Cancer Cell

2017
Zhang Y, Kwok-Shing Ng P, Kucherlapati M, Chen F, Liu Y, Tsang YH, De Velasco G, Jeong KJ, Akbani R, Hadjipanayis A, Pantazi A, Bristow CA, Lee E, Mahadeshwar HS, Tang J, Zhang J, Yang L, Seth S, Lee S, Ren X, Song X, Sun H, Seidman J, Luquette LJ, Xi R, Chin L, Protopopov A, Westbrook TF, Shelley CS, Choueiri TK, Ittmann M, Van Waes C, Weinstein JN, Liang H, Henske EP, Godwin AK, Park PJ, Kucherlapati R, Scott KL, Mills GB, Kwiatkowski DJ, Creighton CJ. A Pan-Cancer Proteogenomic Atlas of PI3K/AKT/mTOR Pathway Alterations. Cancer Cell 2017;31(6):820-832.e3.Abstract
Molecular alterations involving the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway (including mutation, copy number, protein, or RNA) were examined across 11,219 human cancers representing 32 major types. Within specific mutated genes, frequency, mutation hotspot residues, in silico predictions, and functional assays were all informative in distinguishing the subset of genetic variants more likely to have functional relevance. Multiple oncogenic pathways including PI3K/AKT/mTOR converged on similar sets of downstream transcriptional targets. In addition to mutation, structural variations and partial copy losses involving PTEN and STK11 showed evidence for having functional relevance. A substantial fraction of cancers showed high mTOR pathway activity without an associated canonical genetic or genomic alteration, including cancers harboring IDH1 or VHL mutations, suggesting multiple mechanisms for pathway activation.
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2016
Zheng S, Cherniack AD, Dewal N, Moffitt RA, Danilova L, Murray BA, Lerario AM, Else T, Knijnenburg TA, Ciriello G, Kim S, Assie G, Morozova O, Akbani R, Shih J, Hoadley KA, Choueiri TK, Waldmann J, Mete O, Robertson GA, Wu H-T, Raphael BJ, Shao L, Meyerson M, Demeure MJ, Beuschlein F, Gill AJ, Sidhu SB, Almeida MQ, Fragoso MCBV, Cope LM, Kebebew E, Habra MA, Whitsett TG, Bussey KJ, Rainey WE, Asa SL, Bertherat J, Fassnacht M, Wheeler DA, Wheeler DA, Hammer GD, Giordano TJ, Verhaak RGW. Comprehensive Pan-Genomic Characterization of Adrenocortical Carcinoma. Cancer Cell 2016;30(2):363. pdf
2015
Spatiotemporal Evolution of the Primary Glioblastoma Genome.
Kim J, Lee I-H, Cho HJ, Park C-K, Jung Y-S, Kim Y, Nam SH, Kim BS, Johnson MD, Kong D-S, Seol HJ, Lee J-I, Joo KM, Yoon Y, Park W-Y, Lee J, Park PJ**, Nam D-H**. Spatiotemporal Evolution of the Primary Glioblastoma Genome. Cancer Cell 2015;28(3):318-28.Abstract

Tumor recurrence following treatment is the major cause of mortality for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients. Thus, insights on the evolutionary process at recurrence are critical for improved patient care. Here, we describe our genomic analyses of the initial and recurrent tumor specimens from each of 38 GBM patients. A substantial divergence in the landscape of driver alterations was associated with distant appearance of a recurrent tumor from the initial tumor, suggesting that the genomic profile of the initial tumor can mislead targeted therapies for the distally recurred tumor. In addition, in contrast to IDH1-mutated gliomas, IDH1-wild-type primary GBMs rarely developed hypermutation following temozolomide (TMZ) treatment, indicating low risk for TMZ-induced hypermutation for these tumors under the standard regimen.

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2014
The somatic genomic landscape of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma.
Davis CF*, Ricketts CJ*, Wang M*, Yang L*, Cherniack AD, Shen H, Buhay C, Kang H, Kim SC, Fahey CC, Hacker KE, Bhanot G, Gordenin DA, Chu A, Gunaratne PH, Biehl M, Seth S, Kaipparettu BA, Bristow CA, Donehower LA, Wallen EM, Smith AB, Tickoo SK, Tamboli P, Reuter V, Schmidt LS, Hsieh JJ, Choueiri TK, Hakimi AA, Hakimi AA, Chin L, Meyerson M, Kucherlapati R, Park W-Y, Robertson GA, Laird PW, Henske EP, Kwiatkowski DJ, Park PJ, Morgan M, Shuch B, Muzny D, Wheeler DA, Linehan MW, Gibbs RA, Rathmell KW, Creighton CJ. The somatic genomic landscape of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma. Cancer Cell 2014;26(3):319-30.Abstract

We describe the landscape of somatic genomic alterations of 66 chromophobe renal cell carcinomas (ChRCCs) on the basis of multidimensional and comprehensive characterization, including mtDNA and whole-genome sequencing. The result is consistent that ChRCC originates from the distal nephron compared with other kidney cancers with more proximal origins. Combined mtDNA and gene expression analysis implicates changes in mitochondrial function as a component of the disease biology, while suggesting alternative roles for mtDNA mutations in cancers relying on oxidative phosphorylation. Genomic rearrangements lead to recurrent structural breakpoints within TERT promoter region, which correlates with highly elevated TERT expression and manifestation of kataegis, representing a mechanism of TERT upregulation in cancer distinct from previously observed amplifications and point mutations.

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