Predicted immunogenicity of CDK12 biallelic loss-of-function tumors varies across cancer types

CDK12 biallelic inactivation is associated with a distinct genomic signature of focal tandem duplications (FTDs). Gene fusions resulting from FTDs increase neoantigen load, raising interest in CDK12 as a biomarker of response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Despite evidence of FTDs in multiple CDK12-altered cancer types, notably for prostate and ovarian, report of fusion-associated neoantigen load is limited to prostate cancer. Molecular profiles were retrospectively reviewed for CDK12-biallelic (CDK12-biLOF) and -monoallelic loss-of-function (CDK12-monoLOF) in a primary cohort of>9,000 tumors, representing 39 cancer types, and immune epitopes were predicted from fusions detected by whole transcriptome sequencing.

Source: Journal of Molecular Diagnostics - September 21, 2021 Category: Pathology Authors: Andrew Elliott, Jian Zhang, Qing Zhang, Jeffrey Swensen, Daniel Martin, Joanne Xiu, Daniel M. Geynisman, Daniel Vaena, Thomas J. Herzog, Robert W. Holloway, Wafik S. El-Deiry, David Spetzler, Elisabeth Heath, Phillip Stafford, W. Michael Korn Tags: Regular Article Source Type: research