Christian Kunder

All Publications

• Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas with pathogenic somatic mutations and absence of detectable clonal T-cell receptor gene rearrangement: two case reports. Diagnostic pathology Rojansky, R., Fernandez-Pol, S., Wang, E., Rieger, K. E., Novoa, R. A., Zehnder, J. L., Kunder, C. A., Kim, Y. H., Khodadoust, M. S., Brown, R. A. 2020; 15 (1): 122

  Abstract

  BACKGROUND: Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL) are a heterogeneous group of extranodal non-Hodgkin lymphomas for which diagnosis can be challenging given the potential for overlap with inflammatory dermatoses. Current diagnostic criteria for CTCL incorporate clinical and histopathologic findings as well as results of T-cell receptor (TCR) gene sequencing. Molecular interrogation of TCR genes, TRG and TRB, has provento be a critical tool for confirming diagnoses of CTCL and for disease tracking after initiation of therapy or after stem cell transplant. Methods for confirming a diagnosis of lymphoma in the absence of TCR gene clonality are lacking. We present two patients with CTCL with pathogenic somatic mutations in the absence of TRG and TRB clonality.CASE PRESENTATIONS: Case 1: A 38-year-old male had a 19-year history of a diffuse skin rash with papulosquamous, granulomatous, and verrucous features and progressive ulcerated plaques and tumors demonstrating an atypical CD4+ T-cell infiltrate with expression of cytotoxic markers CD56, TIA-1, granzyme, and perforin on histopathology. No definitive evidence for T-cell clonality was detected by conventional PCR of 6 biopsies or by next-generation sequencing (NGS) of 14 biopsies. Somatic mutational profiling of a skin biopsy revealed pathogenic mutations in PIKC3D and TERT promoter hotspots, confirming the presence of a clonal process. Case 2: A 69-year-old male with a 13-year history of progressive, diffuse hypertrophic and eroded plaques showed an atypical CD4+ T-cell infiltrate with subset expression of TIA-1 and granzyme on histopathology. No TCR clonality was detected by TCR-NGS of 6 biopsies. Somatic mutational profiling of a skin biopsy detected a pathogenic mutation in TP53, confirming the presence of a clonal process.CONCLUSIONS: These cases highlight how detection of pathogenic somatic mutations can confirma diagnosis of lymphoma in a clinically and histopathologically suspicious cutaneous lymphoid proliferation without detectable TCR clonality.

  View details for DOI 10.1186/s13000-020-01022-x

  View details for PubMedID 32988392

• Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumors associated with the placenta, a series of 9 cases. Human pathology Makhdoum, S., Nardi, V., Devereaux, K. A., Kunder, C. A., Nielsen, G. P., Oliva, E., Young, R. H., Roberts, D. J. 2020

  Abstract

  Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMT) of the uterus are often associated with pregnancy and are delivered with the placenta. We describe the clinical, pathologic, and molecular findings in nine cases of placental associated IMT (PaIMT). All the lesions were incidentally discovered at delivery or on placental pathological examination. Maternal age ranged from 21 to 41 (mean 30.6) years. Eight patients had high-risk pregnancies and, when known, all patients were multigravida. Macroscopically, eight tumors were well-defined ranging in size from 2 to 6 cm present at the maternal surface of the placenta (n=3), membranes (n=4), or separately delivered with the placenta (n=2). All nine lesions revealed classical IMT morphology with spindle cells associated with a lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate and thin elongated vessels. Five showed decidualization and five showed coagulative necrosis. All tumors expressed CD10. Of the seven tumors that were ALK positive, six were confirmed to have an ALK rearrangement by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), whereas one failed FISH testing. Fusions included TIMP3-ALK (n=3), THBS1-ALK (n=2), and a novel SYN3-ALK fusion (n=1). Clinical follow-up was available in three patients, with no recurrence reported. There appears to be an increased frequency of uterine IMTs in pregnancy and associated with the placenta. No PaIMT has behaved aggressively, although follow-up has been quite limited. This may speak to a specific behavior of these tumors when associated with pregnancy.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.humpath.2020.09.005

  View details for PubMedID 32971128

• Recurrent EGFR alterations in NTRK3 fusion negative congenital mesoblastic nephroma. Practical laboratory medicine Lei, L., Stohr, B. A., Berry, S., Lockwood, C. M., Davis, J. L., Rudzinski, E. R., Kunder, C. A. 2020; 21: e00164

  Abstract

  Objectives: To identify oncogenic driver mutations in congenital mesoblastic nephroma (CMN) cases lacking ETV6-NTRK3 fusion and discuss their diagnostic value.Design: The institutional pathology database was queried for cases with a morphologic diagnosis of CMN. Cases positive for ETV6 rearrangement or with unavailable blocks were excluded. Four cases met the inclusion criteria and were sequenced by next-generation sequencing. Three additional cases were contributed by our collaborators.Results: Three of four internal cases harbor an EGFR kinase domain duplication (KDD), which is known to be oncogenic yet exceedingly rare in other histologies. All three outside cases are positive for EGFR alterations, including KDD in two and a splicing site mutation in one. The splicing site mutation is predicted to be EGFR activating. One of the outside cases was a retroperitoneal mass without a clear site of origin. A diagnosis of CMN is suggested based on exclusion of differential diagnoses by expert consultation and detection of EGFR KDD.Conclusions: EGFR activation, predominantly via EGFR KDD, is a common recurrent genetic alteration in CMN lacking NTRK3 fusions. CMN can be molecularly classified into NTRK3 fusion type, EGFR activation type and others.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.plabm.2020.e00164

  View details for PubMedID 32490123

• Pregnancy-associated Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumors of the Uterus Are Clinically Distinct and Highly Enriched for TIMP3-ALK and THBS1-ALK Fusions AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SURGICAL PATHOLOGY Devereaux, K. A., Fitzpatrick, M. B., Hartinger, S., Jones, C., Kunder, C. A., Longacre, T. A. 2020; 44 (7): 970?81

  View details for Web of Science ID 000555437300018

• Registration of pre-surgical MRI and histopathology images from radical prostatectomy via RAPSODI. Medical physics Rusu, M., Shao, W., Kunder, C. A., Wang, J. B., Soerensen, S. J., Teslovich, N. C., Sood, R. R., Chen, L. C., Fan, R. E., Ghanouni, P., Brooks, J. D., Sonn, G. A. 2020

  Abstract

  PURPOSE: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has great potential to improve prostate cancer diagnosis, however, subtle differences between cancer and confounding conditions render prostate MRI interpretation challenging. The tissue collected from patients who undergo radical prostatectomy provides a unique opportunity to correlate histopathology images of the prostate with pre-operative MRI to accurately map the extent of cancer from histopathology images onto MRI. We seek to develop an open-source, easy-to-use platform to align pre-surgical MRI and histopathology images of resected prostates in patients who underwent radical prostatectomy to create accurate cancer labels on MRI.METHODS: Here, we introduce RAdiology Pathology Spatial Open-Source multi-Dimensional Integration (RAPSODI), the first open-source framework for the registration of radiology and pathology images. RAPSODI relies on three steps. First, it creates a 3D reconstruction of the histopathology specimen as a digital representation of the tissue before gross sectioning. Second, RAPSODI registers corresponding histopathology and MRI slices. Third, the optimized transforms are applied to the cancer regions outlined on the histopathology images to project those labels onto the pre-operative MRI.RESULTS: We tested RAPSODI in a phantom study where we simulated various conditions, e.g., tissue shrinkage during fixation. Our experiments showed that RAPSODI can reliably correct multiple artifacts. We also evaluated RAPSODI in 157 patients from three institutions that underwent radical prostatectomy and have very different pathology processing and scanning. RAPSODI was evaluated in 907 corresponding histpathology-MRI slices and achieved a Dice coefficient of 0.97±0.01 for the prostate, a Hausdorff distance of 1.99±0.70 mm for the prostate boundary, a urethra deviation of 3.09±1.45 mm, and a landmark deviation of 2.80±0.59 mm between registered histopathology images and MRI.CONCLUSION: Our robust framework successfully mapped the extent of cancer from histopathology slices onto MRI providing labels from training machine learning methods to detect cancer on MRI.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/mp.14337

  View details for PubMedID 32564359

• Sub-solid lung adenocarcinoma in Asian versus Caucasian patients: different biology but similar outcomes JOURNAL OF THORACIC DISEASE Lui, N. S., Benson, J., He, H., Imielski, B. R., Kunder, C. A., Liou, D. Z., Backhus, L. M., Berry, M. F., Shrager, J. B. 2020; 12 (5): 2161?71

  View details for DOI 10.21037/jtd.2020.04.37

  View details for Web of Science ID 000537461900045

• Molecular profiling of a primary cutaneous signet-ring cell/histiocytoid carcinoma of the eyelid. Journal of cutaneous pathology Raghavan, S., Clark, M., Louie, C., Jensen, K. C., Dietrich, B., Beadle, B. M., El-Sawy, T., Baik, F., Kunder, C. A., Brown, R. A. 2020

