Analysis and interpretation of genetic testing results from 124 patients(age ≤60 years old)with upper tract urothelial carcinoma / 中华泌尿外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To analyze germline pathogenic mutations in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma(age≤60 years old), and to explore the clinicopathological characteristics of germline pathogenic mutation carriers.Methods:The data of 124 patients (age≤60 years old) with upper tract urothelial carcinoma who underwent germline genetic testing at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center from September 2008 to February 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 86 males and 38 females, and the median age was 55.0(49.8, 58.0)years old. The primary tumors were located in the renal pelvis in 81 cases (65.3%), the ureter in 34 cases (27.4%), and both in 9 cases (7.3%). There were 13 patients (10.5%) with low-grade UTUC and only 8 patients (6.5%) with carcinoma in situ. Twelve patients (9.7%) had a history of bladder cancer and 12 (9.7%) had a history of malignancy other than bladder cancer. Whole gene exome sequencing or target region sequencing was performed to explore germline mutations associated with patients with UTUC. The germline genetic testing data were interpreted in accordance with the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics/Association for Molecular Pathology (ACMG/AMP)2015 edition guideline to clarify the germline pathogenic mutation rate and elucidate the clinicopathological characteristics of germline pathogenic mutation carriers. Germline pathogenic mutation rates were further compared with those of healthy East Asian populations to analyze germline mutations associated with the risk of carcinogenesis in UTUC.Results:In this study, 31 germline pathogenic mutations were detected in 28 (22.6%) of 124 patients with UTUC. There were no statistically significant differences in age [54.0 (47.0, 58.0) years old vs. 56.0 (50.8, 58.0) years old], gender (male/female: 21/7 vs. 65/31), history of bladder cancer (0 vs. 12/96), T-stage (T 3-4: 12/28 vs. 41/96), and proportion of histologic high-level (26/28 vs. 85/96) between patients with and without germline pathogenic mutations ( P>0.05). The 31 germline pathogenic mutations were located in 22 genes, including BRCA2 (4, 12.9%), MSH2 (3, 9.7%), RAD54L (2, 6.5%), BRCA1 (2, 6.5%), BRIP1 (2, 6.5%), NOTCH3 (2, 6.5%), XRCC2 (1, 3.2%), VEGFA (1, 3.2%), TBX3 (1, 3.2%), RET (1, 3.2%), PRKN (1, 3.2%), PALB2 (1, 3.2%), NTRK1 (1, 3.2%), NCOA3 (1, 3.2%), MSH6 (1, 3.2%), LRP1B (1, 3.2%), KMT2D (1, 3.2%), KMT2A (1, 3.2%), FANCA (1, 3.2%), BARD1 (1, 3.2%), ARID1A (1, 3.2%), and AR (1, 3.2%). The germline pathogenic mutation rates of 124 patients were compared with those of the healthy East Asian population. The results showed that germline pathogenic mutations in BRCA2 ( OR = 11.9, 95% CI 3.8 - 37.7, P<0.001), MSH2 ( OR = 11.9, 95% CI 3.2-44.5, P<0.001), RAD54L ( OR=14.2, 95% CI 2.7-73.8, P=0.002) and BRCA1 ( OR=11.8, 95% CI 2.4-59.1, P=0.003) genes significantly increase the risk of developing UTUC. Conclusions:The rate of germline pathogenic mutations in ≤60 years old UTUC patients in this study was 22.6%, and germline pathogenic mutations carrying germline BRCA2, MSH2, RAD54L or BRCA1 genes significantly increased the risk of developing UTUC.