of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) and the current role of targeted therapy in the therapeutic armamentarium of neoplastic processes.As evidenced by the different mutations found in IMTs, it is of great importance to perform next-generation sequencing in uncommon neoplasms.These studies can find different potential targets and therapeutic options for patients devoid of standard effective therapies.

SUBMITTER: Vargas-Madueno F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6263129 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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EML4-ALK Rearrangement and Its Therapeutic Implications in Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumors.

Vargas-Madueno Fernando F Gould Edwin E Valor Raul R Ngo Nhu N Zhang Linsheng L Villalona-Calero Miguel A MA

The oncologist 20180508 10

With the advent of precision medicine, medical oncology is undergoing a transcendental change. These molecular studies have allowed us to learn about potential targeted therapies for patients with advanced cancers. Perhaps the best-known example of success in precision medicine is chronic myeloid leukemia and its response to tyrosine kinase inhibitors targeting the <i>BCR-ABL</i> kinase. Since that original discovery, the role of molecular therapeutics has expanded, and it now presents us with t ...[more]

PMID: 29739898

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Project description:Approximately 50% of conventional inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) harbor ALK gene rearrangement and overexpress ALK. Recently, gene fusions involving other kinases have been implicated in the pathogenesis of IMT, including ROS1 and in 1 patient PDGFRB. However, it remains uncertain whether the emerging genotypes correlate with clinicopathologic characteristics of IMT. In this study, we expand the molecular investigation of IMT in a large cohort of different clinical presentations and analyze for potential genotype-phenotype associations. Criteria for inclusion in the study were typical morphology and tissue availability for molecular studies. The lack of ALK immunoreactivity was not an excluding factor. As overlapping gene fusions involving actionable kinases are emerging in both IMT and lung cancer, we set out to evaluate abnormalities in ALK, ROS1, PDGFRB, NTRK1, and RET by fluorescence in situ hybridization. In addition, next-generation paired-end RNA sequencing and FusionSeq algorithm was applied in 4 cases, which identified EML4-ALK fusions in 2 cases. Of the 62 IMTs (25 children and 37 adults), 35 (56%) showed ALK gene rearrangement. Of note, EML4-ALK inversion was noted in 7 (20%) cases, seen mainly in the lung and soft tissue of young children including 2 lesions from newborns. There were 6 (10%) ROS1-rearranged IMTs, all except 1 presenting in children, mainly in the lung and intra-abdominally and showed a distinctive fascicular growth of spindle cells with long cell processes, often positive for ROS1 immunohistochemistry. Two of the cases showed TFG-ROS1 fusions. Interestingly, 1 adult IMT revealed a RET gene rearrangement, a previously unreported finding. Our results show that 42/62 (68%) IMTs are characterized by kinase fusions, offering a rationale for targeted therapeutic strategies. Interestingly, 90% of fusion-negative IMTs were seen in adults, whereas >90% of pediatric IMT showed gene rearrangements. EML4-ALK inversion and ROS1 fusions emerge as common fusion abnormalities in IMT, closely recapitulating the pattern seen in lung cancer.

Project description:Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) are rare mesenchymal neoplasms that are composed of myofibroblastic cells accompanied by inflammatory infiltrate. We investigated the immune profiles of IMTs, including PD-L1 expression and proportion of CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), as well as its clinicopathological characteristics according to ALK gene rearrangementstatus.Twenty-eight IMTs from 25 patients were retrieved from our pathology files (2005-2015), and their clinicopathological parameters and outcomes were analyzed. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed using whole-tissue sections to detect PD-L1 and CD8 expression, and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis and IHC were performed using tissue microarrays to identify rearrangements in the ALK, ROS1, and RET genes.ALK rearrangement was observed in 11 cases (44.0%), and all cases exhibited diffuse cytoplasmic ALK expression during IHC. ROS1 or RET rearrangement was not detected using IHC or FISH. IMTs harboring ALK rearrangement (ALK-positive) were located in the lungs (n = 7), genitourinary tract (n = 2), and mesentery (n = 1). The mean patient age was 33.2 years for ALK-positive IMTs and 53.1 years for ALK-negative IMTs. All patients with ALK-positive IMTs survived without recurrence or metastasis. IMTs with metastasis and/or recurrence were ALK-negative and exhibited elevated PD-L1 expression (positive tumor cells: 70.0% vs. 21.3%, P = 0.023; H-score: 107.5 vs. 26.3, P = 0.005). In addition, ALK-negative IMTs had a more CD8+ TILs, compared to ALK-positive IMTs (23.3% vs. 8.9%, P = 0.027).ALK-positive IMTs are characterized by younger age, well-defined margins, frequent involvement of the lung, and fewer CD8+ TILs. Greater PD-L1 expression was observed in IMTs with tumor necrosis and metastasis/recurrence, which were also negative for ALK rearrangement. These results suggest that immune checkpoint inhibitors may be a novel option for treating patients with advanced IMT.

Project description:IntroductionHalf of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) regardless of anatomic location harbor anaplastic lymphoma kinase gene (ALK) rearrangements and overexpress anaplastic lymphoma kinase protein. The wide application of next-generation sequencing and the clinical benefit to tyrosine kinase inhibitors have opened new opportunities for investigation of ALK-negative IMTs.MethodsIn this study, we have investigated a series of pediatric and adult thoracic IMTs for abnormalities in a wide spectrum of actionable kinases by applying a variety of molecular and next-generation sequencing techniques, including fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), targeted RNA sequencing, and NanoString assay.ResultsThere were 33 patients with thoracic IMTs, including five children; their mean age was 37. The tumors showed a monomorphic spindle cell phenotype, except for one with an epithelioid morphologic pattern and moderate to severe atypia. By immunohistochemistry, 24 tumors were ALK positive, and 19 of the 24 showed ALK rearrangements and one ret proto-oncogene gene (RET) rearrangement by FISH. RNA sequencing was performed in the remaining four cases lacking ALK abnormalities by FISH, revealing ALK fusions involving tropomyosin 4 gene (TMP4) and echinoderm microtubule associated protein like 4 gene (EML4) as partner in three cases. NanoString assay was performed in the remaining case, revealing ALK alternative transcription initiation (ALKATI). Nine cases lacking ALK abnormalities were further tested by FISH or targeted RNA sequencing, revealing ROS1 rearrangement in six cases and ETS variant 6 gene (ETV6)-neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase 3 gene (NTRK3) fusion in three cases, respectively.ConclusionsBy using a battery of complementary molecular techniques, we have shown that all the thoracic IMTs harbored a tyrosine kinase abnormality, with 30% involving a kinase gene other than ALK, including ROS1, NTRK3, and RET gene fusions. We have also described for the first time ALKATI-induced ALK oncogenic activation in IMTs.

Dataset Information

EML4-ALK Rearrangement and Its Therapeutic Implications in Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumors.

Publications

EML4-ALK Rearrangement and Its Therapeutic Implications in Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumors.

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