Pediatr Blood Cancer
September 2025
Background: In neuroblastoma (NB), urinary catecholamine excretion and ImIBG avidity-depending on tumor enzymatic activity and norepinephrine transporter expression, respectively-are diagnostic standards. The prognostic impact of atypical NB, without urinary catecholamine excretion and/or ImIBG avidity, remains to be determined. We sought to determine the frequency and prognosis of atypical NB and investigate the significance of catecholamine profiles and ImIBG avidity at diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNPJ Genom Med
September 2025
Pathogenicity assessment of genetic variants is the cornerstone of genetic counselling. Copy gains of exons are challenging, as pathogenicity depends on the localization of the additional exons. Eight patients form six families carried copy gains of BRCA1 exons 8-20.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJAMA Ophthalmol
August 2025
Importance: To date, no environmental factors and few therapeutic options are known for uveal melanoma (UM), the most common malignant intraocular primary tumor in adults. Identification of new predisposition factors could lead to better monitoring and possibly improved treatments of patients with UM.
Objective: To identify new genetic alterations predisposing for UM.
Acta Neuropathol Commun
June 2025
ATRX immunostaining constitutes a routinely used biomarker for the practice of neuropathology. The loss of ATRX expression correlating with ATRX gene alterations is implicated in a wide variety of pediatric and adult gliomas, and has been indexed as a desirable or essential diagnostic criterion for four tumor types featured in the latest world health organization classification of central nervous system Tumors. In adult-type diffuse glioma, the loss of ATRX expression is a hallmark of astrocytoma, IDH-mutant.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNetrin-1 signaling is an essential prototypical neuronal guidance mechanism during embryonic development that also regulates tumor cell survival in a variety of adult cancer entities. In line with these data, a monoclonal netrin-1 blocking antibody (anti-netrin-1 mAb/NP137) has been preclinically developed and netrin-1 blockade has recently been investigated in phase 1 and 2 clinical trials in several adult cancers. Here, we investigate the role of netrin-1 in the most common malignant pediatric brain cancer, Medulloblastoma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: To report two cases of primary retinal ependymoma occurring in adults, both enucleated following initial suspicion of uveal melanoma. Uveal melanoma is the most frequent primary tumor of the eye in adults but other rare benign intraocular tumors such as leiomyoma, adenoma or ependymomas may also occur. To diagnose them properly is critical to adapt the patient's management, prognosis and follow-up.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: DROSHA, DGCR8, and DICER1 regulate miRNA biogenesis and are commonly mutated in cancer. Although DGCR8 and DICER1 germline pathogenic variants (GPV) cause autosomal dominant tumor predisposition, no association between DROSHA GPVs and clinical phenotypes has been reported.
Experimental Design: After obtaining informed consent, sequencing was performed on germline and tumor samples from all patients.
J Pediatr Hematol Oncol
April 2025
Alterations of PHOX2B function is associated with a wide range of diseases, including congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) and neural crest-derived tumors, from low-grade (ganglioneuromas) to malignant forms (neuroblastomas). We report a case bearing a novel nonpolyalanine repeat PHOX2B pathogenic variant presenting both as high-risk neuroblastoma and late-onset CCHS. CCHS was revealed upon severe respiratory decompensation while the patient was administered the anti-GD2 antibody dinutuximab-beta, as part of neuroblastoma treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRhabdoid tumours (RT) are an aggressive malignancy affecting <2-year-old infants, characterised by biallelic loss-of-function alterations in SWI/SNF-related BAF chromatin remodelling complex subunit B1 (SMARCB1) in nearly all cases. Germline SMARCB1 alterations are found in ~30% of patients and define the RT Predisposition Syndrome type 1 (RTPS1). Uveal melanoma (UVM), the most common primary intraocular cancer in adults, does not harbour SMARCB1 alterations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Medulloblastoma (MB) is one of the most prevalent embryonal malignant brain tumors. Current classification organizes these tumors into 4 molecular subgroups (WNT, SHH, Group 3, and Group 4 MB). Recently, a comprehensive classification has been established, identifying numerous subtypes, some of which exhibit a poor prognosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Infantile myofibromatosis is characterized by the development of myofibroblastic tumors in young children. In most cases, the disease is caused by somatic gain-of-function variants in platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor beta (PDGFRB). Here, we reported a novel germline intronic PDGFRB variant, c.