Injury promotes sarcoma development in a genetically and temporally restricted manner

Cancer results from the accumulation of genetic mutations in a susceptible cell of origin. We and others have also shown that injury promotes sarcoma development, but how injury cooperates with genetic mutations at the earliest stages of tumor formation is not known. Here, we utilized dual recombinase technology to dissect the complex interplay of the timing of KrasG12D activation, p53 deletion, and muscle injury in sarcomagenesis using a primary mouse model of soft tissue sarcoma. When mutations in oncogenic Kras and p53 are separated by 3 weeks, few sarcomas develop without injury. However, the transformation potential of these tumor-initiating cells can be unmasked by muscle injury. In the absence of Kras mutations, injury of the muscle with global deletion of p53 results in sarcomas with amplification of chromosomal regions encompassing the Met or Yap1 gene. These findings demonstrate a complex interplay between the timing of genetic mutations and perturbations in the tumor microenvironment, which provides insight into the earliest stages of sarcoma development.