Clinical next-generation sequencing reveals aggressive cancer biology in adolescent and young adult patients

Vivek Subbiah, Manojkumar Bupathi, Shumei Kato, Andrew Livingston, John Slopis, Pete M. Anderson, David S. Hong

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: The aggressive biology of cancers arising in adolescent and young adult (AYA; ages 15-39 years) patients is thought to contribute to poor survival outcomes. Methods: We used clinical next-generation sequencing (NGS) results to examine the molecular alterations and diverse biology of cancer in AYA patients referred to the Phase 1 program at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. Results: Among the 28 patients analyzed (14 female and 14 male), 12 had pediatric-type cancers, six had adult-type cancers, and ten had orphan cancers. Unique, hitherto unreported aberrations were identified in all types of cancers. Aberrations in TP53, NKX2-1, KRAS, CDKN2A, MDM4, MCL1, MYC, BCL2L2, and RB1 were demonstrated across all tumor types. Five patients harbored TP53 aberrations; three patients harbored MYC, MCL1, and CDKN2A aberrations; and two patients harbored NKX2-1, KRAS, MDM4, BCL2L2, and RB1 alterations. Several patients had multiple aberrations; a patient with wild-type gastrointestinal stromal tumor harbored five alterations (MDM4, MCL1, KIT, AKT3, and PDGRFA). Conclusions: This preliminary report of NGS of cancer in AYA patients reveals diverse and unique aberrations. Further molecular profiling and a deeper understanding of the biology of these unique aberrations are warranted and may lead to targeted therapeutic interventions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)646-652
Number of pages7
JournalOncoscience
Volume2
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 2015

Keywords

  • AKT
  • AYA
  • Adolescents and young adults
  • Cancer biology
  • Next generation sequencing
  • TP53
  • mTOR

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

MD Anderson CCSG core facilities

  • Clinical Trials Office

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Clinical next-generation sequencing reveals aggressive cancer biology in adolescent and young adult patients'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this