  Abstract

  Primary cutaneous signet-ring cell/histiocytoid carcinoma of the eyelid is a rare and aggressive neoplasm. Fewer than 50 cases have been reported in the literature, and the genetic driving mutations are unknown. Herein, we present a case of this rare disease along with the results of molecular profiling via targeted next generation sequencing. The patient is an 85-year-old man who presented with left eyelid swelling initially thought to be a chalazion. After no response to incision and drainage and antibiotics, an incisional biopsy was performed. Histologic sections revealed a proliferation of cells with signet-ring and histiocytoid morphology arranged singly and in cords infiltrating the dermis, subcutaneous tissue, and muscle. The lesional cells strongly expressed cytoplasmic cytokeratin 7 and nuclear androgen receptor. Next generation sequencing revealed a CDH1 mutation, which is known to confer signet-ring morphology in other carcinomas. Pathogenic mutations in NTRK3, CDKN1B and PIK3CA were also detected. To our knowledge, this is the first documented genetic analysis of this rare disease with findings that offer insights into disease pathogenesis and potential therapeutic targets. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/cup.13733

  View details for PubMedID 32358805

• Merkel Cell Carcinoma of Lymph Node is Metastatic Cutaneous Merkel Cell Carcinoma Lawrence, L., Kunder, C., Stehr, H., Saleem, A., Natkunam, Y., Zehnder, J., Pinsky, B., Sahoo, M., Tan, S. NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. 2020: 824?26

  View details for Web of Science ID 000518328801386

• Correlation of Mutation Status with Immunohistochemistry in Breast Carcinomas Bean, G., Lin, C., Kunder, C., Chen, Y., Krings, G. NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. 2020: 108?9

  View details for Web of Science ID 000518328800127

• Sub-solid lung adenocarcinoma in Asian versus Caucasian patients: different biology but similar outcomes. Journal of thoracic disease Lui, N. S., Benson, J., He, H., Imielski, B. R., Kunder, C. A., Liou, D. Z., Backhus, L. M., Berry, M. F., Shrager, J. B. 2020; 12 (5): 2161?71

  Abstract

  Asian and Caucasian patients with lung cancer have been compared in several database studies, with conflicting findings regarding survival. However, these studies did not include proportion of ground-glass opacity or mutational status in their analyses. Asian patients commonly develop sub-solid lung adenocarcinomas that harbor EGFR mutations, which have a better prognosis. We hypothesized that among patients undergoing surgery for sub-solid lung adenocarcinomas, Asian patients have better survival compared to Caucasian patients.We identified Asian and Caucasian patients who underwent surgical resection for a sub-solid lung adenocarcinoma from 2002 to 2015 at our institution. Sub-solid was defined as ?10% ground-glass opacity on preoperative CT scan or ?10% lepidic component on surgical pathology. Time-to-event multivariable analysis was performed to determine which characteristics were associated with recurrence and survival.Two hundred twenty-four patients were included with median follow up 48 months. Asian patients were more likely to be never smokers (76.3% vs. 29.0%, P<0.01) and have an EGFR mutation (69.4% vs. 25.6% of those tested, P<0.01), while Caucasian patients were more likely to have a KRAS mutation (23.5% vs. 4.9% of those tested, P<0.01). There was a trend towards Asian patients having a higher proportion of ground-glass opacity (38.8% vs. 30.5%, P=0.11). Time-to-event multivariable analysis showed that higher proportion of ground-glass opacity was significantly associated with better recurrence-free survival (HR 0.76 per 20% increase, P=0.02). However, mutational status and race did not have a significant impact on recurrence-free or overall survival.Asian and Caucasian patients with sub-solid lung adenocarcinoma have different tumor biology, but recurrence-free and overall survival after surgical resection is similar.

  View details for DOI 10.21037/jtd.2020.04.37

  View details for PubMedID 32642121

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC7330405

• Is Merkel Cell Carcinoma of Lymph Node Actually Metastatic Cutaneous Merkel Cell Carcinoma? American journal of clinical pathology Lawrence, L. E., Saleem, A., Sahoo, M. K., Tan, S. K., Pinsky, B. A., Natkunam, Y., Kunder, C. A., Stehr, H., Zehnder, J. L. 2020

  Abstract

  The possibility of a so-called primary lymph node neuroendocrine carcinoma has been described in the literature. Here we evaluate cases fitting such a diagnosis and find that the cases demonstrate a convincing and pervasive pattern consistent with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma.Six cases of primary lymph node Merkel cell carcinoma and one case of metastatic neuroendocrine carcinoma at a bony site, all with unknown primary, were sequenced using a combination of whole-exome and targeted panel methods. Sequencing results were analyzed for the presence of an ultraviolet (UV) mutational signature or off-target detection of Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV).Four of six primary lymph node cases were positive for a UV mutational signature, with the remaining two cases positive for off-target alignment of MCPyV. One case of neuroendocrine carcinoma occurring at a bony site was also positive for a UV mutational signature.We find no evidence to corroborate the existence of so-called primary Merkel cell carcinoma of lymph node.

  View details for DOI 10.1093/ajcp/aqaa051

  View details for PubMedID 32445471

• Trop2 is a driver of metastatic prostate cancer with neuroendocrine phenotype via PARP1. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Hsu, E. C., Rice, M. A., Bermudez, A., Marques, F. J., Aslan, M., Liu, S., Ghoochani, A., Zhang, C. A., Chen, Y. S., Zlitni, A., Kumar, S., Nolley, R., Habte, F., Shen, M., Koul, K., Peehl, D. M., Zoubeidi, A., Gambhir, S. S., Kunder, C. A., Pitteri, S. J., Brooks, J. D., Stoyanova, T. 2020

  Abstract

  Resistance to androgen deprivation therapy, or castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), is often accompanied by metastasis and is currently the ultimate cause of prostate cancer-associated deaths in men. Recently, secondary hormonal therapies have led to an increase of neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC), a highly aggressive variant of CRPC. Here, we identify that high levels of cell surface receptor Trop2 are predictive of recurrence of localized prostate cancer. Moreover, Trop2 is significantly elevated in CRPC and NEPC, drives prostate cancer growth, and induces neuroendocrine phenotype. Overexpression of Trop2 induces tumor growth and metastasis while loss of Trop2 suppresses these abilities in vivo. Trop2-driven NEPC displays a significant up-regulation of PARP1, and PARP inhibitors significantly delay tumor growth and metastatic colonization and reverse neuroendocrine features in Trop2-driven NEPC. Our findings establish Trop2 as a driver and therapeutic target for metastatic prostate cancer with neuroendocrine phenotype and suggest that high Trop2 levels could identify cancers that are sensitive to Trop2-targeting therapies and PARP1 inhibition.

  View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1905384117

  View details for PubMedID 31932422

• Pregnancy-associated Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumors of the Uterus Are Clinically Distinct and Highly Enriched for TIMP3-ALK and THBS1-ALK Fusions. The American journal of surgical pathology Devereaux, K. A., Fitzpatrick, M. B., Hartinger, S., Jones, C., Kunder, C. A., Longacre, T. A. 2020

  Abstract

  As inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) have become more widely recognized in the female genital tract, an intriguing subset of uterine tumors associated with pregnancy has emerged. Whether uterine IMTs occurring in the setting of pregnancy are clinically or biologically distinct from other uterine IMTs is unknown. Furthermore, little is known about the perinatal factors that may influence the development of these tumors. Here, we report the largest case series of 8 pregnancy-associated IMTs. All pregnancy-associated IMTs in this series occurred in association with pregnancy complications, including abnormal implantation (n=1), gestational diabetes (n=2), preeclampsia and/or HELLP syndrome (n=2), antiphospholipid syndrome (n=1), premature rupture of membranes (n=1), and hepatitis B (n=1). Notably, all IMTs were expelled at the time of delivery or immediately postpartum and were either adherent to the placenta or presented as separate, detached tissue. Tumors ranged from 2.0 to 6.0?cm (median, 3.9?cm), were well-circumscribed and showed classic histologic features of IMTs, including myxoid stroma and a lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate. Seven of 8 cases were positive by ALK immunohistochemistry and confirmed to have an ALK gene rearrangement by fluorescent in situ hybridization and RNA sequencing. The ALK-rearranged IMTs were found to be particularly enriched for TIMP3-ALK (n=5) and THBS1-ALK (n=2) fusions. The single case that was negative for an ALK rearrangement exhibited the classic morphology of an IMT. None of the 4 cases with available clinical follow-up recurred. The clinicopathologic features of pregnancy-associated IMTs in this series in conjunction with those reported in the literature suggests that these may be transient tumors that develop during pregnancy and shed at parturition; they appear to have a relatively indolent clinical course and favorable outcome, although studies with a longer duration of follow-up are still required.

