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Aims Low-grade serous carcinomas (LGSCs) and their precursors serous borderline tumours (SBTs) characteristically harbour mutations in BRAF, KRAS or NRAS but rarely in TP53, whereas high-grade serous carcinomas (HGSCs) are characterised by frequent TP53 mutations but rare BRAF, KRAS or NRAS mutations. In a small subset of cases, LGSCs and/or SBTs develop into high-grade tumours, including HGSCs and poorly differentiated carcinomas (PDCs). Here, we sought to define the repertoire of somatic genetic alterations in low-grade serous tumours and synchronous or metachronous high-grade adnexal carcinomas. Methods and results DNA extracted from five SBTs/LGSCs and synchronous or metachronous HGSCs/PDCs and matched normal tissue was subjected to massively parallel sequencing targeting all exons and selected non-coding regions of 341 cancer-related genes. The low-grade and high-grade tumours from a given case were related, and shared mutations and copy number alterations. Progression from low-grade to high-grade lesions was observed, and involved the acquisition of additional mutations and/or copy number alterations, or shifts from subclonal to clonal mutations. Only two (an HGSC and a PDC) of the five high-grade tumours investigated harboured TP53 mutations, whereas NRAS and KRAS hotspot mutations were seen in two HGSCs and one HGSC, respectively. Conclusions Our results suggest that progression from SBT to HGSC may take place in a subset of cases, and that at least some of the rare HGSCs lacking TP53 mutations may be derived from a low-grade serous precursor.

Purpose The clinical use of BRAF inhibitors in patients with melanoma is limited by intrinsic and acquired resistance. We asked whether next-generation sequencing of pretreatment tumors could identify coaltered genes that predict for intrinsic resistance to BRAF inhibitor therapy in patients with melanoma as a prelude to rational combination strategies. Patients and Methods We analyzed 66 tumors from patients with metastatic BRAF-mutant melanoma collected before treatment with BRAF inhibitors. Tumors were analyzed for > 250 cancer-associated genes using a capture-based next-generation sequencing platform. Antitumor responses were correlated with clinical features and genomic profiles with the goal of identifying a molecular signature predictive of intrinsic resistance to RAF pathway inhibition. Results Among the 66 patients analyzed, 11 received a combination of BRAF and MEK inhibitors for the treatment of melanoma. Among the 55 patients treated with BRAF inhibitor monotherapy, objective responses, as assessed by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST), were observed in 30 patients (55%), with five (9%) achieving a complete response. We identified a significant association between alterations in PTEN that would be predicted to result in loss of function and reduced progression-free survival, overall survival, and response grade, a metric that combines tumor regression and duration of treatment response. Patients with melanoma who achieved an excellent response grade were more likely to have an elevated BRAF-mutant allele fraction. Conclusion These results provide a rationale for cotargeting BRAF and the PI3K/AKT pathway in patients with BRAF-mutant melanoma when tumors have concurrent loss-of-function mutations in PTEN. Future studies should explore whether gain of the mutant BRAF allele and/or loss of the wild-type allele is a predictive marker of BRAFi sensitivity.

Clear cell carcinoma of the endometrium is a rare type of endometrial cancer that is generally associated with an aggressive clinical behaviour. Here, we sought to define the repertoire of somatic genetic alterations in endometrial clear cell carcinomas (ECCs), and whether ECCs could be classified into the molecular subtypes described for endometrial endometrioid and serous carcinomas. We performed a rigorous histopathological review, immunohistochemical analysis and massively parallel sequencing targeting 300 cancer-related genes of 32 pure ECCs. Eleven (34%), seven (22%) and six (19%) ECCs showed abnormal expression patterns for p53, ARID1A, and at least one DNA mismatch repair (MMR) protein, respectively. Targeted sequencing data were obtained from 30 of the 32 ECCs included in this study, and these revealed that two ECCs (7%) were ultramutated and harboured mutations affecting the exonuclease domain of POLE. In POLE wild-type ECCs, TP53 (46%), PIK3CA (36%), PPP2R1A (36%), FBXW7 (25%), ARID1A (21%), PIK3R1 (18%) and SPOP (18%) were the genes most commonly affected by mutations; 18% and 11% harboured CCNE1 and ERBB2 amplifications, respectively, and 11% showed DAXX homozygous deletions. ECCs less frequently harboured mutations affecting CTNNB1 and PTEN but more frequently harboured PPP2R1A and TP53 mutations than non-POLE endometrioid carcinomas from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Compared to endometrial serous carcinomas (TCGA), ECCs less frequently harboured TP53 mutations. When a surrogate model for the molecular-based TCGA classification was used, all molecular subtypes previously identified in endometrial endometrioid and serous carcinomas were present in the ECCs studied, including POLE, MMR-deficient, copy-number high (serous-like)/p53 abnormal, and copy-number low (endometrioid)/p53 wild-type, which were significantly associated with disease-free survival in univariate analysis. These findings demonstrate that ECCs constitute a histologically and genetically heterogeneous group of tumours with varying outcomes. Furthermore, our data suggest that the classification of ECCs as being generally 'high-grade' or 'type II' tumours may not be warranted. Copyright © 2017 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Tumor molecular profiling is a fundamental component of precision oncology, enabling the identification of genomic alterations in genes and pathways that can be targeted therapeutically. The existence of recurrent targetable alterations across distinct histologically defined tumor types, coupled with an expanding portfolio of molecularly targeted therapies, demands flexible and comprehensive approaches to profile clinically relevant genes across the full spectrum of cancers. We established a large-scale, prospective clinical sequencing initiative using a comprehensive assay, MSK-IMPACT, through which we have compiled tumor and matched normal sequence data from a unique cohort of more than 10,000 patients with advanced cancer and available pathological and clinical annotations. Using these data, we identified clinically relevant somatic mutations, novel noncoding alterations, and mutational signatures that were shared by common and rare tumor types. Patients were enrolled on genomically matched clinical trials at a rate of 11%. To enable discovery of novel biomarkers and deeper investigation into rare alterations and tumor types, all results are publicly accessible.

Background The growing number of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) tests is transforming the routine clinical diagnosis of hereditary cancers. Identifying whether a cancer is the result of an underlying disease-causing mutation in a cancer predisposition gene is not only diagnostic for a cancer predisposition syndrome, but also has significant clinical implications in the clinical management of patients and their families. Methods Here, we evaluated the performance of MSK-IMPACT (Memorial Sloan Kettering-Integrated Mutation Profiling of Actionable Cancer Targets) in detecting genetic alterations in 76 genes implicated in cancer predisposition syndromes. Output from hybridization-based capture was sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq 2500. A custom analysis pipeline was used to detect single nucleotide variants (SNVs), small insertions/deletions (indels) and copy number variants (CNVs). Results MSK-IMPACT detected all germline variants in a set of 233 unique patient DNA samples, previously confirmed by previous single gene testing. Reproducibility of variant calls was demonstrated using inter- and intra- run replicates. Moreover, in 16 samples, we identified additional pathogenic mutations other than those previously identified through a traditional gene-by-gene approach, including founder mutations in BRCA1, BRCA2, CHEK2 and APC, and truncating mutations in TP53, TSC2, ATM and VHL. Conclusions This study highlights the importance of the NGS-based gene panel testing approach in comprehensively identifying germline variants contributing to cancer predisposition and simultaneous detection of somatic and germline alterations. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12920-017-0271-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Establishing ERBB2 [human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)] amplification status in breast and gastric carcinomas is essential to treatment selection. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) constitute the current standard for assessment. With further advancements in genomic medicine, new clinically relevant biomarkers are rapidly emerging and options for targeted therapy are increasing in patients with advanced disease, driving the need for comprehensive molecular profiling. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is an attractive approach for up-front comprehensive assessment, including ERBB2 status, but the concordance with traditional methods of HER2 assessment is not well established. The Memorial Sloan Kettering–Integrated Mutation Profiling of Actionable Cancer Targets (MSK-IMPACT) assay, a hybrid capture-based NGS assay interrogating the coding regions of 410 cancer-related genes, was performed on manually macrodissected unstained sections from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded breast (n = 213) and gastroesophageal (n = 39) tumors submitted for clinical mutation profiling. ERBB2 status was assessed using a custom bioinformatics pipeline, and NGS results were compared to IHC and FISH. NGS ERBB2 amplification calls had an overall concordance of 98.4% (248/252) with the combined IHC/FISH results in this validation set. Discrepancies occurred in the context of low tumor content and HER2 heterogeneity. ERBB2 amplification status can be reliably determined by hybridization capture-based NGS methods, allowing efficient concurrent testing for other potentially actionable genomic alterations, particularly in limited material.

3045 Background: Detection of minimal residual disease (MRD) by circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) post-curative intent treatment is predictive of recurrence in many solid tumors. Due to biological challenges with low ctDNA shed in early-stage disease and potential to detect non-tumor derived alterations in plasma (e.g. CHIP), most ctDNA MRD assays are dependent on a priori knowledge of genomic alterations from tumor tissue to achieve high sensitivity and specificity. Tissue-dependent methods limit the clinical application of a MRD assay, especially in cancer types where tissue biopsy is challenging, neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) is standard of care, and/or rapid turnaround times are needed for clinical decision making. We previously validated an assay (Guardant Reveal) that combines somatic and epigenomic analysis to detect ctDNA from early-stage colorectal tumors without tumor tissue or peripheral blood cells. Here we describe the expansion of this assay to detect MRD across multiple tumor types. Methods: Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) fragments are extracted from patient plasma, partitioned based on methylation fraction, enriched using a panel to target informative genomic and epigenomic regions, barcoded, and pooled for sequencing. Methylation status is determined non-destructively and with minimal loss of molecules, allowing sensitive genomic and epigenomic analysis of the same cfDNA fragments. A single assay with a total panel size of 5.3 Mb was developed for MRD analysis in multiple cancer types, including CRC, Lung and Bladder. A “ctDNA detected” result is defined by the de novo identification of tumor-derived somatic variants and/or the observation of a tumor-specific methylation profile exceeding predefined thresholds. Results: The assay performance was tested using 163 pre-treatment clinical samples from patients with early-stage non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and bladder cancer and 133 self-declared healthy donors. Sensitivity for pre-treatment detection in NSCLC was 68.9% at 95% specificity (20/42 Stage I: 47.6%, 25/30 Stage II: 83.3%, 19/21 Stage III: 90.5%). Sensitivity for bladder cancer was 44.2% at 95% specificity (13/43 NMIBC: 30.2%, 18/27 MIBC: 66.7%). Additional development from larger cohorts and other tumor types is ongoing and data will be presented as available. Conclusions: Using cancer-specific genomic and epigenomic signals combined with learning-based classifiers, we developed a highly specific method for detecting the presence of ctDNA in early-stage NSCLC and bladder cancer patients from plasma without the need for tumor tissue but with comparable sensitivities to tissue-dependent approaches. A plasma-only MRD assay will allow for greater clinical impact by overcoming the challenges of tissue procurement, particularly following NAT, and enabling faster time to results.

Implementing a center-wide precision medicine strategy at a major cancer center is a true multidisciplinary effort and requires comprehensive alignment of a broad screening strategy with a clinical research enterprise that can use these data to accelerate development of new treatments. Here, we describe the genomic screening approach at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, a hybridization capture-based next-generation sequencing clinical assay for solid tumor molecular oncology designated MSK-IMPACT, and how it enables and supports a large clinical trial portfolio enriched for multi-histology, biomarker-selected, ‘basket’ studies of targeted therapies.

© 2018 Elsevier Inc. While mutations affecting protein-coding regions have been examined across many cancers, structural variants at the genome-wide level are still poorly defined. Through integrative deep whole-genome and -transcriptome analysis of 101 castration-resistant prostate cancer metastases (109X tumor/38X normal coverage), we identified structural variants altering critical regulators of tumorigenesis and progression not detectable by exome approaches. Notably, we observed amplification of an intergenic enhancer region 624 kb upstream of the androgen receptor (AR) in 81% of patients, correlating with increased AR expression. Tandem duplication hotspots also occur near MYC, in lncRNAs associated with post-translational MYC regulation. Classes of structural variations were linked to distinct DNA repair deficiencies, suggesting their etiology, including associations of CDK12 mutation with tandem duplications, TP53 inactivation with inverted rearrangements and chromothripsis, and BRCA2 inactivation with deletions. Together, these observations provide a comprehensive view of how structural variations affect critical regulators in metastatic prostate cancer. Integrative whole-genome and -transcriptome sequencing provides a comprehensive view of structural variations that affect major regulators in prostate cancer and would escape detection by exome-based approaches.

