Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor With Multiple Primary Tyrosine Kinase Mutations-Clinicopathologic and Molecular

Newton A C S Wong1, Philippe Taniere2, Shaun Walsh3

  • 1Department of Cellular Pathology, Southmead Hospital, Bristol.

Insights

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) with multiple tyrosine kinase mutations often have these alterations on the same gene allele. These coexistent mutations likely represent separate events and do not appear to impact GIST clinical features.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Genetics
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are rare sarcomas driven by mutations in KIT or PDGFRA genes.
  • Chemo-naive GISTs with double-primary tyrosine kinase mutations present a unique challenge for understanding mutational events.
  • Determining whether coexistent mutations represent a single or multiple mutational events is crucial for GIST research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize a cohort of chemo-naive GISTs with double-primary tyrosine kinase mutations.
  • To investigate if coexistent mutations in GISTs arise from a single mutational event.
  • To assess the clinical significance of multiple tyrosine kinase variants in GIST.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of 9 GIST cases from 4 UK centers diagnosed up to 2013.
  • Next-generation sequencing (NGS) validation for 8 cases to confirm mutation presence and allelic location.
  • Comparison of clinicopathologic features between GISTs with single and double-primary mutations.

Main Results:

  • In 8 validated cases, both primary tyrosine kinase mutations were located on the same allele within the same exon (KIT or PDGFRA).
  • One case showed the second mutation on a subset of mutant alleles, while 7 cases had both mutations across all reads.
  • Clinicopathologic features of GISTs with double-primary mutations were comparable to those with single-primary mutations.

Conclusions:

  • Multiple tyrosine kinase variants in GIST exons, though rare, typically occur on the same allele.
  • These coexistent mutations are likely the result of separate mutational events.
  • The presence of multiple tyrosine kinase variants in GISTs does not appear to have clinical significance.

Related Concept Videos

Receptor Tyrosine Kinases01:26

Receptor Tyrosine Kinases

Receptor tyrosine kinases or RTKs are membrane-bound receptors that phosphorylate specific tyrosine on protein substrates. RTKs regulate cellular growth, differentiation, survival, and migration. They contain an extracellular ligand binding domain, a transmembrane domain, and a cytosolic tail with intrinsic kinase activity. Several extracellular signaling molecules activate RTKs in one or more ways and relay the signal downstream. Ligands such as platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) or...
18.9K
Protein Kinases and Phosphatases02:54

Protein Kinases and Phosphatases

Proteins undergo chemical modifications that trigger changes in the charge, structure, and conformation of the proteins. Phosphorylation, acetylation, glycosylation, nitrosylation, ubiquitination, lipidation, methylation, and proteolysis are various protein modifications that regulate protein activity. Such modifications are usually enzyme-driven.
Protein kinases
Many proteins in the cell are regulated by phosphorylation, the addition of a phosphate group. A family of enzymes called kinases...
15.2K
Mutations01:39

Mutations

Overview
94.6K
Mutations01:35

Mutations

Mutations are changes in the sequence of DNA. These changes can occur spontaneously or they can be induced by exposure to environmental factors. Mutations can be characterized in a number of different ways: whether and how they alter the amino acid sequence of the protein, whether they occur over a small or large area of DNA, and whether they occur in somatic cells or germline cells.
Chromosomal Alterations Are Large-Scale Mutations
While point mutations are changes in a single nucleotide in...
44.6K
Treatment for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors and Calcium Channel Blockers01:26

Treatment for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors and Calcium Channel Blockers

Receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and calcium channel blockers (CCBs) are two critical categories of drugs employed in the treatment of pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH). PAH is a disease that causes high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries, resulting in chest pain, fatigue, and shortness of breath.
TKIs, such as imatinib (Gleevec), are particularly effective in tackling the growth and mitogenic factors that become upregulated in PAH patients. These factors contribute to the...
559
Viral Mutations00:36

Viral Mutations

A mutation is a change in the sequence of bases of DNA or RNA in a genome. Some mutations occur during replication of the genome due to errors made by the polymerase enzymes that replicate DNA or RNA. Unlike DNA polymerase, RNA polymerase is prone to errors because it is not capable of “proofreading” its work. Viruses with RNA-based genomes, like HIV, therefore accrue mutations faster than viruses with DNA-based genomes. Because mutation and recombination provide the raw material...
40.0K