  View details for DOI 10.1097/PAS.0000000000001481

  View details for PubMedID 32271187

• ProsRegNet: A deep learning framework for registration of MRI and histopathology images of the prostate. Medical image analysis Shao, W., Banh, L., Kunder, C. A., Fan, R. E., Soerensen, S. J., Wang, J. B., Teslovich, N. C., Madhuripan, N., Jawahar, A., Ghanouni, P., Brooks, J. D., Sonn, G. A., Rusu, M. 2020; 68: 101919

  Abstract

  Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an increasingly important tool for the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. However, interpretation of MRI suffers from high inter-observer variability across radiologists, thereby contributing to missed clinically significant cancers, overdiagnosed low-risk cancers, and frequent false positives. Interpretation of MRI could be greatly improved by providing radiologists with an answer key that clearly shows cancer locations on MRI. Registration of histopathology images from patients who had radical prostatectomy to pre-operative MRI allows such mapping of ground truth cancer labels onto MRI. However, traditional MRI-histopathology registration approaches are computationally expensive and require careful choices of the cost function and registration hyperparameters. This paper presents ProsRegNet, a deep learning-based pipeline to accelerate and simplify MRI-histopathology image registration in prostate cancer. Our pipeline consists of image preprocessing, estimation of affine and deformable transformations by deep neural networks, and mapping cancer labels from histopathology images onto MRI using estimated transformations. We trained our neural network using MR and histopathology images of 99 patients from our internal cohort (Cohort 1) and evaluated its performance using 53 patients from three different cohorts (an additional 12 from Cohort 1 and 41 from two public cohorts). Results show that our deep learning pipeline has achieved more accurate registration results and is at least 20 times faster than a state-of-the-art registration algorithm. This important advance will provide radiologists with highly accurate prostate MRI answer keys, thereby facilitating improvements in the detection of prostate cancer on MRI. Our code is freely available at https://github.com/pimed//ProsRegNet.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.media.2020.101919

  View details for PubMedID 33385701

• Increasing Clinical Trial Accrual via Automated Matching of Biomarker Criteria. Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing. Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing Chen, J. W., Kunder, C. A., Bui, N., Zehnder, J. L., Costa, H. A., Stehr, H. 2020; 25: 31?42

  Abstract

  Successful implementation of precision oncology requires both the deployment of nucleic acid sequencing panels to identify clinically actionable biomarkers, and the efficient screening of patient biomarker eligibility to on-going clinical trials and therapies. This process is typically performed manually by biocurators, geneticists, pathologists, and oncologists; however, this is a time-intensive, and inconsistent process amongst healthcare providers. We present the development of a feature matching algorithmic pipeline that identifies patients who meet eligibility criteria of precision medicine clinical trials via genetic biomarkers and apply it to patients undergoing treatment at the Stanford Cancer Center. This study demonstrates, through our patient eligibility screening algorithm that leverages clinical sequencing derived biomarkers with precision medicine clinical trials, the successful use of an automated algorithmic pipeline as a feasible, accurate and effective alternative to the traditional manual clinical trial curation.

  View details for PubMedID 31797584

• Integrating genomic features for non-invasive early lung cancer detection. Nature Chabon, J. J., Hamilton, E. G., Kurtz, D. M., Esfahani, M. S., Moding, E. J., Stehr, H., Schroers-Martin, J., Nabet, B. Y., Chen, B., Chaudhuri, A. A., Liu, C. L., Hui, A. B., Jin, M. C., Azad, T. D., Almanza, D., Jeon, Y. J., Nesselbush, M. C., Co Ting Keh, L., Bonilla, R. F., Yoo, C. H., Ko, R. B., Chen, E. L., Merriott, D. J., Massion, P. P., Mansfield, A. S., Jen, J., Ren, H. Z., Lin, S. H., Costantino, C. L., Burr, R., Tibshirani, R., Gambhir, S. S., Berry, G. J., Jensen, K. C., West, R. B., Neal, J. W., Wakelee, H. A., Loo, B. W., Kunder, C. A., Leung, A. N., Lui, N. S., Berry, M. F., Shrager, J. B., Nair, V. S., Haber, D. A., Sequist, L. V., Alizadeh, A. A., Diehn, M. 2020; 580 (7802): 245?51

  Abstract

  Radiologic screening of high-risk adults reduces lung-cancer-related mortality1,2; however, a small minority of eligible individuals undergo such screening in the United States3,4. The availability of blood-based tests could increase screening uptake. Here we introduce improvements to cancer personalized profiling by deep sequencing (CAPP-Seq)5, a method for the analysis of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA), to better facilitate screening applications. We show that, although levels are very low in early-stage lung cancers, ctDNA is present prior to treatment in most patients and its presence is strongly prognostic. We also find that the majority of somatic mutations in the cell-free DNA (cfDNA) of patients with lung cancer and of risk-matched controls reflect clonal haematopoiesis and are non-recurrent. Compared with tumour-derived mutations, clonal haematopoiesis mutations occur on longer cfDNA fragments and lack mutational signatures that are associated with tobacco smoking. Integrating these findings with other molecular features, we develop and prospectively validate a machine-learning method termed 'lung cancer likelihood in plasma' (Lung-CLiP), which can robustly discriminate early-stage lung cancer patients from risk-matched controls. This approach achieves performance similar to that of tumour-informed ctDNA detection and enables tuning of assay specificity in order to facilitate distinct clinical applications. Our findings establish the potential of cfDNA for lung cancer screening and highlight the importance of risk-matching cases and controls in cfDNA-based screening studies.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41586-020-2140-0

  View details for PubMedID 32269342

• KEAP1/NFE2L2 mutations predict lung cancer radiation resistance that can be targeted by glutaminase inhibition. Cancer discovery Binkley, M. S., Jeon, Y. J., Nesselbush, M., Moding, E. J., Nabet, B. Y., Almanza, D., Kunder, C., Stehr, H., Yoo, C. H., Rhee, S., Xiang, M., Chabon, J. J., Hamilton, E., Kurtz, D. M., Gojenola, L., Owen, S. G., Ko, R. B., Shin, J. H., Maxim, P. G., Lui, N. S., Backhus, L. M., Berry, M. F., Shrager, J. B., Ramchandran, K. J., Padda, S. K., Das, M., Neal, J. W., Wakelee, H. A., Alizadeh, A. A., Loo, B. W., Diehn, M. 2020

  Abstract

  Tumor genotyping is not routinely performed in localized non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) due to lack of associations of mutations with outcome. Here, we analyze 232 consecutive patients with localized NSCLC and demonstrate that KEAP1 and NFE2L2 mutations are predictive of high rates of local recurrence (LR) after radiotherapy but not surgery. Half of LRs occurred in KEAP1/NFE2L2 mutation tumors, indicating they are major molecular drivers of clinical radioresistance. Next, we functionally evaluate KEAP1/NFE2L2 mutations in our radiotherapy cohort and demonstrate that only pathogenic mutations are associated with radioresistance. Furthermore, expression of NFE2L2 target genes does not predict LR, underscoring the utility of tumor genotyping. Finally, we show that glutaminase inhibition preferentially radiosensitizes KEAP1 mutant cells via depletion of glutathione and increased radiation-induced DNA damage. Our findings suggest that genotyping for KEAP1/NFE2L2 mutations could facilitate treatment personalization and provide a potential strategy for overcoming radioresistance conferred by these mutations.

  View details for DOI 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-0282

  View details for PubMedID 33071215

• Disseminated Pneumocystis jirovecii Infection with Osteomyelitis in a Patient with CTLA-4 Haploinsufficiency. Journal of clinical immunology Siddiqi, A. E., Liu, A. Y., Charville, G. W., Kunder, C. A., Uzel, G., Sadighi Akha, A. A., Oak, J., Martin, B., Sacha, J., Lewis, D. B., Gernez, Y. 2020

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s10875-020-00748-z

  View details for PubMedID 31955317

• Targeted deep sequencing of cell-free DNA in serous body cavity fluids with malignant, suspicious, and benign cytology. Cancer cytopathology Yang, S., Mooney, K. L., Libiran, P., Jones, C. D., Joshi, R., Lau, H. D., Stehr, H., Berry, G. J., Zehnder, J. L., Long, S. R., Kong, C. S., Kunder, C. A. 2019

  Abstract

  BACKGROUND: Liquid biopsy using cell-free DNA (cfDNA) presents new opportunities for solid tumor genotyping. While studies have demonstrated the utility of cfDNA from plasma, cfDNA from other body fluids remains underexplored.METHODS: We evaluated the molecular features and clinicopathologic correlates of cfDNA from serous body cavity fluids by performing hybrid capture-based next-generation sequencing (NGS) on cfDNA isolated from residual effusion supernatants. Twenty-one serous effusions from pleural (n=15), peritoneal (n=5), and pericardial (n=1) cavity were analyzed.RESULTS: The supernatants provided a median cfDNA concentration of 10.3ng/L. Notably, all effusions were sequenced successfully to a median depth >1000*, revealing a broad range of genetic alterations including single nucleotide variants, small insertions and deletions, amplifications, and fusions. Specifically, pathogenic alterations were identified in all malignant fluids (13/13), all fluids suspicious for malignancy (2/2), and 1 benign fluid (1/6) from a patient with metastatic cancer. To validate our findings, we examined matching results from 11 patients who underwent additional testing using formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimens. In 8 patients, the paired results between FFPE and supernatant testing were concordant, whereas in the remaining 3 patients, supernatant analysis identified additional variants likely associated with resistance to targeted therapies. Additional comparison between FFPE and supernatant testing showed no difference in DNA concentration (P=.5), depth of coverage (P=.6), or allele frequency of pathogenic mutations (P=.7).CONCLUSION: cfDNA isolated from serous body cavity fluids represents a promising source of genomic input for targeted NGS.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/cncy.22205

  View details for PubMedID 31751001

• A Clinicopathologic and Molecular Analysis of Fumarate Hydratase-Deficient Renal Cell Carcinoma in 32 Patients. The American journal of surgical pathology Lau, H. D., Chan, E., Fan, A. C., Kunder, C. A., Williamson, S. R., Zhou, M., Idrees, M. T., Maclean, F. M., Gill, A. J., Kao, C. 2019

