Project description:<p>In this study, we sequenced the exomes of 35 rhabdoid tumors, highly aggressive cancers of early childhood. This study is part of a larger effort to characterize pediatric cancers as part of the Slim Initiative for Genomic Medicine (SIGMA) project.</p>
Project description:<p>In this study, we sequenced the exomes of 35 rhabdoid tumors, highly aggressive cancers of early childhood. This study is part of a larger effort to characterize pediatric cancers as part of the Slim Initiative for Genomic Medicine (SIGMA) project.</p>
Project description:The Investigators will conduct a longitudinal, mixed-methods cohort study to assess primary and secondary psychosocial outcomes among 705 MyCode pediatric participants and their parents, and health behaviors of parents whose children receive an adult- or pediatric-onset genomic result. Data will be gathered via quantitative surveys using validated measures of distress, family functioning, quality of life, body image, perceived cancer/heart disease risk, genetic counseling satisfaction, genomics knowledge, and adjustment to genetic information; qualitative interviews with adolescents and parents; and electronic health records review of parents’ cascade testing uptake and initiation of risk reduction behaviors. The investigators will also conduct empirical and theoretical legal research to examine the loss of chance doctrine and its applicability to genomic research.
Project description:Despite relevant clinical and/or familial presentations suggesting a hereditary predisposition (early-onset, multiple primary tumors, familial aggregation), targeted genomic analysis based on the phenotype are often non contributive. As somatic cancer genes are limited, the hypothesis is that the targeted next-generation sequencing of 200 genes, selected for their implications in cancers may contribute to the understanding of many selected patients’ presentation by the identification of germline deleterious mutations, and may identified phenotype overlapping and/or mosaicisms. The focus will be put on early-onset breast, ovarian, colorectal cancer or pediatric cancers and multiple primary tumors.
Project description:Pediatric AML is an aggressive hematological malignancy associated with distinctive genomic features. We employed RNA-seq to study fusion genes and clinically relevant gene expression patterns in pediatric AML patients.
Project description:Despite in-depth knowledge of the molecular features and oncogenic drivers associated with adult and pediatric brain tumors, identifying effective targeted therapies for these cancers remains challenging. To identify novel gene dependencies in adult and pediatric brain tumor isolates, we integrated data from functional genomic lethality screens in primary brain tumor isolates with machine learning network models from lethality screens performed in >900 cancer cell lines. Integrated network models revealed molecular and phenotypic features that predict candidate genetic dependencies in multiple brain tumor types, including: atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors, diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas, ependymomas, medulloblastomas, and glioblastomas (primary and recurrent). Some examples of dependencies and predictors include: ADAR and MX1 protein expression; EFR3A and low EFR3B expression; FBXO42 and spindle assembly checkpoint activation; FGFR1 and high FGF2 expression; and SMARCC2 in SMARCB1 mutated ATRT tumors. In general, the results demonstrate that large functional genetic data sets can be leveraged to identify, validate, and categorize gene dependencies and their associated biomarkers in primary tumor isolates. The results also highlight some of the challenges and limitations of this approach.
Project description:Molecular characteristics of pediatric brain tumors have not only allowed for tumor subgrouping but have introduced novel treatment options for patients with specific tumor alterations. Therefore, an accurate histologic and molecular diagnosis is critical for optimized management of all pediatric patients with brain tumors, including central nervous system embryonal tumors. We present a case where optical genome mapping identified a ZNF532-NUTM1 fusion in a patient with a unique tumor best characterized histologically as a central nervous system embryonal tumor with rhabdoid features. Additional analyses including immunohistochemistry for NUT protein, methylation array, whole genome, and RNA-sequencing was done to confirm the presence of the fusion in the tumor. This is the first description of a pediatric patient with a ZNF532-NUTM1 fusion, yet the histology of this tumor is similar to that of adult cancers with ZNF-NUTM1 fusions and other NUTM1-fusion positive brain tumors reported in literature. Although rare, the distinct pathology and underlying molecular characteristics of these tumors separate them from other embryonal tumors. Therefore, the NUTM-rearrangement appears to define a novel subgroup of pediatric central nervous system embryonal tumors with rhabdoid/epithelioid features that may have a unique response to treatment. Screening for a NUTM1-rearrangement should be considered for all patients with unclassified central nervous system tumors with rhabdoid features to ensure accurate diagnosis so this can ultimately inform therapeutic management for these patients.
Project description:Rhabdoid tumor is a pediatric cancer characterized by the biallelic inactivation of SMARCB1, a subunit of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex. SMARCB1 inactivation leads to SWI/SNF redistribution to favor a proliferative dedifferentiated cellular state. Although this deletion is the known oncogenic driver, SWI/SNF therapeutic targeting remains a challenge. Here we show mithramycin and a second-generation analogue EC-8042 are effective in this tumor type. Mithramycin evicts SWI/SNF from chromatin triggering a cellular response characterized by chromatin compartment remodeling and promoter reprogramming. These effects lead to differentiation and marked xenograft tumor regressions in vivo. This study provides a therapeutic candidate for rhabdoid tumor and an approach that may be applicable to the more than 20% of cancers characterized by mutated SWI/SNF.