Abstract
Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) were historically grouped with leiomyosarcomas (LMSs) based on their morphological similarities, but recently they have been unequivocally established as a distinct type of sarcoma based on the molecular features and response to imatinib treatment. To gain further insight into the genomic differences between GISTs and LMSs, we mapped gene copy number aberrations (CNAs) in 42 GISTs and 30 LMSs and integrated them with gene expression profiles. Our studies revealed distinct patterns of CNAs between GISTs and LMSs. Losses in chromosomes 1p, 14q, 15q, and 22q were significantly more frequent in GISTs than in LMSs (
P
< 0.001), whereas losses in chromosomes 10 and 16 as well as gains in 1q, 14q, and 15q (
P
< 0.001) were more common in LMSs. By integrating CNAs with gene expression data and clinical information, we found several clinically relevant CNAs that were prognostic of survival in patients with GIST. Furthermore, GISTs were categorized into four groups according to an accumulating pattern of genetic alterations. Many key cellular pathways were differently expressed in the four groups and the patients had increasingly worse prognosis as the extent of genomic alterations increased. These findings lead us to propose a new tumor-progression genetic staging system termed Genomic Instability Stage (GIS) to complement the current prognostic predictive system based on tumor size, mitotic index (MI), and
KIT
mutation.
