A functional genomic approach to actionable gene fusions for precision oncology

Jun Li, Hengyu Lu, Patrick Kwok Shing Ng, Angeliki Pantazi, Carman Ka Man Ip, Kang Jin Jeong, Bianca Amador, Richard Tran, Yiu Huen Tsang, Lixing Yang, Xingzhi Song, Turgut Dogruluk, Xiaojia Ren, Angela Hadjipanayis, Christopher A. Bristow, Semin Lee, Melanie Kucherlapati, Michael Parfenov, Jiabin Tang, Sahil SethHarshad S. Mahadeshwar, Kamalika Mojumdar, Dong Zeng, Jianhua Zhang, Alexei Protopopov, Jonathan G. Seidman, Chad J. Creighton, Yiling Lu, Nidhi Sahni, Kenna R. Shaw, Funda Meric-Bernstam, Andrew Futreal, Lynda Chin, Kenneth L. Scott, Raju Kucherlapati, Gordon B. Mills, Han Liang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Fusion genes represent a class of attractive therapeutic targets. Thousands of fusion genes have been identified in patients with cancer, but the functional consequences and therapeutic implications of most of these remain largely unknown. Here, we develop a functional genomic approach that consists of efficient fusion reconstruction and sensitive cell viability and drug response assays. Applying this approach, we characterize ∼100 fusion genes detected in patient samples of The Cancer Genome Atlas, revealing a notable fraction of low-frequency fusions with activating effects on tumor growth. Focusing on those in the RTK-RAS pathway, we identify a number of activating fusions that can markedly affect sensitivity to relevant drugs. Last, we propose an integrated, level-of-evidence classification system to prioritize gene fusions systematically. Our study reiterates the urgent clinical need to incorporate similar functional genomic approaches to characterize gene fusions, thereby maximizing the utility of gene fusions for precision oncology.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numberabm2382
JournalScience Advances
Volume8
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2022

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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