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

Authors
Gao, Qingsong 
Liang, Wen-Wei 
Foltz, Steven M 
Mutharasu, Gnanavel 
Jayasinghe, Reyka G 

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Article
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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.

Publication Date
2018-04-03
Online Publication Date
Acceptance Date
2018-03-13
Keywords
RNA, cancer, fusion, gene fusions, translocation, Antineoplastic Agents, Carcinogenesis, Cell Line, Tumor, Humans, Molecular Targeted Therapy, Neoplasms, Oncogene Fusion, Oncogene Proteins, Fusion
Journal Title
Cell Rep
Journal ISSN
2211-1247
2211-1247
Volume Title
23
Publisher
Elsevier BV