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCREB gene family (ATF1, CREB1, CREM) fusions with either EWSR1 or FUS gene partners drive the pathogenesis of a wide range of neoplasms, including various soft tissue tumors, intracranial myxoid mesenchymal tumors (IMMTs), hyalinizing clear cell carcinoma (HCCC), and rare mesotheliomas. Recently, a SMARCA2::CREM fusion was reported in one case each of IMMT and HCCC. In this study, we expand the clinicopathologic and molecular spectrum of these neoplasms by describing three additional cases with SMARCA2::CREM and one with a novel SMARCA4::CREM fusion, highlighting the recurrent potential of additional CREB gene fusion partners beyond FET family members.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe combination of chemotherapy and targeted therapy has been validated in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with mutations. We therefore investigated whether this type of combined approach could be more widely used by targeting other genetic alterations present in NSCLC. PDXs were generated from patients with NSCLC adenocarcinomas (ADCs) and squamous-cell carcinomas (SCCs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActa Neuropathol
August 2024
Background: Rhabdoid tumors (RT) are aggressive, rare tumors predominantly affecting young children, characterized by biallelic SMARCB1 gene inactivation. While most SMARCB1 alterations are acquired de novo, a third of cases exhibit germline alterations, defining Rhabdoid Tumors Predisposition Syndrome. With the increased sensitivity of next-generation sequencing (NGS), mosaicisms in genes linked to genetic diseases are more detectable.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMalignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare tumor associated with a poor prognosis and a lack of consensus regarding treatment strategies. While the Checkmate 743 trial demonstrated the superiority of first-line nivolumab and ipilimumab over chemotherapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPlM), few studies have assessed the effectiveness of immunotherapy against MPM, due to its rarity. Here, we report a major and sustained 12-month response in a 74-year-old female patient who received the anti-PD-1 nivolumab and the anti-CTLA4 ipilimumab as first-line therapy for diffuse MPM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetastatic carcinoma of presumed renal origin (rCUP) has recently emerged as a new entity within the heterogeneous entity of Cancers of Unknown Primary (CUP) but their biological features and optimal therapeutic management remain unknown. We report the molecular characteristics and clinical outcome of a series of 25 rCUP prospectively identified within the French National Multidisciplinary Tumor Board for CUP. This cohort strongly suggests that rCUP share similarities with common RCC subtypes and benefit from renal-tailored systemic treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInvasive lobular carcinomas (ILC) are characterized by the loss of E-cadherin expression and CDH1 gene inactivation. Diagnostic reproducibility for this tumor type is currently suboptimal and could be improved by a better understanding of its histomolecular and clinical heterogeneity. We have analyzed the relationship between the presence, type, or position of CDH1 mutations, E-cadherin expression, and clinicopathological features (including outcome) in a retrospective series of 251 primary ILC with a long follow-up (median: 9.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: pathogenic variants (PV) have been recently identified as the most frequent variants predisposing to Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) medulloblastomas (MB); however, guidelines are still lacking for genetic counseling in this new syndrome.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed clinical and genetic data of a French series of 29 -mutated MB.
Results: All patients developed SHH-MB, with a biallelic inactivation of found in 24 tumors.
Acta Neuropathol Commun
June 2024
A novel histomolecular tumor of the central nervous system (CNS), the "diffuse glioneuronal tumor with oligodendroglioma-like features and nuclear clusters (DGONC)," has recently been identified, based on a distinct DNA methylation profile and has been added to the 2021 World Health Organization Classification of CNS Tumors. This glioneuronal tumor mainly affects the supratentorial area in children and recurrently presents with a monosomy of chromosome 14. Herein, we report the case of a DNA-methylation based diagnosis of DGONC having atypical features, such as pseudo-rosettes and the absence of a chromosome 14 monosomy, thus rendering its diagnosis very challenging.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The study of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) enables sequential analysis of tumor cell-specific genetic alterations in patients with neuroblastoma.
Experimental Design: Eighteen patients with relapsing neuroblastoma having received lorlatinib, a third-generation ALK inhibitor, were identified (SACHA national registry and/or in the institution). cfDNA was analyzed at relapse for nine patients and sequentially for five patients (blood/bone marrow plasma) by performing whole-genome sequencing library construction followed by ALK-targeted ddPCR of the hotspot mutations [F1174L, R1275Q, and I1170N; variant allele fraction (VAF) detection limit 0.