title: High frequency of MYC gene amplification is a common feature of radiation-induced sarcomas. Further results from EORTC STBSG TL 01/01.
abstract: Irradiation is a major causative factor among the small subgroup of sarcomas with a known etiology. The prognosis of radiation-induced sarcomas (RIS) is significantly worse than that of their spontaneous counterparts. The most frequent histological subtypes include undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas, angiosarcomas, and leiomyosarcomas. A high frequency of MYC amplifications in radiation-induced angiosarcomas, but not in primary angiosarcomas, has recently been described. To investigate whether MYC amplifications are also frequent in RIS other than angiosarcomas, we analyzed the MYC amplification status of 83 RIS and 192 sporadic sarcomas by fluorescence in situ hybridization. We found significantly higher numbers of MYC amplifications in RIS than in sporadic sarcomas (P < 0.0001), especially in angiosarcomas, undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas, and leiomyosarcomas. Angiosarcomas were special in that MYC amplifications were particularly frequent and always high level, while other RIS showed low-level amplifications. We conclude that MYC amplifications are a frequent feature of RIS as a group and may contribute to the biology of these tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University Medical Center Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Käcker
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marx
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mössinger
authors.forename: Frederike
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Svehla
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Pancras Cornelis Wilhelmus
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Hogendoorn
authors.forename: Ole Steen
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Küffer
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sauer
authors.forename: Cyril
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hallermann
authors.forename: Jörg Thomas
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.forename: Jean-Yves
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Blay
authors.forename: Gunhild
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mechtersheimer
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hohenberger
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ströbel
mesh_terms: D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D005784:Gene Amplification; D016259:Genes, myc; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D009381:Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced / Q000235:genetics*; D016612:Paraffin Embedding; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000235:genetics*; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis