Expressed Gene Fusions As Frequent Drivers of Poor Outcomes in Hormone Receptor–Positive Breast Cancer
Published OnlineFirst December 14, 2017; DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-17-0535 RESEARCH ARTICLE Expressed Gene Fusions as Frequent Drivers of Poor Outcomes in Hormone Receptor–Positive Breast Cancer Karina J. Matissek1,2, Maristela L. Onozato3, Sheng Sun1,2, Zongli Zheng2,3,4, Andrew Schultz1, Jesse Lee3, Kristofer Patel1, Piiha-Lotta Jerevall2,3, Srinivas Vinod Saladi1,2, Allison Macleay3, Mehrad Tavallai1,2, Tanja Badovinac-Crnjevic5, Carlos Barrios6, Nuran Beşe7, Arlene Chan8, Yanin Chavarri-Guerra9, Marcio Debiasi6, Elif Demirdögen10, Ünal Egeli10, Sahsuvar Gökgöz10, Henry Gomez11, Pedro Liedke6, Ismet Tasdelen10, Sahsine Tolunay10, Gustavo Werutsky6, Jessica St. Louis1, Nora Horick12, Dianne M. Finkelstein2,12, Long Phi Le2,3, Aditya Bardia1,2, Paul E. Goss1,2, Dennis C. Sgroi2,3, A. John Iafrate2,3, and Leif W. Ellisen1,2 ABSTRACT We sought to uncover genetic drivers of hormone receptor–positive (HR+) breast cancer, using a targeted next-generation sequencing approach for detecting expressed gene rearrangements without prior knowledge of the fusion partners. We identified inter- genic fusions involving driver genes, including PIK3CA, AKT3, RAF1, and ESR1, in 14% (24/173) of unselected patients with advanced HR+ breast cancer. FISH confirmed the corresponding chromo- somal rearrangements in both primary and metastatic tumors. Expression of novel kinase fusions in nontransformed cells deregulates phosphoprotein signaling, cell proliferation, and survival in three- dimensional culture, whereas expression in HR+ breast cancer models modulates estrogen-dependent growth and confers hormonal therapy resistance in vitro and in vivo. Strikingly, shorter overall survival was observed in patients with rearrangement-positive versus rearrangement-negative tumors. Cor- respondingly, fusions were uncommon (<5%) among 300 patients presenting with primary HR+ breast cancer.
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