  Abstract

  Fumarate hydratase-deficient renal cell carcinoma (FH-deficient RCC) is a rare and recently described entity associated with hereditary leiomyomatosis and RCC syndrome. FH-deficient RCC may show variable clinical and pathologic findings, but commonly presents with locally advanced and metastatic disease and carries a poor prognosis. We identified 32 patients with FH-deficient RCC, confirmed by FH immunohistochemistry (IHC) and/or FH mutation analysis, and performed a retrospective review of the clinical and pathologic features. Median age at presentation was 43 years (range, 18 to 69y), and the M:F ratio was 2.2:1. Median tumor size was 6.5cm (range, 2.5 to 28cm), and 71% presented at stage ?pT3a. After a median follow-up of 16 months (range, 1 to 118mo) in 26 patients, 19% showed no evidence of disease, 31% were alive with disease, and 50% were dead of disease. The vast majority of cases showed multiple histologic growth patterns, with papillary (52%) being the most common predominant pattern, followed by solid (21%), cribriform/sieve-like (14%), sarcomatoid (3%), tubular (3%), cystic (3%), and low-grade oncocytic (3%). Viral inclusion-like macronucleoli with perinucleolar clearing were present in almost all cases (96%). All cases were evaluated using FH IHC, and 3 cases (9%) showed retained FH expression. Nineteen cases had germline or tumor mutation analysis confirming a FH mutation, with 79% (11/14) of cases showing mutations within coding regions and 21% (3/14) showing mutations within intronic splice-sites. By IHC, 97% (32/33) of cases were negative for CK7, 93% (27/29) were negative for p63, and 52% (15/29) were negative for GATA3. All cases stained were positive for PAX8 and showed retained succinate dehydrogenase B expression. Our overall findings show that FH-deficient RCC is considerably heterogenous in morphology and frequently behaves aggressively. Suspicion for this entity should be raised even in the absence of predominantly papillary architecture and characteristic nucleolar features. We have included cases with uncommonly seen features, including 4 cases with predominantly cribriform/sieve-like architecture as well as one case with pure low-grade oncocytic morphology (9y of clinical follow-up without evidence of disease). Although FH IHC is a useful tool for identifying cases of FH-deficient RCC, not all cases of FH-deficient RCC show loss of FH staining, and FH mutation analysis should be considered for patients with suspicious clinical or pathologic features, even in cases with retained FH IHC expression.

  View details for DOI 10.1097/PAS.0000000000001372

  View details for PubMedID 31524643

• Structural. Variation Detection by Proximity Ligation from Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded Tumor Tissue JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR DIAGNOSTICS Troll, C. J., Putnam, N. H., Hartley, P. D., Rice, B., Blanchette, M., Siddiqui, S., Ganbat, J., Powers, M. P., Ramakrishnan, R., Kunder, C. A., Bustamante, C. D., Zehnder, J. L., Green, R. E., Costa, H. A. 2019; 21 (3): 375?83

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jmoldx.2018.11.003

  View details for Web of Science ID 000467350300002

• Next-Generation Sequencing for HER2 Status in Breast Cancer: Comparison with Immunohistochemistry and in situ Hybridization by 2018 Focused Update Mooney, K., Stehr, H., Kunder, C., Zehnder, J., Allison, K., Lin, C. NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. 2019

  View details for Web of Science ID 000478081100217

• Concordance Between Immunohistochemistry and Next Generation Sequencing in Testing Patients for Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer Lawrence, L., Longacre, T., Saleem, A., Kunder, C. NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. 2019

  View details for Web of Science ID 000478915503448

• Targeted deep sequencing of cell-free DNA from body cavity fluids with malignant, suspicious, and benign cytology Yang, S., Libiran, P., Jones, C., Joshi, R., Lau, H., Stehr, H., Longacre, T., Allison, K., Zehnder, J., Long, S., Berry, G., Kunder, C. NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. 2019

  View details for Web of Science ID 000478081100461

• Molecular Profiling of Intraductal Tubulopapillary Neoplasm Saleem, A., Stehr, H., Zehnder, J., Kunder, C., Lin, C. NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. 2019

  View details for Web of Science ID 000478081103213

• Targeted deep sequencing of cell-free DNA from body cavity fluids with malignant, suspicious, and benign cytology Yang, S., Libiran, P., Jones, C., Joshi, R., Lau, H., Stehr, H., Longacre, T., Allison, K., Zehnder, J., Long, S., Berry, G., Kunder, C. NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. 2019

  View details for Web of Science ID 000478915500443

• Molecular Profiling of Intraductal Tubulopapillary Neoplasm Saleem, A., Stehr, H., Zehnder, J., Kunder, C., Lin, C. NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. 2019

  View details for Web of Science ID 000478915501405

• Case series of MET exon 14 skipping mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancers with response to crizotinib and cabozantinib. Anti-cancer drugs Wang, S. X., Zhang, B. M., Wakelee, H. A., Koontz, M. Z., Pan, M., Diehn, M., Kunder, C. A., Neal, J. W. 2019

  Abstract

  The mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET) gene is altered and becomes a driver mutation in up to 5% of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We report our institutional experience treating patients with MET exon 14 skipping (METex14) mutations, including responses to the MET inhibitors crizotinib and cabozantinib. We identified cases of NSCLC with METex14 mutations using an institutionally developed or commercial next-generation sequencing assay. We assessed patient and disease characteristics by retrospective chart review. Some patients were treated off-label by the physician with crizotinib or cabozantinib, and tumor responses to these agents were assessed. A total of 15 patients with METex14-mutated NSCLC were identified, predominantly male (n=10) with a smoking history (60%) and a median age of 74.0 years. No other actionable somatic mutations were detected. Stage distribution included 26.7% stage I, 6.7% stage II, 6.7% stage III, and 60.0% stage IV. Among patients treated with crizotinib or cabozantinib (n=6), three patients showed partial response and one patient showed stable disease on the basis of RECIST criteria. Four patients experienced side effects requiring drug holiday, reduction, or cessation. Our findings highlight the diversity in presentation and histology of NSCLC with METex14 mutations, which were found in the absence of other actionable driver mutations. We observed evidence of tumor response to crizotinib and cabozantinib, supporting the previous reports that METex14 mutations in NSCLC are actionable driver events.

  View details for PubMedID 30762593

• A Case of Disseminated Pneumocystis Jiroveci in a Non-Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infected Patient Siddiqi, A. E., Sacha, J., Saenz, R., Liu, A., Kunder, C., Uzel, G., Martin, B., Lewis, D. B., Gernez-Goldhammer, Y. SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS. 2019: S73?S74

  View details for Web of Science ID 000463709600114

• Molecular profiling of clear cell adenocarcinoma of the urinary tract. Virchows Archiv : an international journal of pathology Lin, C. Y., Saleem, A., Stehr, H., Zehnder, J. L., Pinsky, B. A., Kunder, C. A. 2019

  Abstract

  Clear cell adenocarcinoma (CCA) of the urinary tract is a rare type of malignancy whose molecular profiles remain undefined. Here we reported an integrated clinicopathologic and molecular profiling analysis of four cases of clear cell adenocarcinoma arising in the urethra or the bladder. Utilizing a clinically validated 130-gene exon-sequencing assay, we identified recurrent pathogenic PIK3CA (p. E545K) and KRAS (p.G12D) variants in three of four (75%) of the cases. In addition, an APC variant (P.S2310X), a TP53 variant (p.R273C), and a MYC amplification event were identified. The only CCA case without either PIK3CA or KRAS variants has a distinct pathogenesis through BK virus, demonstrated by positive BK virus PCR and SV40 immunohistochemistry. The novel finding of recurrent variants in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway provides not only insights into oncogenesis but also potential clinical therapeutic targets for patients with clear cell adenocarcinoma of the urinary tract.

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s00428-019-02634-5

  View details for PubMedID 31372739

• Framework for the co-registration of MRI and Histology Images in Prostate Cancer Patients with Radical Prostatectomy Rusu, M., Kunder, C., Fan, R., Ghanouni, P., West, R., Sonn, G., Brooks, J., Angelini, E. D., Landman, B. A. SPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING. 2019

  View details for DOI 10.1117/12.2513099

  View details for Web of Science ID 000483012700057

• Impact of KRAS mutation subtype and concurrent pathogenic mutations on non-small cell lung cancer outcomes. Lung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Aredo, J. V., Padda, S. K., Kunder, C. A., Han, S. S., Neal, J. W., Shrager, J. B., Wakelee, H. A. 2019; 133: 144?50