Angiosarcomas are rare malignant mesenchymal tumors of endothelial differentiation. The clinical behavior is usually aggressive and the prognosis for patients with advanced disease is poor with no effective therapies. The genetic bases of these tumors have been partially revealed in recent studies reporting genetic alterations such as amplifications of MYC (primarily in radiation-associated angiosarcomas), inactivating mutations in PTPRB and R707Q hotspot mutations of PLCG1. Here, we performed a comprehensive genomic analysis of 34 angiosarcomas using a clinically-approved, hybridization-based targeted next-generation sequencing assay for 341 well-established oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Over half of the angiosarcomas (n = 18, 53%) harbored genetic alterations affecting the MAPK pathway, involving mutations in KRAS, HRAS, NRAS, BRAF, MAPK1 and NF1, or amplifications in MAPK1/CRKL, CRAF or BRAF. The most frequently detected genetic aberrations were mutations in TP53 in 12 tumors (35%) and losses of CDKN2A in 9 tumors (26%). MYC amplifications were generally mutually exclusive of TP53 alterations and CDKN2A loss and were identified in 8 tumors (24%), most of which (n = 7, 88%) arose post-irradiation. Previously reported mutations in PTPRB (n = 10, 29%) and one (3%) PLCG1 R707Q mutation were also identified. Our results demonstrate that angiosarcomas are a genetically heterogeneous group of tumors, harboring a wide range of genetic alterations. The high frequency of genetic events affecting the MAPK pathway suggests that targeted therapies inhibiting MAPK signaling may be promising therapeutic avenues in patients with advanced angiosarcomas. OA gold

The identification of specific genetic alterations as key oncogenic drivers and the development of targeted therapies are together transforming clinical oncology and creating a pressing need for increased breadth and throughput of clinical genotyping. Next-generation sequencing assays allow the efficient and unbiased detection of clinically actionable mutations. To enable precision oncology in patients with solid tumors, we developed Memorial Sloan Kettering-Integrated Mutation Profiling of Actionable Cancer Targets (MSK-IMPACT), a hybridization capture-based next-generation sequencing assay for targeted deep sequencing of all exons and selected introns of 341 key cancer genes in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumors. Barcoded libraries from patient-matched tumor and normal samples were captured, sequenced, and subjected to a custom analysis pipeline to identify somatic mutations. Sensitivity, specificity, reproducibility of MSK-IMPACT were assessed through extensive analytical validation. We tested 284 tumor samples with previously known point mutations and insertions/deletions in 47 exons of 19 cancer genes. All known variants were accurately detected, and there was high reproducibility of inter- and intrarun replicates. The detection limit for low-frequency variants was approximately 2% for hotspot mutations and 5% for nonhotspot mutations. Copy number alterations and structural rearrangements were also reliably detected. MSK-IMPACT profiles oncogenic DNA alterations in clinical solid tumor samples with high accuracy and sensitivity. Paired analysis of tumors and patient-matched normal samples enables unambiguous detection of somatic mutations to guide treatment decisions.

Tumor molecular profiling is a fundamental component of precision oncology, enabling the identification of genomic alterations in genes and pathways that can be targeted therapeutically. The existence of recurrent targetable alterations across distinct histologically-defined tumor types, coupled with an expanding portfolio of molecularly-targeted therapies, demands flexible and comprehensive approaches to profile clinically significant genes across the full spectrum of cancers. We established a large-scale, prospective clinical sequencing initiative utilizing a comprehensive assay, MSK-IMPACT, through which we have compiled matched tumor and normal sequence data from a unique cohort of more than 10,000 patients with advanced cancer and available pathological and clinical annotations. Using these data, we identified clinically relevant somatic mutations, novel non-coding alterations, and mutational signatures that were shared among common and rare tumor types. Patients were enrolled on genomically matched clinical trials at a rate of 11%. To enable discovery of novel biomarkers and deeper investigation into rare alterations and tumor types, all results are publicly accessible.

Emphysema in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be characterized by high-resolution chest computed tomography (HRCT); however, the repeated use of HRCT is limited because of concerns regarding radiation exposure and cost.To evaluate biomarkers associated with emphysema and COPD-related clinical characteristics, and to assess the relationships of soluble receptor for advanced glycation endproducts (sRAGE), a candidate systemic biomarker identified in this study, with single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene coding for RAGE (AGER locus) and with clinical characteristics.Circulating levels of 111 biomarkers were analyzed for association with clinical characteristics in 410 patients with COPD enrolled in the TESRA study. sRAGE was also measured in the ECLIPSE cohort in 1,847 patients with COPD, 298 smokers and 204 nonsmokers. The association between 21 SNPs in the AGER locus with sRAGE levels and clinical characteristics was also investigated.sRAGE was identified as a biomarker of diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide and lung density in the TESRA cohort. In the ECLIPSE cohort, lower sRAGE levels were associated with increased emphysema, increased Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease stage, and COPD disease status. The associations with emphysema in both cohorts remained significant after covariate adjustment (P0.0001). One SNP in the AGER locus, rs2070600, was associated with circulating sRAGE levels both in TESRA (P = 0.0014) and ECLIPSE (7.07 × 10(-16)), which exceeded genome-wide significance threshold. Another SNP (rs2071288) was also associated with sRAGE levels (P = 0.01) and diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide (P = 0.01) in the TESRA study.Lower circulating sRAGE levels are associated with emphysema severity and genetic polymorphisms in the AGER locus are associated with systemic sRAGE levels. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT 00413205 and NCT 00292552).

Polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) is a synthetic analogue of double-stranded (ds)RNA, a molecular pattern associated with viral infections, that is used to exacerbate inflammation in lung injury models. Despite its frequent use, there are no detailed studies of the responses elicited by a single topical administration of poly I:C to the lungs of mice. Our data provides the first demonstration that the molecular responses in the airways induced by poly I:C correlate to those observed in the lungs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. These expression data also revealed three distinct phases of response to poly I:C, consistent with the changing inflammatory cell infiltrate in the airways. Poly I:C induced increased numbers of neutrophils and natural killer cells in the airways, which were blocked by CXCR2 and CCR5 antagonists, respectively. Using gene set variation analysis on representative clinical data sets, gene sets defined by poly I:C–induced differentially expressed genes were enriched in the molecular profiles of COPD but not idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients. Collectively, these data represent a new approach for validating the clinical relevance of preclinical animal models and demonstrate that a dual CXCR2/CCR5 antagonist may be an effective treatment for COPD patients.

Translational bioinformatics and clinical research (biomedical) informatics are the primary domains related to informatics activities that support translational research. Translational bioinformatics focuses on computational techniques in genetics, molecular biology, and systems biology. Clinical research (biomedical) informatics involves the use of informatics in discovery and management of new knowledge relating to health and disease. This article details 3 projects that are hybrid applications of translational bioinformatics and clinical research (biomedical) informatics: The Cancer Genome Atlas, the cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics, and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center clinical variants and results database, all designed to facilitate insights into cancer biology and clinical/therapeutic correlations.

Approximately 350 million individuals live with CHB, and over 500,000 people die each year due to HBV-associated liver diseases, such as cirrhosis and HCC (1). Pegylated interferon-α (IFN-α) and various nucleos(t)ides are currently licensed for the treatment of CHB, but while these therapies reduce viremia and improve long-term outcome, they rarely lead to cure (2). There is, therefore, an urgent need to develop novel antiviral therapies to achieve this goal. Due to the difficulty in obtaining liver biopsy specimens from chronically infected patients, much of what has been learned about human HBV has been determined in animal models. Studies of acute infection in transgenic (3, 4) and hydrodynamic (5) mouse models and also in chimpanzees (6) have provided useful insights into immunological mechanisms that may contribute to the outcome of HBV infection. However, the immune correlates of cure of chronic HBV infection, and the role of host-virus interactions in persistent infection, are still ill defined. Characterization of these complex immunological phenomena has been hampered by the lack of a well characterized, immunocompetent small animal model of CHB. This therefore remains an important goal, since identification of the mechanism(s) by which HBV escapes or circumvents the host immune response will likely contribute to the identification of novel targets with potential to lead to new antiviral therapies. The Eastern woodchuck (Marmota monax) is naturally infected with WHV, a hepadnavirus which is genetically closely related to human HBV, and has a disease course similar to that in HBV-infected persons (7). As such, the woodchuck has been used to study viral pathogenesis, and to evaluate antiviral and anticancer therapeutics (7). However, a notable limitation of this model is that transcriptional analysis of the woodchuck is restricted to a few hundred sequenced gene segments. To address this shortcoming, we report here the sequencing, assembly and annotation of the woodchuck transcriptome, together with the generation of woodchuck microarrays. By using this new platform, we describe the first global transcriptional analysis of persistent WHV infection and WHV-induced HCC.

Importance Tumor genetic sequencing identifies potentially targetable genetic alterations with therapeutic implications. Analysis has concentrated on detecting tumor-specific variants, but recognition of germline variants may prove valuable as well. Objective To estimate the burden of germline variants identified through routine clinical tumor sequencing. Design, Setting, and Participants Patients with advanced cancer diagnoses eligible for studies of targeted agents at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center are offered tumor-normal sequencing with MSK-IMPACT, a 341-gene panel. We surveyed the germline variants seen in 187 overlapping genes with Mendelian disease associations in 1566 patients who had undergone tumor profiling between March and October 2014. Main Outcomes and Measures The number of presumed pathogenic germline variants (PPGVs) and variants of uncertain significance per person in 187 genes associated with single-gene disorders and the proportions of individuals with PPGVs in clinically relevant gene subsets, in genes consistent with known tumor phenotypes, and in genes with evidence of second somatic hits in their tumors. Results The mean age of the 1566 patients was 58 years, and 54% were women. Presumed pathogenic germline variants in known Mendelian disease-associated genes were identified in 246 of 1566 patients (15.7%; 95% CI, 14.0%-17.6%), including 198 individuals with mutations in genes associated with cancer susceptibility. Germline findings in cancer susceptibility genes were concordant with the individual’s cancer type in only 81 of 198 cases (40.9%; 95% CI, 34.3%-47.9%). In individuals with PPGVs retained in the tumor, somatic alteration of the other allele was seen in 39 of 182 cases (21.4%; 95% CI, 16.1%-28.0%), of which 13 cases did not show a known correlation of the germline mutation and a known syndrome. Mutations in non–cancer-related Mendelian disease genes were seen in 55 of 1566 cases (3.5%; 95% CI, 27.1%-45.4%). Almost every individual had more than 1 variant of uncertain significance (1565 of 1566 patients; 99.9%; 95% CI, 99.6%-99.9%). Conclusions and Relevance Germline variants are common in individuals undergoing tumor-normal sequencing and may reveal otherwise unsuspected syndromic associations.

