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Glioblastomas harboring gene fusions detected by next-generation sequencing

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Abstract

Oncogenic gene fusions have been reported in diffuse gliomas and may serve as potential therapeutic targets. Here, using next-generation sequencing analysis (Illumina TruSight Tumor 170 panel), we analyzed a total of 356 diffuse gliomas collected from 2017 to 2019 to evaluate clinical, pathological, and genetic features of gene fusion. We found 53 cases of glioblastomas harboring the following oncogenic gene fusions: MET (n = 18), EGFR (n = 14), FGFR (n = 12), NTRK (n = 5), RET (n = 2), AKT3 (n = 1), and PDGFRA fusions (n = 1). Gene fusions were consistently observed in both IDH-wildtype and IDH-mutant glioblastomas (8.8% and 9.4%, p = 1.000). PTPRZ1–MET fusion was the only fusion that genetically resembled secondary glioblastomas (i.e., high frequency of IDH mutation, ATRX loss, TP53 mutation, and absence of EGFR amplification), whereas other gene fusion types were similar to primary glioblastomas (i.e., high frequency of IDH-wildtype, TERT mutation, EGFR amplification, and PTEN mutation). In IDH-wildtype glioblastoma patients, multivariable analysis revealed that the PTPRZ1MET fusion was associated with poor progression-free survival (HR [95% CI]: 5.42 (1.72–17.05), p = 0.004). Additionally, we described two novel cases of CCDC6RET fusion in glioma. Collectively, our findings indicate that targetable gene fusions are associated with aggressive biological behavior and can aid the clinical treatment strategy for glioma patients.

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Acknowledgements

S.H.K. was supported by grants from the Brain Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (Grant No. 2016M3C7A1913844). The funding source had no role in the design, practice, or analysis of this study. The authors would like to gratefully thank Won Young Park and Yi Rang Kim for their dedicated effort in NGS testing.

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Woo, H.Y., Na, K., Yoo, J. et al. Glioblastomas harboring gene fusions detected by next-generation sequencing. Brain Tumor Pathol 37, 136–144 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10014-020-00377-9

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