A pan-cancer study of somatic TERT promoter mutations and amplification in 30,773 tumors profiled by clinical genomic sequencing Journal Article


Authors: Gupta, S.; Vanderbilt, C. M.; Lin, Y. T.; Benhamida, J. K.; Jungbluth, A. A.; Rana, S.; Momeni-Boroujeni, A.; Chang, J. C.; Mcfarlane, T.; Salazar, P.; Mullaney, K.; Middha, S.; Zehir, A.; Gopalan, A.; Bale, T. A.; Ganly, I.; Arcila, M. E.; Benayed, R.; Berger, M. F.; Ladanyi, M.; Dogan, S.
Article Title: A pan-cancer study of somatic TERT promoter mutations and amplification in 30,773 tumors profiled by clinical genomic sequencing
Abstract: TERT gene promoter mutations are known in multiple cancer types. Other TERT alterations remain poorly characterized. Sequencing data from 30,773 tumors analyzed by a hybridization capture next-generation sequencing assay (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Integrated Mutation Profiling of Actionable Cancer Targets) were analyzed for the presence of TERT alterations. Promoter rearrangements (500 bases upstream of the transcriptional start site), hypermethylation (n = 57), and gene expression (n = 155) were evaluated for a subset of cases. Mutually exclusive and recurrent promoter mutations were identified at three hot spots upstream of the transcriptional start site in 11.3% of cases (−124: 74%; −146: 24%; and −138: <2%). Mutually exclusive amplification events were identified in another 2.3% of cases, whereas mutually exclusive rearrangements proximal to the TERT gene were seen in 24 cases. The highest incidence of TERT promoter mutations was seen in cutaneous melanoma (82%), whereas amplification events significantly outnumbered promoter mutations in well-differentiated/dedifferentiated liposarcoma (14.1% versus 2.4%) and adrenocortical carcinoma (13.6% versus 4.5%). Gene expression analysis suggests that the highest levels of gene expression are seen in cases with amplifications and rearrangements. Hypermethylation events upstream of the TERT coding sequence were not mutually exclusive with known pathogenic alterations. Studies aimed at defining the prevalence and prognostic impact of TERT alterations should incorporate other pathogenic TERT alterations as these may impact telomerase function. © 2021 Association for Molecular Pathology and American Society for Investigative Pathology
Journal Title: Journal of Molecular Diagnostics
Volume: 23
Issue: 2
ISSN: 1525-1578
Publisher: Elsevier Science, Inc.  
Date Published: 2021-02-01
Start Page: 253
End Page: 263
Language: English
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoldx.2020.11.003
PUBMED: 33285287
PROVIDER: scopus
PMCID: PMC7874333
DOI/URL:
Notes: Article -- Export Date: 1 March 2021 -- Source: Scopus
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MSK Authors
  1. Anuradha Gopalan
    411 Gopalan
  2. Marc Ladanyi
    1326 Ladanyi
  3. Snjezana Dogan
    187 Dogan
  4. Ahmet Zehir
    343 Zehir
  5. Ian Ganly
    430 Ganly
  6. Achim Jungbluth
    454 Jungbluth
  7. Michael Forman Berger
    764 Berger
  8. Maria Eugenia Arcila
    657 Arcila
  9. Paulo A Salazar
    36 Salazar
  10. Rym Benayed
    188 Benayed
  11. Jason Chih-Peng Chang
    133 Chang
  12. Sumit   Middha
    83 Middha
  13. Sounak Gupta
    32 Gupta
  14. Satshil Rana
    37 Rana
  15. Tejus Bale
    122 Bale
  16. Yun-Te Lin
    8 Lin