Background. RAF inhibitors are an effective therapy for patients with BRAF-mutant melanoma and brain metastasis. Efficacy data are derived from clinical studies enriched with physiologically fit patients; therefore, it is of interest to assess the real-world experience of vemurafenib in this population. Tumor-specific genetic variants that influence sensitivity to RAF kinase inhibitors also require investigation. Methods. Records of patients with BRAF-mutant melanoma and brain metastases who were treated with vemurafenib were reviewed. Clinical data were extracted to determine extracranial and intracranial objective response rates, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety. A bait-capture, next-generation sequencing assay was used to identify mutations in pretreatment tumors that could explain primary resistance to vemurafenib. Results. Among patients with intracranial disease treated with vemurafenib, 27 were included in survival analyses and 22 patients were assessable for response. The extracranial and intracranial objective response rates were 71% and 50%, respectively. Discordant responses were observed between extracranial and intracranial metastatic sites in 4 of 19 evaluable patients. Median PFS was 4.1 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.6–7.9); median intracranial PFS was 4.6 months (95% CI: 2.7–7.9), median OS was 7.5 months (95% CI: 4.3–not reached), with a 30.4% 1-year OS rate. Outcomes were influenced by performance status. Vemurafenib was tolerable, although radiation-induced dermatitis occurred in some patients who received whole-brain radiotherapy. Adequate samples for next-generation sequencing analysis were available for seven patients. Melanomas categorized as “poorly sensitive” (≥20% tumor growth, new lesions, or ≤50% shrinkage for Conclusion. Vemurafenib is highly active in BRAF-mutant melanoma brain metastases but has limited activity in patients with poor performance status. The safety and efficacy of concurrent radiotherapy and RAF inhibition requires careful clinical evaluation. Combination strategies blocking the MAPK and PI3K-AKT pathway may be warranted in a subset of patients. Implications for Practice: Vemurafenib is active for BRAF-mutant intracranial melanoma metastases in an unselected patient population typical of routine oncologic practice. Patients with poor performance status appear to have poor outcomes despite vemurafenib therapy. Preliminary data indicate that co-occurring or secondary alterations in the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-AKT (PI3K-AKT) pathway are involved in resistance to RAF inhibition, thus providing a rationale for dual MAPK and PI3K-AKT pathway inhibition in this patient population.

with the BSCC group, while the incidence of lymph node metastasis in the BSCC group was significantly higher than that in the UC group. Of the 12 EMT markers, N-cadherin expression in the UC group was significantly greater than that in the BSCC group, while the expression levels of MMP-9 and ZEB1 in the BSCC group were significantly greater than those in the UC group. Both recurrencefree and overall survivals in the BSCC group were significantly poor compared with those in the UC group. In the UC group, multivariate analyses identified pathological stage, lymph node metastasis and N-cadherin expression as independent predictors of recurrence-free survival (RFS), and age, pathological stage, lymph node metastasis and N-cadherin expression as those of overall survival (OS). In the BSCC group, pathological stage and lymph node metastasis were shown to be independently associated with RFS, while pathological stage, lymph node metastasis, MMP-9 expression and ZEB1 expression appeared to be independent predictors of OS. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest the important roles of EMT in the process of disease progression following radical cystectomy for both UC and BSCC; however, different molecules associated with EMT may be involved in this process between UC and BSCC.

Melanotic Schwannomas (MS) are rare tumors that share histological features with melanocytic tumors and schwannomas. However, their genetics are poorly understood. To elucidate the genetic characteristics of MS, we performed genome-wide studies in a series of cases. Twelve MS cases were available for the study. Genomic DNAs extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tumor tissues were subjected to copy number (CN) and allelic imbalance (AI) analysis by Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP)-array and screened for mutations in coding exons of 341 key cancer-associated genes using a hybrid capture-based next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay. Sanger sequencing was used to further verify recurrent mutations detected by NGS study. SNP-array analysis revealed remarkably stereotypic chromosomal abnormalities in MS. Hypodiploidy was common, typically involving monosomies of chromosomes 1, 2, and 17. All 12 samples showed mutations in PRKAR1A gene, including 2 cases with 2 mutations each. The 14 mutations were scattered across PRKAR1A, and most were inactivating mutations. AI on 17q, presenting as loss of heterozygosity with or without CN losses, combined with a PRKAR1A mutation was observed in 9/12 MS cases. The remaining 3 cases included the two samples harboring two mutations in PRKAR1A. MS exhibits a stereotypic pattern of chromosomal losses. In contrast, melanomas are typically characterized by the presence of multiple CN aberrations, without demonstrable differences in the frequency of losses and gains. Inactivation of both alleles of PRKAR1A by "two hits" observed in almost all cases underscores the central role of PRKAR1A in the pathogenesis of this neoplasm. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Amplicon-based methods for targeted resequencing of cancer genes have gained traction in the clinic as a strategy for molecular diagnostic testing. An 847-amplicon panel was designed with the RainDance DeepSeq system, covering most exons of 28 genes relevant to acute myeloid leukemia and myeloproliferative neoplasms. We developed a paired-sample analysis pipeline for variant calling and sought to assess its sensitivity and specificity relative to a set of samples with previously identified mutations. Thirty samples with known mutations in JAK2, NPM1, DNMT3A, MPL, IDH1, IDH2, CEBPA, and FLT3, were profiled and sequenced to high depth. Variant calling using an unmatched Hapmap DNA control removed a substantial number of artifactual calls regardless of algorithm used or variant class. The removed calls were nonunique, had lower variant frequencies, and tended to recur in multiple unrelated samples. Analysis of sample replicates revealed that reproducible calls had distinctly higher variant allele depths and frequencies compared to nonreproducible calls. On the basis of these differences, filters on variant frequency were chosen to select for reproducible calls. The analysis pipeline successfully retrieved the associated known variant in all tested samples and uncovered additional mutations in some samples corresponding to well-characterized hotspot mutations in acute myeloid leukemia. We have developed a paired-sample analysis pipeline capable of robust identification of mutations from microdroplet-PCR sequencing data with high sensitivity and specificity.

Vemurafenib, a RAF inhibitor, extends survival in patients with BRAFV600-mutant melanoma but activates extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK) signaling in RAS-mutant cells. In a patient with a BRAFV600K-mutant melanoma responding to vemurafenib, we observed accelerated progression of a previously unrecognized NRAS-mutant leukemia. We hypothesized that combining vemurafenib with a MAP–ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitor would inhibit ERK activation in the melanoma and prevent ERK activation by vemurafenib in the leukemia, and thus suppress both malignancies. We demonstrate that intermittent administration of vemurafenib led to a near-complete remission of the melanoma, and the addition of the MEK inhibitor cobimetinib (GDC-0973) caused suppression of vemurafenib-induced leukemic proliferation and ERK activation. Antimelanoma and antileukemia responses have been maintained for nearly 20 months, as documented by serial measurements of tumor-derived DNA in plasma in addition to conventional radiographic and clinical assessments of response. These data support testing of intermittent ERK pathway inhibition in the therapy for both RAS-mutant leukemia and BRAF-mutant melanoma. Significance: We show that in a patient with simultaneous RAS-mutant leukemia and BRAF-mutant melanoma, intermittent RAF inhibitor therapy induced a near-complete melanoma response, and addition of a MEK inhibitor prevented RAF inhibitor-induced activation of the RAS-mutant leukemia. Intermittent therapy may permit greater pathway inhibition with less toxicity, avoid chronic relief of pathway feedback, and have enhanced effectiveness compared with chronic administration. Cancer Discov; 4(5); 538–45. ©2014 AACR. See related commentary by Davies, p. 510 This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 495

The woodchuck model of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection displays many characteristics of human infection and has particular value for characterizing the host immune responses during the development of chronic infection. Using the newly developed custom woodchuck microarray platform, we compared the intrahepatic transcriptional profiles of neonatal woodchucks with self-limiting woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV) infection to those woodchucks progressing to persistent WHV infection. This revealed that WHV does not induce significant intrahepatic gene expression changes during the early-acute stage of infection (8 weeks), suggesting it is a stealth virus. At the mid-acute phase of infection (14 weeks), resolution was associated with induction of a prominent cytotoxic T-cell signature. Strikingly, this was accompanied by high-level expression of PD-1 and various other inhibitory T-cell receptors, which likely act to minimize liver damage by cytotoxic T cells during viral clearance. In contrast to the expression of perforin and other cytotoxic effector genes, the interferon-γ (IFN-γ) signaling response in the mid-acute phase was comparable to that in chronically infected adult animals. The absence of a strong IFN-α/β transcriptional response indicated that type I IFN is not a critical mediator of self-limiting infection. Nevertheless, a number of antiviral genes, including viperin, were differentially expressed during resolving infection, suggesting that a subset of IFN-stimulated genes (ISG) may play a role in the control of WHV replication. Conclusion: We identified new immune pathways associated with the clearance of hepadnavirus infection revealing novel molecular targets with potential for the therapeutic treatment of chronic hepatitis B. (HEPATOLOGY 2013)

Background: Recent genomic studies have identified somatic mutations in leukemia genes in asymptomatic individuals without hematologic malignancy. A subset of patients (pts) with clonal hematopoiesis (CH) subsequently develops hematologic malignancies. However, the incidence of CH in pts with solid tumors has not been extensively studied. We sought to assess for CH and its associated clinical impact in pts with solid tumors who were profiled using paired tumor/blood sequencing. Methods: This study included pts who were consented on protocol NCT01775072. All had tumor and blood genomic profiling using the MSK-IMPACT hybridization capture-based next-generation sequencing assay, encompassing all protein-coding exons of 410 cancer-associated genes. In matched blood, we investigated for hotspot mutations from COSMIC database (v71) and non-hotspot mutations in leukemia-associated genes and genes reported in prior CH studies. Mutations were scored as present if variant allele frequency (VAF) in blood was greater than 2% and at least twice the VAF seen in tumor. For cases where at least one mutation exceeded these thresholds, we reduced the VAF threshold in blood to 1% to detect subsequent events. Mutations with VAF >35% in both blood and tumor were excluded as likely germline events. Results: We analyzed 2,146 pts, including 239 pts (11%) with CH. Most commonly identified mutations were in DNMT3A, TET2, and TP53, seen in 167, 52, and 18 pts, respectively. The mean age at time of testing was 62.6 years in pts with CH and 55.4 years in pts without CH (p< 0.001). When comparing baseline blood parameters, there were no statistically significant differences except for higher MCV in CH vs. non-CH pts (91 vs. 90, p = 0.047). 51% of pts with CH had previous radiation therapy compared to 45% of pts without clonal mutations in their blood (p = 0.057). There was no statistically significant difference in the proportion of pts who had received previous chemotherapy (71% of pts in each group). On prospective follow up of pts with CH, no pts have progressed to develop overt hematologic malignancy, with limited follow up (median 13.1 months). Overall survival (OS) was estimated for pts without CH (n = 1907; 1-yr OS: 0.70), CH with 1 mutation (n = 184; 1-yr OS: 0.64), and CH with >1 mutation (n = 55; 1-yr OS: 0.59). The univariate hazard ratios were 1.16 (p = 0.269) and 1.63 (p = 0.015) for 1 mutation and >1 mutation, respectively, when compared to pts without CH. After adjusting for age and sex, a marginal OS association persisted for >1 mutation compared to no CH (HR: 1.46, p = 0.060) Conclusions: CH is common among solid tumor pts without known hematologic malignancy, occurring in 11% of pts, and appears to be associated with decreased OS. Analyses will be replicated in a larger cohort with longer follow up to determine the clinical impact of these mutations in cancer pts. Citation Format: Catherine Coombs, Ahmet Zehir, Sean Devlin, Sumit Middha, Donavan Cheng, Ashwin Kishtagari, David Hyman, David Solit, Mark Robson, Jose Baselga, Maria Arcila, Martin Tallman, Ross Levine, Michael Berger. Clonal hematopoiesis identified by matched-normal blood sequencing of solid tumor patients without hematologic malignancy is common and is associated with decreased overall survival. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 2640.

With increasing numbers of genomic datasets becoming publicly available, new analysis and filtering tools are needed to serve user communities. Here we describe the development of the Roche In Silico Target Portal (ISTP) for Oncology research, a system that integrates meta-analysis results of gene expression studies with gene-disease, gene-mutation as well as gene-compound (competitor information) relationships into a single entry application. This system uses a three-tier architecture that includes an Oracle relational database, a set of data processing pipelines, and a Java-based web interface. The data processing pipelines were developed in house using Accelrys' Pipeline Pilot. Currently, the ISTP database contains data for seven major tumor types with tens of thousands of records on genes, compounds, mutations, and gene-disease relationship, accessible to Roche internal users via a simple user interface. The ISTP application highlights the potential of such a data integration system for drug discovery and development.

