The Cancer Genome Atlas expression profiles of low-grade gliomas

Differentiating between low-grade gliomas (LGGs) of astrocytic and oligodendroglial origin remains a major challenge in neurooncology. Here the authors analyzed The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) profiles of LGGs with the goal of identifying distinct molecular characteristics that would afford accurate and reliable discrimination of astrocytic and oligodendroglial tumors. They found that 1) oligodendrogliomas are more likely to exhibit the glioma-CpG island methylator phenotype (G-CIMP), relative to low-grade astrocytomas; 2) relative to oligodendrogliomas, low-grade astrocytomas exhibit a higher expression of genes related to mitosis, replication, and inflammation; and 3) low-grade astrocytic tumors harbor microRNA profiles similar to those previously described for glioblastoma tumors. Orthogonal intersection of these molecular characteristics with existing molecular markers, such as IDH1 mutation, TP53 mutation, and 1p19q status, should facilitate accurate and reliable pathological diagnosis of LGGs.