Distinct Signatures of Genomic Copy Number Variants Define Subgroups of Merkel Cell Carcinoma Tumors.

ABSTRACT: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, aggressive neuroendocrine skin cancer. Most MCC tumors contain integrated Merkel cell polyomavirus DNA (virus-positive MCC, VP-MCC) and carry a low somatic mutation burden whereas virus-negative MCC (VN-MCC) possess numerous ultraviolet-signature mutations. In contrast to viral oncogenes and sequence mutations, little is known about genomic structural variants in MCC. To identify copy number variants in commonly altered genes, we analyzed genomic DNA from 31 tumor samples using the Nanostring nCounter copy number cancer panel. Unsupervised clustering revealed three tumor groups with distinct genomic structural variant signatures. The first cluster was characterized by multiple recurrent deletions in genes such as RB1 and WT1. The second cluster contai

SUBMITTER: Hill NT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7961454 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature