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Driver Fusions and Their Implications in the Development and Treatment of Human Cancers
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Driver Fusions and Their Implications in the Development and Treatment of Human Cancers

Qingsong Gao, Wen-Wei Liang, Steven M Foltz, Gnanavel Mutharasu, Reyka G Jayasinghe, Song Cao, Wen-Wei Liao, Sheila M Reynolds, Matthew A Wyczalkowski, Lijun Yao, …
Cell reports (Cambridge), Vol.23(1), pp.227-238.e3
04/03/2018
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.03.050
PMCID: PMB5916809
PMID: 29617662
url
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2018.03.050View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Gene fusions represent an important class of somatic alterations in cancer. We systematically investigated fusions in 9,624 tumors across 33 cancer types using multiple fusion calling tools. We identified a total of 25,664 fusions, with a 63% validation rate. Integration of gene expression, copy number, and fusion annotation data revealed that fusions involving oncogenes tend to exhibit increased expression, whereas fusions involving tumor suppressors have the opposite effect. For fusions involving kinases, we found 1,275 with an intact kinase domain, the proportion of which varied significantly across cancer types. Our study suggests that fusions drive the development of 16.5% of cancer cases and function as the sole driver in more than 1% of them. Finally, we identified druggable fusions involving genes such as TMPRSS2, RET, FGFR3, ALK, and ESR1 in 6.0% of cases, and we predicted immunogenic peptides, suggesting that fusions may provide leads for targeted drug and immune therapy.
Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use Carcinogenesis - drug effects Carcinogenesis - genetics Carcinogenesis - metabolism Cell Line, Tumor Humans Molecular Targeted Therapy - methods Neoplasms - drug therapy Neoplasms - genetics Neoplasms - pathology Oncogene Fusion Oncogene Proteins, Fusion - chemistry Oncogene Proteins, Fusion - genetics Oncogene Proteins, Fusion - metabolism

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