Differential clonal evolution in oesophageal cancers in response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy

Nat Commun. 2016 Apr 5:7:11111. doi: 10.1038/ncomms11111.

Abstract

How chemotherapy affects carcinoma genomes is largely unknown. Here we report whole-exome and deep sequencing of 30 paired oesophageal adenocarcinomas sampled before and after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. Most, but not all, good responders pass through genetic bottlenecks, a feature associated with higher mutation burden pre-treatment. Some poor responders pass through bottlenecks, but re-grow by the time of surgical resection, suggesting a missed therapeutic opportunity. Cancers often show major changes in driver mutation presence or frequency after treatment, owing to outgrowth persistence or loss of sub-clones, copy number changes, polyclonality and/or spatial genetic heterogeneity. Post-therapy mutation spectrum shifts are also common, particularly C>A and TT>CT changes in good responders or bottleneckers. Post-treatment samples may also acquire mutations in known cancer driver genes (for example, SF3B1, TAF1 and CCND2) that are absent from the paired pre-treatment sample. Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy can rapidly and profoundly affect the oesophageal adenocarcinoma genome. Monitoring molecular changes during treatment may be clinically useful.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / drug therapy
  • Adenocarcinoma / genetics*
  • Adenocarcinoma / metabolism
  • Adenocarcinoma / pathology
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Clonal Evolution / drug effects*
  • Cyclin D2 / genetics
  • Cyclin D2 / metabolism
  • DNA Copy Number Variations / drug effects
  • DNA, Neoplasm / genetics*
  • DNA, Neoplasm / metabolism
  • Esophageal Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Esophageal Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Esophageal Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Esophageal Neoplasms / pathology
  • Exome
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Genetic Heterogeneity
  • Histone Acetyltransferases / genetics
  • Histone Acetyltransferases / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mutation / drug effects
  • Neoadjuvant Therapy*
  • Neoplasm Proteins / genetics*
  • Neoplasm Proteins / metabolism
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / drug therapy
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / genetics*
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / metabolism
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / pathology
  • Phosphoproteins / genetics
  • Phosphoproteins / metabolism
  • RNA Splicing Factors
  • Ribonucleoprotein, U2 Small Nuclear / genetics
  • Ribonucleoprotein, U2 Small Nuclear / metabolism
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • TATA-Binding Protein Associated Factors / genetics
  • TATA-Binding Protein Associated Factors / metabolism
  • Transcription Factor TFIID / genetics
  • Transcription Factor TFIID / metabolism

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • CCND2 protein, human
  • Cyclin D2
  • DNA, Neoplasm
  • Neoplasm Proteins
  • Phosphoproteins
  • RNA Splicing Factors
  • Ribonucleoprotein, U2 Small Nuclear
  • SF3B1 protein, human
  • TATA-Binding Protein Associated Factors
  • Transcription Factor TFIID
  • Histone Acetyltransferases
  • TATA-binding protein associated factor 250 kDa

Supplementary concepts

  • Adenocarcinoma Of Esophagus