The identification and validation of biomarkers to support the assessment of novel therapeutics for COPD continues to be an important area of research. The aim of the current study was to identify systemic protein biomarkers correlated with measures of COPD severity, as well as specific protein signatures associated with comorbidities such as metabolic syndrome. 142 protein analytes were measured in serum of 140 patients with stable COPD, 15 smokers without COPD and 30 non-smoking controls. Seven analytes (sRAGE, EN-RAGE, NGAL, Fibrinogen, MPO, TGF-α and HB-EGF) showed significant differences between severe/very severe COPD, mild/moderate COPD, smoking and non-smoking control groups. Within the COPD subjects, univariate and multivariate analyses identified analytes significantly associated with FEV(1), FEV(1)/FVC and DLCO. Most notably, a set of 5 analytes (HB-EGF, Fibrinogen, MCP-4, sRAGE and Sortilin) predicted 21% of the variability in DLCO values. To determine common functions/pathways, analytes were clustered in a correlation network by similarity of expression profile. While analytes related to neutrophil function (EN-RAGE, NGAL, MPO) grouped together to form a cluster associated with FEV(1) related parameters, analytes related to the EGFR pathway (HB-EGF, TGF-α) formed another cluster associated with both DLCO and FEV(1) related parameters. Associations of Fibrinogen with DLCO and MPO with FEV(1)/FVC were stronger in patients without metabolic syndrome (r = -0.52, p = 0.005 and r = -0.61, p = 0.023, respectively) compared to patients with coexisting metabolic syndrome (r = -0.25, p = 0.47 and r = -0.15, p = 0.96, respectively), and may be driving overall associations in the general cohort. In summary, our study has identified known and novel serum protein biomarkers and has demonstrated specific associations with COPD disease severity, FEV(1), FEV(1)/FVC and DLCO. These data highlight systemic inflammatory pathways, neutrophil activation and epithelial tissue injury/repair processes as key pathways associated with COPD.

Background: Recent genomic studies have identified somatic mutations in leukemia genes in asymptomatic individuals without known hematologic disease. These mutations lead to clonal expansion of hematopoietic cells, in the absence of clinically overt hematologic transformation. This entity is thought to be analogous to other precursor conditions such as monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL); consistent with this notion, a subset of patients with clonal hematopoiesis can subsequently develop myeloid malignancies, including myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, the incidence of clonal hematopoiesis in patients with solid tumors has not been extensively studied. Moreover, most genomic profiling platforms used to identify somatic mutations in epithelial tumors use blood as the matched normal control, which may lead to the identification of clonal hematopoiesis in a subset of cancer patients. We therefore sought to assess for clonal hematopoiesis in patients with solid tumors seen at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) who were profiled using paired tumor/blood sequencing which is primarily designed to identify tumor-specific mutations. Methods: The study population included patients at MSKCC who were consented on protocol NCT01775072, “Tumor genomic profiling in patients evaluated for targeted cancer therapy.” All patients had tumor and blood genomic profiling sequenced using the MSK-IMPACT hybridization capture-based next-generation sequencing assay, which encompasses all protein-coding exons of 410 cancer-associated genes. For assessment of the incidence and distribution of blood mutations, 3,964 patients consented were evaluated. Patients with known active hematologic malignancies at time of sequencing were excluded from analyses. For comparisons regarding clinical correlations, 2,146 patients were included for whom detailed chart review has been performed. We investigated for the presence of “hotspot” mutations, collected from COSMIC database (v71), in matched blood DNA. Mutations were scored as present in the normal blood if they were detected in more than 8 reads with a variant allele frequency (VAF) greater than 2% which was at least twice the VAF seen in tumor. For cases where at least one mutation exceeded these thresholds, we reduced the VAF threshold in blood to 1% to detect secondary events. Mutations where VAF in the normal blood and the tumor sample were both greater than 30% were excluded as likely germline events. Results: Clonal hematopoiesis was identified in 108/3,964 solid tumor patients who had paired tumor/blood sequencing (2.7% of all patients); 7 patients had 2 unique mutations. DNMT3A mutations were most frequent, occurring in 34% of patients with clonal hematopoiesis (Figure 1). 107/115 mutations (93%) were in known leukemia-associated genes. We collected and analyzed detailed clinical parameters for 2,146 patients, including 42 patients (2.0%) with clonal hematopoiesis. The mean age at the time of testing was 62.1 years in patients with clonal hematopoiesis and 57.2 years in patients without evidence of clonal hematopoiesis (p = 0.015). When comparing baseline blood parameters, there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups. 62% of patients with clonal hematopoiesis had previous radiation therapy compared to 45% of patients without clonal mutations in their blood (p = 0.046). There was no statistically significant difference in the proportion of patients who had received previous chemotherapy (71% of patients in each group). On prospective follow up of patients with clonal hematopoiesis, no patients have progressed to develop overt MDS or AML, though median follow up was limited (median 11.7 months, range 5.5-16.7 months). Conclusions: Clonal hematopoiesis in solid tumor patients without known hematologic disease is common and is associated with increasing age and prior radiation therapy. In our cohort, no patients with clonal hematopoiesis progressed to overt MDS or AML though follow up is limited. Ongoing prospective observation of these patients is imperative to determine the clinical impact of these mutations after ongoing exposure to cytotoxic therapy. Further data including updated clinical and genomic correlates will be presented. Reference: Cheng DT et al. J Mol Diagn 2015 May; 17(3): 251-64. Figure 1. Figure 1. Disclosures Hyman: Chugai Pharma: Consultancy; Biotherapeutics: Consultancy; Atara: Consultancy, Honoraria. Levine:Loxo Oncology: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; CTI BioPharma: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Foundation Medicine: Consultancy.

