The mutation profile of differentiated thyroid cancer coexisting with undifferentiated anaplastic cancer resembles that of anaplastic thyroid cancer but not that of archetypal differentiated thyroid cancer.

ABSTRACT

Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) has one of the lowest cancer mutational burdens, while anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) has a much higher mutation frequency. A fraction of ATC has an associated differentiated component, which suggests the coevolution of both cancers. Here, we aimed to compare mutation frequency in coexisting ATC and DTC diagnosed concurrently in the same thyroid gland (3 cases) as well as in archetypal DTC and ATC alone (5 cases each). Single-nucleotide variations (SNV) and copy number variations (CNV) were analyzed in each case based on the next-generation sequencing data. We found a similar extent of mutational events, both SNV and CNV, in undifferentiated and differentiated components of thyroid cancers coexisting in one patient. The magnitude of these mutations was comparable to the level of mutations observed in ATC alone; yet, it was much higher than in archetypal DTC. This suggested that, despite histopathological features of differentiated tumors, molecular characteristics of such cancers coexisting with ATC and archetypal DTC could be significantly different. Pairwise comparison of mutational profiles of coexisting cancers enabled assumption on the possible evolution of both components, which appeared distinct in 3 analyzed cases. This included independent development of ATC and DTC diagnosed concurrently in two lobes of the same thyroid, as well as the development of anaplastic and differentiated cancer from the common ancestor that putatively gained a key driver mutation (BRAFV600E or KRASQ61R), which was followed either by early or late molecular separation of both cancers.