  Abstract

  Concurrent genetic mutations are prevalent in KRAS-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and may differentially influence patient outcomes. We sought to characterize the effects of KRAS mutation subtypes and concurrent pathogenic mutations on overall survival (OS) and PD-L1 expression, a predictive biomarker for anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy.We retrospectively identified patients with KRAS-mutant NSCLC at a single institution and abstracted clinical, molecular, and pathologic data from electronic health records. Cox regression and multinomial logistic regression were used to determine how KRAS mutation subtypes and concurrent pathogenic mutations are associated with OS and tumor PD-L1 expression, respectively.A total 186 patients were included. Common KRAS mutation subtypes included G12C (35%) and G12D (17%). Concurrent pathogenic mutations were identified in TP53 (39%), STK11 (12%), KEAP1 (8%), and PIK3CA (4%). On multivariable analysis, KRAS G12D mutations were significantly associated with poor OS (hazard ratio [HR] 2.43, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15-5.16; P?=?0.021), as were STK11 co-mutations (HR 2.95, 95% CI 1.27-6.88; P?=?0.012). Compared to no (<1%) PD-L1 expression, KRAS G12C mutations were significantly associated with positive yet low (1-49%) PD-L1 expression (odds ratio [OR] 4.94, 95% CI 1.07-22.85; P?=?0.041), and TP53 co-mutations with high (?50%) PD-L1 expression (OR 6.36, 95% CI 1.84-22.02; P?=?0.004).KRAS G12D and STK11 mutations confer poor prognoses for patients with KRAS-mutant NSCLC. KRAS G12C and TP53 mutations correlate with a biomarker that predicts benefit from immunotherapy. Concurrent mutations may represent distinct subsets of KRAS-mutant NSCLC; further investigation is warranted to elucidate their role in guiding treatment.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.lungcan.2019.05.015

  View details for PubMedID 31200821

• An Lkb1-Sik axis suppresses lung tumor growth and controls differentiation. Cancer discovery Murray, C. W., Brady, J. J., Tsai, M. K., Li, C., Winters, I. P., Tang, R., Andrejka, L., Ma, R. K., Kunder, C. A., Chu, P., Winslow, M. M. 2019

  Abstract

  The kinase, LKB1, is a critical tumor suppressor in sporadic and familial human cancers, yet the mechanisms by which it suppresses tumor growth remain poorly understood. To investigate the tumor-suppressive capacity of four canonical families of Lkb1 substrates in vivo, we employed CRISPR/Cas9-mediated combinatorial genome editing in a mouse model of oncogenic Kras-driven lung adenocarcinoma. We demonstrate that members of the salt-inducible kinase (Sik) family are critical for constraining tumor development. Histological and gene expression similarities between Lkb1- and Sik-deficient tumors suggest that Siks and Lkb1 operate within the same axis. Furthermore, a gene expression signature reflecting Sik deficiency is enriched in LKB1 mutant human lung adenocarcinomas and is regulated by LKB1 in human cancer cell lines. Together, these findings reveal a key Lkb1-Sik tumor-suppressive axis and underscore the need to redirect the focus of efforts to elucidate the mechanisms through which LKB1 mediates tumor suppression.

  View details for DOI 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-18-1237

  View details for PubMedID 31350327

• A Case Report of Pediatric Clear Cell Carcinoma of the Urinary Bladder Associated With Polyomavirus AJSP-REVIEWS AND REPORTS Saleem, A., Brown, R. A., Higgins, J. T., Troxell, M. L., Kunder, C. A., Pinsky, B. A., Zambrano, E., Kao, C. 2018; 23 (6): 291?95

  View details for DOI 10.1097/PCR.0000000000000284

  View details for Web of Science ID 000457629000012

• Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in B-cell lymphoma Scherer, F., Kurtz, D. M., Newman, A. M., Stehr, H., Craig, A. M., Esfahani, M. S., Lovejoy, A. F., Chabon, J. J., Klass, D. M., Green, M. R., Liu, C. L., Zhou, L., Glover, C., Visser, B. C., Poultsides, G. A., Advani, R. H., Maeda, L. S., Gupta, N. K., Davis, R., Levy, R., Ohgami, R. S., Kunder, C. A., Rossi, D., Westin, J., Diehn, M., Alizadeh, A. A. WILEY. 2018: 16?17

  View details for Web of Science ID 000444944200019

• Synchronous primary lung adenocarcinomas harboring distinct MET Exon 14 splice site mutations. Lung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Wang, S. X., Lei, L., Guo, H. H., Shrager, J., Kunder, C. A., Neal, J. W. 2018; 122: 187?91

  Abstract

  When a patient is found to have multiple lung tumors, distinguishing whether they represent metastatic nodules or separate primary cancers is crucial for staging and therapy. We report the case of a 79-year-old patient with two surgically resected synchronous left upper lobe adenocarcinomas initially pathologically staged as T3 (IIB), indicating adjuvant chemotherapy should be recommended. However, the tumors appeared radiographically distinct, so next-generation sequencing was performed on each nodule. Each tumor harbored a different mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET) exon 14 skipping mutation, an emerging targetable mutation, suggestive of distinct clonality. While the in frame protein deletion was the same in each tumor, the nucleotide base substitutions were different. Thus, the patient was down-staged to having two separate IA tumors, spared of adjuvant chemotherapy, and routine surveillance was recommended. This case highlights the utility of using molecular analysis in diagnosing and treating multifocal lung tumors, and the process of convergent molecular evolution toward a common oncogenic driver mutation. This is the first case of multiple synchronous lung tumors each harboring a distinct MET exon 14 splice site mutation.

  View details for PubMedID 30032829

• Methionine aminopeptidase II (MetAP2) activated in situ self-assembly of small-molecule probes for imaging prostate cancer. Xie, J., Rice, M., Cheng, Y., Song, G., Kunder, C., Brooks, J. D., Stoyanova, T., Rao, J. AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH. 2018: 115?16

  View details for Web of Science ID 000441803800181

• Defining new drivers of castration- resistant prostate cancer Hsu, E., Rice, M., Nolley, R., Bermudez, A., Huang, J., Peehl, D., Kunder, C., Pitteri, S., Brooks, J., Stoyanova, T. AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH. 2018: 90

  View details for Web of Science ID 000441803800135

• Adrenal Myelolipomas Involved by Plasma Cell Myeloma. American journal of clinical pathology Lin, C., Levy, D., Higgins, J. P., Kunder, C. A., Kao, C. 2018

  Abstract

  Objectives: To report the presence and evaluate the frequency of plasma cell neoplasms within adrenal myelolipomas.Methods: Adrenal myelolipomas within our institution were reviewed for the presence of hematologic neoplasia, and a review of the literature was performed.Results: Two (9%) of 23 adrenal myelolipomas were involved by plasma cell myeloma. The patients were 71 and 81 years old, one woman and one man, with tumors measuring 7 cm and 8.5 cm, respectively. Both tumors contained large aggregates of dysplastic plasma cells occupying at least one *10 field and demonstrated light chain restriction. Neither had an established diagnosis of plasma cell neoplasm previously. After receiving therapy, one patient exhibited a stable clinical course 1 year after diagnosis while the other died of disease 3 years later.Conclusions: We report the first two cases of adrenal myelolipoma involved by plasma cell myeloma, a rare and subtle finding that has significant clinical implications.

  View details for PubMedID 30052719

• ALK-rearranged Tumors are Highly Enriched in the STUMP Subcategory of Uterine Tumors. The American journal of surgical pathology Devereaux, K. A., Kunder, C. A., Longacre, T. A. 2018

  Abstract

  Smooth muscle tumor of uncertain malignant potential (STUMP) is a rare diagnosis rendered when there is uncertainty concerning the biological potential of a smooth muscle tumor. The initial differential diagnosis is often broad, as tumors in this subgroup are morphologically heterogenous. Recent data suggest uterine inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement may be misclassified as STUMPs, but the extent to which this occurs has not been examined. We identified 60 female patients with tumors previously diagnosed as STUMP (48 cases) or prospectively considered for the diagnosis of STUMP (12 cases). Each case underwent histologic review, ALK immunohistochemistry (IHC) and confirmatory break-apart fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for ALK if immunoreactive. Six of the 43 (14%) uterine and cervical tumors were ALK IHC positive, whereas tumors at all other sites were ALK IHC negative. Myxoid features, although limited in some cases, were present in all 6 ALK IHC positive tumors, representing 35% (6/17) of tumors displaying myxoid features at uterine and cervical sites. All ALK immunoreactive tumors were confirmed to have ALK rearrangements by FISH with 1 tumor showing numerous (3 to 8) 3' ALK signals, an unusual FISH pattern not previously described in uterine IMTs. Two patients developed recurrent disease and were treated with ALK-targeted therapy with initial response. Our data demonstrate that a significant proportion of uterine and cervical tumors considered to be STUMPs are ALK-positive by IHC and FISH. Future screening of all uterine and cervical mesenchymal tumors under consideration for the diagnosis of STUMP, particularly those with myxoid features, is recommended to identify ALK-rearranged IMTs that could potentially be treated with targeted therapy using tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

  View details for PubMedID 29794871

• Gallium 68 PSMA-11 PET/MR Imaging in Patients with Intermediate- or High-Risk Prostate Cancer. Radiology Park, S. Y., Zacharias, C., Harrison, C., Fan, R. E., Kunder, C., Hatami, N., Giesel, F., Ghanouni, P., Daniel, B., Loening, A. M., Sonn, G. A., Iagaru, A. 2018: 172232

  Abstract

  Purpose To report the results of dual-time-point gallium 68 (68Ga) prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-11 positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance (MR) imaging prior to prostatectomy in patients with intermediate- or high-risk cancer. Materials and Methods Thirty-three men who underwent conventional imaging as clinically indicated and who were scheduled for radical prostatectomy with pelvic lymph node dissection were recruited for this study. A mean dose of 4.1 mCi ± 0.7 (151.7 MBq ± 25.9) of 68Ga-PSMA-11 was administered. Whole-body images were acquired starting 41-61 minutes after injection by using a GE SIGNA PET/MR imaging unit, followed by an additional pelvic PET/MR imaging acquisition at 87-125 minutes after injection. PET/MR imaging findings were compared with findings at multiparametric MR imaging (including diffusion-weighted imaging, T2-weighted imaging, and dynamic contrast material-enhanced imaging) and were correlated with results of final whole-mount pathologic examination and pelvic nodal dissection to yield sensitivity and specificity. Dual-time-point metabolic parameters (eg, maximum standardized uptake value [SUVmax]) were compared by using a paired t test and were correlated with clinical and histopathologic variables including prostate-specific antigen level, Gleason score, and tumor volume. Results Prostate cancer was seen at 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET in all 33 patients, whereas multiparametric MR imaging depicted Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) 4 or 5 lesions in 26 patients and PI-RADS 3 lesions in four patients. Focal uptake was seen in the pelvic lymph nodes in five patients. Pathologic examination confirmed prostate cancer in all patients, as well as nodal metastasis in three. All patients with normal pelvic nodes in PET/MR imaging had no metastases at pathologic examination. The accumulation of 68Ga-PSMA-11 increased at later acquisition times, with higher mean SUVmax (15.3 vs 12.3, P < .001). One additional prostate cancer was identified only at delayed imaging. Conclusion This study found that 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET can be used to identify prostate cancer, while MR imaging provides detailed anatomic guidance. Hence, 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/MR imaging provides valuable diagnostic information and may inform the need for and extent of pelvic node dissection.

  View details for PubMedID 29786490

• Serum miR371a Quantitation for Assessing Tumor Burden in Testicular Germ Cell Tumors Kunder, C., Imae, Y., Srinivas, S., Fan, A. C. NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. 2018: 703

  View details for Web of Science ID 000429308604323

• Clinicopathologic Characteristics of Fumarate Hydratase-Deficient and Hereditary Leiomyomatosis and Renal Cell Carcinoma-Associated Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Series of 10 Cases Lau, H., Williamson, S. R., Kunder, C., Fan, A. C., Kao, C. NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. 2018: 358

  View details for Web of Science ID 000429308602336

• Validation and Application of Predicted Tumor Mutational Burden (pTMB) Using a 130-Gene Sequencing Panel in Lung Adenocarcinoma Yang, S., Steiner, D., Stehr, H., Berry, G., Zehnder, J. L., Kunder, C. NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. 2018: 758?59

  View details for Web of Science ID 000429308604486

• Presence of Even a Small Ground-Glass Component in Lung Adenocarcinoma Predicts Better Survival CLINICAL LUNG CANCER Berry, M. F., Gao, R., Kunder, C. A., Backhus, L., Khuong, A., Kadoch, M., Leung, A., Shrager, J. 2018; 19 (1): E47?E51

  Abstract

  While lepidic-predominant lung adenocarcinomas are known to have better outcomes than similarly sized solid tumors, the impact of smaller noninvasive foci within predominantly solid tumors is less clearly characterized. We tested the hypothesis that lung adenocarcinomas with even a small ground-glass opacity (GGO) component have a better prognosis than otherwise similar pure solid (PS) adenocarcinomas.The maximum total and solid-component diameters were determined by preoperative computed tomography in patients who underwent lobar or sublobar resection of clinical N0 adenocarcinomas without induction therapy between May 2003 and August 2013. Survival between patients with PS tumors (0% GGO) or tumors with a minor ground-glass (MGG) component (1%-25% GGO) was compared by Kaplan-Meier and Cox analyses.A total of 123 patients met the inclusion criteria, comprising 54 PS (44%) and 69 MGG (56%) whose mean ground-glass component was 18 ± 7%. The solid component tumor diameter was not significantly different between the groups (2.3 ± 1.2 cm vs. 2.5 ± 1.3 cm, P = .2). Upstaging to pN1-2 was more common for the PS group (13% [7/54] vs. 3% [2/69], P = .04), but the distribution of pathologic stage was not significantly different between the groups (PS 76% stage I [41/54] vs. MGG 80% stage I [55/69], P = .1). Having a MGG component was associated with markedly better survival in both univariate analysis (MGG 5-year overall survival 86.7% vs. PS 64.5%, P = .001) and multivariable survival analysis (hazard ratio, 0.30, P = .01).Patients with resected cN0 lung adenocarcinoma who have even a small GGO component have markedly better survival than patients with PS tumors, which may have implications for both treatment and surveillance strategies.

  View details for PubMedID 28743420

• Performance of multiparametric MRI appears better when measured in patients who undergo radical prostatectomy. Research and reports in urology Wang, N. N., Fan, R. E., Leppert, J. T., Ghanouni, P., Kunder, C. A., Brooks, J. D., Chung, B. I., Sonn, G. A. 2018; 10: 233?35

  Abstract

  Utilization of pre-biopsy multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) is increasing. To optimize the usefulness of mpMRI, physicians should accurately quote patients a numerical risk of cancer based on their MRI. The Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PIRADS) standardizes interpretation of mpMRI; however, reported rates of clinically significant prostate cancer (CSC) stratified by PIRADS score vary widely. While some publications use radical prostatectomy (RP) specimens as gold standard, others use biopsy. We hypothesized that much of the variation in CSC stems from differences in cancer prevalence in RP cohorts (100% prevalence) vs biopsy cohorts. To quantify the impact of this selection bias on cancer yield according to PIRADS score, we analyzed data from 614 men with 854 lesions who underwent targeted biopsy from 2014 to 2018. Of these, 125 men underwent RP. We compared the PIRADS detection rates of CSC (Gleason ?7) on targeted biopsy between the biopsy-only and RP cohorts. For all PIRADS scores, CSC yield was much greater in patients who underwent RP. For example, CSC was found in 30% of PIRADS 3 lesions in men who underwent RP vs 7.6% in men who underwent biopsy. Our results show that mpMRI performance appears to be better in men who undergo RP compared with those who only receive biopsy. Physicians should understand the effect of this selection bias and its magnitude when discussing mpMRI results with patients considering biopsy, and take great caution in quoting CSC yields from publications using RP as gold standard.

  View details for PubMedID 30538970

• Performance of multiparametric MRI appears better when measured in patients who undergo radical prostatectomy RESEARCH AND REPORTS IN UROLOGY Wang, N. N., Fan, R. E., Leppert, J. T., Ghanouni, P., Kunder, C. A., Brooks, J. D., Chung, B., Sonn, G. A. 2018; 10: 233?35

  View details for DOI 10.2147/RRU.S178064

  View details for Web of Science ID 000451113100001

• Survival and risk factors for progression after resection of the dominant tumor in multifocal, lepidic-type pulmonary adenocarcinoma Gao, R. W., Berry, M. F., Kunder, C. A., Khuong, A. A., Wakelee, H., Neal, J. W., Backhus, L. M., Shrager, J. B. MOSBY-ELSEVIER. 2017: 2092-+

  Abstract

  It remains unclear whether a dominant lung adenocarcinoma that presents with multifocal ground glass opacities (GGOs) should be treated by local therapy. We sought to address survival in this setting and to identify risk factors for progression of unresected GGOs.Retrospective review of 70 patients who underwent resection of a pN0, lepidic adenocarcinoma, who harbored at least 1 additional GGO. Features associated with GGO progression were determined using logistic regression and survival was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method.Subjects harbored 1 to 7 GGOs beyond their dominant tumor (DT). Mean follow-up was 4.1 ± 2.8 years. At least 1 GGO progressed after DT resection in 21 patients (30%). In 11 patients (15.7%), this progression prompted resection (n = 5) or stereotactic radiotherapy (n = 6) at mean 2.8 ± 2.3 years. Several measures of the overall tumor burden were associated with GGO progression (all P values < .03) and with progression prompting intervention (all P values < .01). In logistic regression, greater DT size (odds ratio, 1.07; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.14) and an initial GGO > 1 cm (odds ratio, 4.98; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-21.28) were the only factors independently associated with GGO progression. Survival was not negatively influenced by GGO progression (100% with vs 80.7% without; P = .1) or by progression-prompting intervention (P = .4).At 4.1-year mean follow-up, 15.7% of patients with unresected GGOs after resection of a pN0 DT underwent subsequent intervention for a progressing GGO. Some features correlated with GGO growth, but neither growth, nor need for an intervention, negatively influenced survival. Thus, even those at highest risk for GGO progression should not be denied resection of a DT.

  View details for PubMedID 28863952

• KLHL6 Is Preferentially Expressed in Germinal Center-Derived B-Cell Lymphomas AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PATHOLOGY Kunder, C. A., Roncador, G., Advani, R. H., Gualco, G., Bacchi, C. E., Sabile, J. M., Lossos, I. S., Nie, K., Tibshirani, R., Green, M. R., Alizadeh, A. A., Natkunam, Y. 2017; 148 (6): 465?76

  Abstract

  KLHL6 is a recently described BTB-Kelch protein with selective expression in lymphoid tissues and is most strongly expressed in germinal center B cells.Using gene expression profiling as well as immunohistochemistry with an anti-KLHL6 monoclonal antibody, we have characterized the expression of this molecule in normal and neoplastic tissues. Protein expression was evaluated in 1,058 hematopoietic neoplasms.Consistent with its discovery as a germinal center marker, KLHL6 was positive mainly in B-cell neoplasms of germinal center derivation, including 95% of follicular lymphomas (106/112). B-cell lymphomas of non-germinal center derivation were generally negative (0/33 chronic lymphocytic leukemias/small lymphocytic lymphomas, 3/49 marginal zone lymphomas, and 2/66 mantle cell lymphomas).In addition to other germinal center markers, including BCL6, CD10, HGAL, and LMO2, KLHL6 immunohistochemistry may prove a useful adjunct in the diagnosis and future classification of B-cell lymphomas.