Tumor sequencing (TS) reveals germline variants, unless they are subtracted through a comparison of tumor and normal data. The genes analyzed in TS overlap significantly with genes associated with Mendelian disorders. Identification of pathogenic germline variation may have significant implications for the individual and their family; however, the prevalence of such variation in individuals undergoing TS is unknown. To determine the burden of germline variants in Mendelian disease genes identified in tumor-normal massively parallel sequencing, we analyzed 1570 cases, unselected for cancer type or family history, that had undergone TS with matched normal DNA using the 341-gene targeted capture panel employed at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK-IMPACT). The most frequent tumor types were breast carcinoma (n = 269, 17%), non-small cell lung cancer (n = 191, 12%), colorectal cancer (n = 116, 7%), prostate carcinoma (n = 97, 6%), esophago-gastric adenocarcinoma (n = 89, 6%), and soft tissue sarcoma (n = 80, 5%). Subjects had provided consent to IRB-approved protocols allowing sequencing of tumor and germline DNA. Analysis of the matched normal DNA samples was conducted in an anonymized manner under an IRB approved waiver. Curation of single nucleotide variants (SNVs) or indels employed Ingenuity® Variant Analysis (version 3.1.20141014), which uses an automated algorithm to classify genes into 5 classes of pathogenicity based on the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) draft guidelines. Variant classifications were reviewed and confirmed manually. Large deletions and duplications were curated manually. There are 26 genes on the MSK-IMPACT panel that are included in the ACMG 56-gene list recommended for return of results. In these 26 genes, there were 2 presumed pathogenic (likely pathogenic/pathogenic, LP/P) variants in 3 individuals (0.19%), 1 LP/P in 107 individuals (6.81%) and 0 LP/P in 1460 individuals (92.99%). There was 1 variant of uncertain significance (VUS) in 507 individuals (32.29%) and 2 or more VUS in 249 individuals (15.85%). Genes with the greatest number of unique LP/P variants were BRCA2, MUTYH, BRCA1, RET, TP53, MSH6, MSH2, SDHB, and APC. In the setting of tumor profiling, cancer predisposing germline variants may be relevant for guiding therapy and may provide personal and clinical utility with regard to future cancer risk-assessment and implementation of cancer prevention strategies including early-detection and risk-reduction strategies for the patient and at-risk family members. The detection of LP/P variants in genes of accepted clinical utility in the matched normal DNA of 7% of unselected individuals undergoing TS suggests that there may be a significant benefit in conducting secondary analysis for detection of these likely cancer-relevant germline findings. However, the challenges of classification and interpretation of VUS, present in almost half of the individuals, will need to be considered. Citation Format: Kasmintan A. Schrader, Donavan T. Cheng, Joseph Vijai, Meera Prasad, Michael F. Walsh, Ahmet Zehir, Tinu Thomas, Liying Zhang, Marc Ladanyi, Kenneth Offit, Michael F. Berger, Mark E. Robson. Potential burden of germline findings in targeted tumor sequencing using matched normal DNA. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 2742. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-2742

11071 Background: The current mainstay of clinical molecular testing for advanced colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is mutation analysis for KRAS, NRAS, and BRAF to determine anti-EGFR therapy eligibility...

604 Background: Approximately 15-20% of invasive breast carcinomas (BCA) show HER2/ERBB2 gene amplification which determines eligibility for treatment by targeted therapy. Traditionally, HER2 statu...

2057 Background: NGS is becoming increasingly available but its relevance in clinical practice has been questioned. In this prospective, IRB-approved study (NCT01775072), we utilized the MSK-IMPACT...

298 Background: The type and frequency of recurrent, targetable alterations in muscle-invasive, treatment-naïve urothelial cancer (UC) have been well-catalogued through the bladder TCGA. We sought to validate these findings within a prospective cohort of patients (pts) with progressive UC treated at our institution. This cohort typifies the UC patient population managed by medical oncologists. Methods: Pts with a diagnosis of UC were enrolled onto an IRB-approved protocol between 1/14/14 and 7/29/14, which allowed for sequencing of all exons in 341 oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes using an exon capture next generation sequencing assay (NGS) platform (MSK-IMPACT) in a CLIA lab from tumor and matched germline DNA. Somatic point mutations, truncations, copy number alterations, and insertions/deletions were detected. Results: 49 UC pts were sequenced, 5 (10%) having upper tract disease. 33 (67%) tumors were pure UC histology with the remainder containing divergent differentiation. 17 samples (24%) were metastatic in origin, and 40 samples were analyzed from pts who had received prior chemotherapy. The most common alteration identified was point mutations within the TERT promoter (71%), a region not sequenced by TCGA. Additional alteration frequencies were similar between both sets. FGFR3 mutations overlapped with both PIK3CA and TSC1 alterations and co-alterations were observed between FGFR3 and CDKN2A as well as PIK3CA and CCND1. Conclusions: TERT promoter mutations were found at high frequency in the MSK-IMPACT tumor cohort. The frequency and type of alterations identified in the bladder TCGA are similar to the MSK-IMPACT cohort, suggesting that TCGA data can be used to guide clinical trials in the metastatic, pre-treated population. Overlap of alterations within and across core signaling pathways underscores the need for functional validation of alterations and for rational combinations of targeted therapies to effectively treat advanced UC. [Table: see text]

e18542 Background: Somatic BAP1 mutations are found in nearly a quarter of MM tumors and germline BAP1 mutations define a new cancer syndrome characterized by familial mesothelioma, uveal melanoma,...

Blood consists of different cell populations with distinct functions and correspondingly, distinct gene expression profiles. In this study, global miRNA expression profiling was performed across a panel of nine human immune cell subsets (neutrophils, eosinophils, monocytes, B cells, NK cells, CD4 T cells, CD8 T cells, mDCs and pDCs) to identify cell-type specific miRNAs. mRNA expression profiling was performed on the same samples to determine if miRNAs specific to certain cell types down-regulated expression levels of their target genes. Six cell-type specific miRNAs (miR-143; neutrophil specific, miR-125; T cells and neutrophil specific, miR-500; monocyte and pDC specific, miR-150; lymphoid cell specific, miR-652 and miR-223; both myeloid cell specific) were negatively correlated with expression of their predicted target genes. These results were further validated using an independent cohort where similar immune cell subsets were isolated and profiled for both miRNA and mRNA expression. miRNAs which negatively correlated with target gene expression in both cohorts were identified as candidates for miRNA/mRNA regulatory pairs and were used to construct a cell-type specific regulatory network. miRNA/mRNA pairs formed two distinct clusters in the network corresponding to myeloid (nine miRNAs) and lymphoid lineages (two miRNAs). Several myeloid specific miRNAs targeted common genes including ABL2, EIF4A2, EPC1 and INO80D; these common targets were enriched for genes involved in the regulation of gene expression (p

8033 Background: KRAS mutations define the largest subset of oncogene-driven lung adenocarcinomas (25-30%). Among patients with KRAS mutations, their clinical course during treatment is heterogeneo...