Evaluating Cancer of the Central Nervous System Through Next-Generation Sequencing of Cerebrospinal Fluid.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Cancer spread to the central nervous system (CNS) often is diagnosed late and is unresponsive to therapy. Mechanisms of tumor dissemination and evolution within the CNS are largely unknown because of limited access to tumor tissue.

Materials and methods

We sequenced 341 cancer-associated genes in cell-free DNA from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) obtained through routine lumbar puncture in 53 patients with suspected or known CNS involvement by cancer.

Results

We detected high-confidence somatic alterations in 63% (20 of 32) of patients with CNS metastases of solid tumors, 50% (six of 12) of patients with primary brain tumors, and 0% (zero of nine) of patients without CNS involvement by cancer. Several patients with tumor progression in the CNS during therapy with in

SUBMITTER: Pentsova EI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4981784 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature