Molecular portraits of clear cell ovarian and endometrial carcinoma with comparison to clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Objective. Advanced clear cell gynecologic malignancies remain among the most challenging diseases to man-age. We evaluated ovarian and endometrial clear cell carcinoma (OCCC and ECCC) specimens using comprehen-sive sequencing technology to identify mutational targets and compared their molecular profiles to histologically similar clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).Methods. Using next-generation sequencing (NGS), fragment analysis (FA), and in situ hybridization (ISH), 164 OCCC, 75 ECCC and 234 ccRCC specimens from 2015 to 2018 were evaluated and compared. Results. The highest mutation rates in ECCC and OCCC were noted in: ARID1A (75.0%, 87.5%), TP53 (34.8%, 11.1%), PIK3CA (25.0%, 46.8%), PPP2R1A (8.7%, 16.7%), MSI-high (8.8%, 6.4%) and PTEN (8.3%, 7.1%). Among these mutations, there was no significant difference between OCCC and ECCC mutation prevalence except in TP53, with higher mutation rates in ECCC versus OCCC (34.8 vs. 11.1%, respectively, p < 0.05). ccRCC demonstrated dif-ferent mutation profiles with higher mutation rates in VHL (80.3%), PBRM1 (43.9%), SETD2 (31.1%), and KDM5C (29.2%). By contrast, VHL, PBRM1, and SETD2 mutations were not found in ECCC and OCCC (0.0%). Compared to ccRCC and ECCC, OCCC was found to have a significantly higher tumor mutation burden (TMB) (19.1%). Conclusion. Gynecologic and renal CCC demonstrate separate and disparate somatic profiles. However, OCCC and ECCC are diseases with similar profiles. TMB and MSI analyses indicate that a subset of OCCC may benefit from immunotherapy. Prospective clinical trials are needed and are underway to examine targeted therapies in these gynecologic disease subtypes.(c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study analyzed ovarian and endometrial clear cell carcinomas using comprehensive sequencing technology and compared their molecular profiles to clear cell renal cell carcinoma. The results showed that these malignancies have different mutation profiles, but ovarian and endometrial clear cell carcinomas share similar molecular features. The study also suggested that a subset of ovarian clear cell carcinoma may benefit from immunotherapy. Evaluation: 7 out of 10.