  View details for PubMedID 29140403

• Predominance of CD4+ T Cells in T-Cell/Histiocyte-Rich Large B-Cell Lymphoma and Identification of a Subset of Patients With Peripheral B-Cell Lymphopenia. American journal of clinical pathology Kunder, C., Cascio, M. J., Bakke, A., Venkataraman, G., O'Malley, D. P., Ohgami, R. S. 2017; 147 (6): 596-603

  Abstract

  T-cell/histiocyte-rich large B-cell lymphoma (THRLBCL) is a morphologic variant of large B-cell lymphoma whose flow cytometry findings are not well characterized.Nineteen cases with flow cytometric immunophenotyping were identified from the case records of four institutions between 2001 and 2016.In most cases, neoplastic B cells were not detected by flow cytometry. Overall, cases showed a predominance of CD4+ T cells, which in some cases was marked. Significant coexpression of CD57 was seen on CD4+ T cells where this marker was analyzed, which correlated with PD-1 expression. Two cases also showed a profound systemic B-cell lymphopenia, which was associated in one case with hypogammaglobulinemia.Overall, our work challenges previous findings that cases of THRLBCL are rich in CD8+ T cells and highlights parallels between THRLBCL and nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL). Also, an association of THRLBCL with systemic B-cell lymphopenia has not been previously reported but may represent an underrecognized manifestation.

  View details for DOI 10.1093/ajcp/aqx034

  View details for PubMedID 28575178

• Case Series of MET Exon 14 Skipping Mutation-positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancers and Response to Crizotinib. International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics Wang, S. X., Zhang, B., Wakelee, H. A., Diehn, M., Kunder, C., Neal, J. W. 2017; 98 (1): 239-?

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2017.01.170

  View details for PubMedID 28587017

• Diagnosis of prostate cancer by desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometric imaging of small metabolites and lipids PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Banerjee, S., Zare, R. N., Tibshirani, R. J., Kunder, C. A., Nolley, R., Fan, R., Brooks, J. D., Sonn, G. A. 2017; 114 (13): 3334-3339

  Abstract

  Accurate identification of prostate cancer in frozen sections at the time of surgery can be challenging, limiting the surgeon's ability to best determine resection margins during prostatectomy. We performed desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging (DESI-MSI) on 54 banked human cancerous and normal prostate tissue specimens to investigate the spatial distribution of a wide variety of small metabolites, carbohydrates, and lipids. In contrast to several previous studies, our method included Krebs cycle intermediates (m/z <200), which we found to be highly informative in distinguishing cancer from benign tissue. Malignant prostate cells showed marked metabolic derangements compared with their benign counterparts. Using the "Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator" (Lasso), we analyzed all metabolites from the DESI-MS data and identified parsimonious sets of metabolic profiles for distinguishing between cancer and normal tissue. In an independent set of samples, we could use these models to classify prostate cancer from benign specimens with nearly 90% accuracy per patient. Based on previous work in prostate cancer showing that glucose levels are high while citrate is low, we found that measurement of the glucose/citrate ion signal ratio accurately predicted cancer when this ratio exceeds 1.0 and normal prostate when the ratio is less than 0.5. After brief tissue preparation, the glucose/citrate ratio can be recorded on a tissue sample in 1 min or less, which is in sharp contrast to the 20 min or more required by histopathological examination of frozen tissue specimens.

  View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1700677114

  View details for Web of Science ID 000397607300049

  View details for PubMedID 28292895

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5380053

• Development of RET mutant cutaneous angiosarcoma during BRAF inhibitor therapy. Journal of cutaneous pathology Dai, J., Kunder, C. A., Chu, E. Y., Chan, E. F., Egan, C. L., Novoa, R. A. 2017

  Abstract

  Treatment with BRAF inhibitors may lead to paradoxical mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway activation and accelerated tumorigenesis in cells with preexisting oncogenic hits. This phenomenon manifests clinically in the development of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and keratoacanthomas (KAs) in patients treated with BRAF inhibitors. Cases of extracutaneous malignancies associated with BRAF inhibitors have also been reported. We present a case of a patient who developed a cutaneous angiosarcoma 6 months after initiation of vemurafenib therapy. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) revealed a mutation in RET, which lies upstream of the MAPK pathway. This case highlights that treatment with BRAF inhibitors may promote the accelerated growth of secondary malignancies. Physician awareness of the spectrum of secondary malignancies associated with BRAF inhibitor treatment will support their early detection and treatment.

  View details for PubMedID 28796396

• Concurrent Imatinib and Radiation Therapy for Unresectable and Symptomatic Desmoid Tumors. Sarcoma Moding, E. J., Million, L., Avedian, R., Ghanouni, P., Kunder, C., Ganjoo, K. N. 2017; 2017: 2316839

  Abstract

  Desmoid tumors are locally aggressive fibroproliferative neoplasms that can lead to pain and dysfunction due to compression of nerves and surrounding structures. Desmoid tumors often progress through medical therapy, and there is frequently a delay of multiple months before radiation can provide symptomatic relief. To achieve more rapid symptomatic relief and tumor regression for unresectable desmoid tumors causing significant morbidity such as brachial plexus impingement with loss of extremity function, we have selectively utilized a combination of imatinib and radiation therapy. Here, we retrospectively review four patients treated with concurrent imatinib and radiation therapy. The treatment was typically tolerated with minimal toxicity though one patient developed avascular necrosis of the irradiated humeral head possibly related to the combined treatment. All the patients treated have had a partial response or stable disease on imaging. Improvement of symptoms was observed in all the treated patients with a median time to relief of 2.5 months after starting radiation therapy. Concurrent radiation and imatinib may represent a viable treatment option for unresectable and symptomatic desmoid tumors where rapid relief is needed to prevent permanent loss of function.

  View details for PubMedID 28761389

• Mycosis fungoides presenting as symmetric concentric patches mimicking figurate erythema. JAAD case reports Notay, M., Petukhova, T. A., Kiuru, M., Kunder, C. A., Hwang, S. T. 2017; 3 (4): 288?90

  View details for PubMedID 28702497

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5484965

• Indolent thyroid cancer: knowns and unknowns. Cancers of the head & neck Hahn, L. D., Kunder, C. A., Chen, M. M., Orloff, L. A., Desser, T. S. 2017; 2: 1

  Abstract

  Thyroid cancer incidence is rapidly increasing due to increased detection and diagnosis of indolent thyroid cancer, i.e. cancer that is likely to be clinically insignificant. Clinical, radiologic, and pathologic features predicting indolent behavior of thyroid cancer are still largely unknown and unstudied. Existing clinicopathologic staging systems are useful for providing prognosis in the context of treated thyroid cancer but are not designed for and are inadequate for predicting indolent behavior. Ultrasound studies have primarily focused on discrimination between malignant and benign nodules; some studies show promising data on using sonographic features for predicting indolence but are still in their early stages. Similarly, molecular studies are being developed to better characterize thyroid cancer and improve the yield of fine needle aspiration biopsy, but definite markers of indolent thyroid cancer have yet to be identified. Nonetheless, active surveillance has been introduced as an alternative to surgery in the case of indolent thyroid microcarcinoma, and protocols for safe surveillance are in development. As increased detection of thyroid cancer is all but inevitable, increased research on predicting indolent behavior is needed to avoid an epidemic of overtreatment.

  View details for PubMedID 31093348

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6460732

• Comprehensive Genomic Profiling of Malignant Effusions in Patients with Metastatic Lung Adenocarcinoma. The Journal of molecular diagnostics : JMD Yang, S. R., Lin, C. Y., Stehr, H., Long, S. R., Kong, C. S., Berry, G. J., Zehnder, J. L., Kunder, C. A. 2017

  Abstract

  Cytology samples are being increasingly utilized for comprehensive molecular testing. Although fine-needle aspirates are adequate substrates for high-throughput sequencing, the suitability of malignant body fluids remains largely unexplored. Herein, we investigated the adequacy and utility of performing targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) on malignant effusions from patients with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma. Thirty-two effusion samples that were submitted for hybrid capture-based NGS using a clinically validated solid tumor genotyping panel were examined. All cases showed ?5% tumor cellularity; however, 28 (88%) provided sufficient DNA for NGS (?1 ng/?L). The sequencing reads showed satisfactory quality control statistics, and the variant allele frequencies were correlated with tumor cellularity. Furthermore, pathogenic or likely pathogenic genomic alterations were identified in 26/28 samples (93%), whereas clinically actionable alterations were present in 18 (64%). Notably, nine patients had additional molecular testing performed on preceding/subsequent biopsies, and the results across multiple samples were compared. In two patients, the NGS-based fluid analysis identified clinically actionable alterations that were not detected by other hotspot testing. In four patients treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors, malignant fluid sequencing confirmed driver alterations from prior testing and revealed new resistance mechanisms. Hence, given adequate DNA input and tumor cellularity, comprehensive genomic profiling of malignant effusions may be used to establish mutational status at diagnosis and inform treatment resistance during targeted therapy.

  View details for PubMedID 29269277

• Distinct biological subtypes and patterns of genome evolution in lymphoma revealed by circulating tumor DNA SCIENCE TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE Scherer, F., Kurtz, D. M., Newman, A. M., Stehr, H., Craig, A. F., Esfahani, M. S., Lovejoy, A. F., Chabon, J. J., Klass, D. M., Liu, C. L., Zhou, L., Glover, C., Visser, B. C., Poultsides, G. A., Advani, R. H., Maeda, L. S., Gupta, N. K., Levy, R., Ohgami, R. S., Kunder, C. A., Diehn, M., Alizadeh, A. A. 2016; 8 (364)

  Abstract

  Patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) exhibit marked diversity in tumor behavior and outcomes, yet the identification of poor-risk groups remains challenging. In addition, the biology underlying these differences is incompletely understood. We hypothesized that characterization of mutational heterogeneity and genomic evolution using circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) profiling could reveal molecular determinants of adverse outcomes. To address this hypothesis, we applied cancer personalized profiling by deep sequencing (CAPP-Seq) analysis to tumor biopsies and cell-free DNA samples from 92 lymphoma patients and 24 healthy subjects. At diagnosis, the amount of ctDNA was found to strongly correlate with clinical indices and was independently predictive of patient outcomes. We demonstrate that ctDNA genotyping can classify transcriptionally defined tumor subtypes, including DLBCL cell of origin, directly from plasma. By simultaneously tracking multiple somatic mutations in ctDNA, our approach outperformed immunoglobulin sequencing and radiographic imaging for the detection of minimal residual disease and facilitated noninvasive identification of emergent resistance mutations to targeted therapies. In addition, we identified distinct patterns of clonal evolution distinguishing indolent follicular lymphomas from those that transformed into DLBCL, allowing for potential noninvasive prediction of histological transformation. Collectively, our results demonstrate that ctDNA analysis reveals biological factors that underlie lymphoma clinical outcomes and could facilitate individualized therapy.

  View details for DOI 10.1126/scitranslmed.aai8545

  View details for PubMedID 27831904

• PS01.67: Case Series of MET Exon 14 Skipping Mutation-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancers and Response to Crizotinib: Topic: Medical Oncology. Journal of thoracic oncology Wang, S. X., Zhang, B. M., Wakelee, H., Diehn, M., Kunder, C. A., Neal, J. W. 2016; 11 (11S): S312-S313

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jtho.2016.09.102

  View details for PubMedID 27969534

• Noninvasive monitoring of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma by immunoglobulin high-throughput sequencing. Blood Kurtz, D. M., Green, M. R., Bratman, S. V., Scherer, F., Liu, C. L., Kunder, C. A., Takahashi, K., Glover, C., Keane, C., Kihira, S., Visser, B., Callahan, J., Kong, K. A., Faham, M., Corbelli, K. S., Miklos, D., Advani, R. H., Levy, R., Hicks, R. J., Hertzberg, M., Ohgami, R. S., Gandhi, M. K., Diehn, M., Alizadeh, A. A. 2015; 125 (24): 3679-3687

  Abstract

  Recent studies have shown limited utility of routine surveillance imaging for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients achieving remission. Detection of molecular disease by immunoglobulin high-throughput sequencing (Ig-HTS) from peripheral blood provides an alternate strategy for surveillance. We prospectively evaluated the utility of Ig-HTS within 311 blood and 105 tumor samples from 75 patients with DLBCL, comparing Ig-HTS from the cellular (circulating leukocytes) and acellular (plasma cell-free DNA) compartments of peripheral blood to clinical outcomes and (18)fluoro-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (PET/CT; n = 173). Clonotypic immunoglobulin rearrangements were detected in 83% of patients with adequate tumor samples to enable subsequent monitoring in peripheral blood. Molecular disease measured from plasma, compared with circulating leukocytes, was more abundant and better correlated with radiographic disease burden. Before treatment, molecular disease was detected in the plasma of 82% of patients compared with 71% in circulating cells (P = .68). However, molecular disease was detected significantly more frequently in the plasma at time of relapse (100% vs 30%; P = .001). Detection of molecular disease in the plasma often preceded PET/CT detection of relapse in patients initially achieving remission. During surveillance time points before relapse, plasma Ig-HTS demonstrated improved specificity (100% vs 56%, P < .0001) and similar sensitivity (31% vs 55%, P = .4) compared with PET/CT. Given its high specificity, Ig-HTS from plasma has potential clinical utility for surveillance after complete remission.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2015-03-635169

  View details for PubMedID 25887775

• Refractory warm IgM-mediated autoimmune hemolytic anemia associated with Churg-Strauss syndrome responsive to eculizumab and rituximab AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HEMATOLOGY Chao, M. P., Hong, J., Kunder, C., Lester, L., Schrier, S. L., Majeti, R. 2015; 90 (1): 78-81

  View details for DOI 10.1002/ajh.23791

  View details for Web of Science ID 000346771400022

  View details for PubMedID 24942207

• Anterolateral congenital diaphragmatic hernia with omphalocele: A case report and literature review AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL GENETICS PART A Scahill, M. D., Maak, P., Kunder, C., Halamek, L. P. 2013; 161A (3): 585-588

  Abstract

  The combination of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) and omphalocele is quite rare but can be seen in several syndromes. We report on a female newborn with this combination that had not been diagnosed prenatally. The patient suffered respiratory failure that persisted despite intensive care support, suggesting severe secondary pulmonary hypoplasia. Autopsy revealed the combination of an anterolateral CDH and omphalocele in the absence of other anomalies. We believe this to be the first such case to be reported in the literature.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/ajmg.a.35703

  View details for Web of Science ID 000315341700025

• Pediatric plastic bronchitis: case report and retrospective comparative analysis of epidemiology and pathology. Case reports in pulmonology Kunder, R., Kunder, C., Sun, H. Y., Berry, G., Messner, A., Frankovich, J., Roth, S., Mark, J. 2013; 2013: 649365-?

  Abstract

  Plastic bronchitis (PB) is a pathologic condition in which airway casts develop in the tracheobronchial tree causing airway obstruction. There is no standard treatment strategy for this uncommon condition. We report an index patient treated using an emerging multimodal strategy of directly instilled and inhaled tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) as well as 13 other cases of PB at our institution between 2000 and 2012. The majority of cases (n = 8) occurred in patients with congenital heart disease. Clinical presentations, treatments used, histopathology of the casts, and patient outcomes are reviewed. Further discussion is focused on the epidemiology of plastic bronchitis and a systematic approach to the histologic classification of casts. Comorbid conditions identified in this study included congenital heart disease (8), pneumonia (3), and asthma (2). Our institutional prevalence rate was 6.8 per 100,000 patients, and our case fatality rate was 7%.

  View details for DOI 10.1155/2013/649365

  View details for PubMedID 23662235

• Germinal centre protein HGAL promotes lymphoid hyperplasia and amyloidosis via BCR-mediated Syk activation NATURE COMMUNICATIONS Romero-Camarero, I., Jiang, X., Natkunam, Y., Lu, X., Vicente-Duenas, C., Gonzalez-Herrero, I., Flores, T., Luis Garcia, J., McNamara, G., Kunder, C., Zhao, S., Segura, V., Fontan, L., Martinez-Climent, J. A., Javier Garcia-Criado, F., Theis, J. D., Dogan, A., Campos-Sanchez, E., Green, M. R., Alizadeh, A. A., Cobaleda, C., Sanchez-Garcia, I., Lossos, I. S. 2013; 4

  Abstract

  The human germinal centre-associated lymphoma gene is specifically expressed in germinal centre B-lymphocytes and germinal centre-derived B-cell lymphomas, but its function is largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that human germinal centre-associated lymphoma directly binds to Syk in B cells, increases its kinase activity on B-cell receptor stimulation and leads to enhanced activation of Syk downstream effectors. To further investigate these findings in vivo, human germinal centre-associated lymphoma transgenic mice were generated. Starting from 12 months of age these mice developed polyclonal B-cell lymphoid hyperplasia, hypergammaglobulinemia and systemic reactive amyloid A (AA) amyloidosis, leading to shortened survival. The lymphoid hyperplasia in the human germinal centre-associated lymphoma transgenic mice are likely attributable to enhanced B-cell receptor signalling as shown by increased Syk phosphorylation, ex vivo B-cell proliferation and increased RhoA activation. Overall, our study shows for the first time that the germinal centre protein human germinal centre-associated lymphoma regulates B-cell receptor signalling in B-lymphocytes which, without appropriate control, may lead to B-cell lymphoproliferation.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/ncomms2334

  View details for Web of Science ID 000316614600008

  View details for PubMedID 23299888

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3545406

• Anterolateral congenital diaphragmatic hernia with omphalocele: a case report and literature review. American journal of medical genetics. Part A Scahill, M. D., Maak, P., Kunder, C., Halamek, L. P. 2013; 161 (3): 585?88

  Abstract

  The combination of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) and omphalocele is quite rare but can be seen in several syndromes. We report on a female newborn with this combination that had not been diagnosed prenatally. The patient suffered respiratory failure that persisted despite intensive care support, suggesting severe secondary pulmonary hypoplasia. Autopsy revealed the combination of an anterolateral CDH and omphalocele in the absence of other anomalies. We believe this to be the first such case to be reported in the literature.

  View details for PubMedID 23401132