Molecular Profile of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors in Sixty-Eight Patients from a Single Swiss Institution

Pathobiology. 2020;87(3):171-178. doi: 10.1159/000505407. Epub 2020 Feb 20.

Abstract

Introduction: Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is the most common mesenchymal neoplasm of the gastrointestinal tract. It has distinct molecular features and primarily affects the KIT and PDGFRA genes.

Objective: We wanted to assess the molecular profile of 68 GIST patients who were sequenced consecutively between 2014 and 2019 at our institute of pathology.

Methods: Our cohort comprised 60 primary and 8 metastatic GIST patients; 43 and 57% of the cases, respectively, were analyzed by Sanger sequencing or next-generation sequencing (NGS).

Results: Of the 60 primary GIST patients, 47 (78%) showed a KIT mutation; 2 cases showed a double KIT mutation, and 1 of these was a therapy-naive GIST. Nine (15%) patients harbored a PDGFRA mutation, 2 (3%) had a BRAF mutation, 1 (2%) had a PIK3CA mutation, and 1 (2%) did not show any mutation. One BRAF and the PIK3CA mutation have not been described in GIST before. All metastatic GIST harbored exclusively KIT mutations.

Conclusion: A retrospective analysis of GIST sequenced at our institute revealed incidences of KIT and PDGFRA mutations comparable to those in other cohorts from Europe. Interestingly, we found 2 previously undescribed mutations in the BRAF and PIK3CA genes as well as 1 treatment-naive case with a double KIT mutation in exon 11.

Keywords: Gastrointestinal stromal tumor; Next-generation sequencing; Single-nucleotide polymorphism.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Class I Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / genetics
  • DNA Mutational Analysis*
  • Female
  • Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors / genetics*
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mutation*
  • Paraffin Embedding
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf / genetics
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit / genetics
  • Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor alpha / genetics
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Switzerland

Substances

  • Class I Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases
  • PIK3CA protein, human
  • KIT protein, human
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit
  • Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor alpha
  • BRAF protein, human
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf