Secondary genetic alterations overcome tumor suppressive mechanisms and allow the progression to intermediate lesions characterized by TERT-p mutation or to invasive melanomas displaying disruption of tumor suppressor genes.
Our data provides additional evidence that UV-induced <i>TERT</i> promoter mutation frequencies vary depending on melanoma subtype, but preserves its prognostic value.
Hot spot mutations in the promoter region of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT promoter mutations) occur frequently in tumors of neuroectodermal origin such as melanoma and glioma.
The recent identification of a high frequency of driver mutations in the promoter of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene in cutaneous melanoma led us to investigate whether these mutations also occur in SNMM.
In particular, mutations of the telomere binding proteins alpha thalassemia/mental retardation syndrome X-linked (ATRX) or death-domain associated protein (DAXX) have been shown to underlie a telomere maintenance mechanism not involving telomerase (alternative lengthening of telomeres), and point mutations in the promoter of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene increase telomerase expression and have been shown to occur in melanomas and a small number of other tumors.
TERT mutations were found in 68% of primary melanomas and 64% of metastases, and the mutation status was discordant between primary tumour and metastasis in 24% of the cases.
We observed statistically significant associations with melanoma for two lung cancer SNPs in the TERT-CLPTM1L locus (Bonferroni-corrected p<2.8x10-4), replicating known pleiotropic effects at this locus.
In the melanoma dataset, two pancreatic cancer susceptibility variants were associated: NR5A2 (rs12029406; OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.01-1.92; P = 0.04) and CLPTM1L-TERT (rs401681; OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.01-1.34; P = 0.04).
The recent identification of driver mutations in the promoter of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene with UV-induced cytidine-to-thymidine transitions in cutaneous melanoma prompted us to investigate whether these mutations also occur in uveal melanoma.
Two recurrent point mutations in the promoter region of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT)--the key subunit of telomerase--have recently been identified in melanoma as well as a small sample of bladder cancer cell lines.
In this study, we investigated the impact of the subtypes of TERT mutations on disease-free and melanoma-specific survival in 287 patients with stage I/II nonacral melanoma.
After correction for multiple testing within each gene, two SNPs in the TERT gene (rs2853676 and rs2242652) and one SNP in the TRF1 gene (rs2981096) showed significant associations with the risk of melanoma.
Mutation in the core promoter of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene was determined to be a frequent event in malignant melanoma and other cancers.
Two somatic mutations in the TERT promoter (C228T; C250T) have been identified as gain-of-function mutations that promote transcriptional activation of TERT in multiple cancers, such as melanoma and glioblastoma.
Here, we describe two independent mutations within the core promoter of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), the gene coding for the catalytic subunit of telomerase, which collectively occur in 50 of 70 (71%) melanomas examined.
Assessing a single SNP located at TERT/CLPTM1L multi-cancer risk region as a genetic modifier for risk of pancreatic cancer and melanoma in Dutch CDKN2A mutation carriers.
In contrast to the initial report and promoter mutations in the TERT gene, our analysis suggests that SDHD promoter mutations are a relatively rare event in melanoma (4% of tumors) of unclear clinical and prognostic relevance.
Here, we show that frequently recurring promoter mutations in melanoma occur almost exclusively at cytosines flanked by a distinct sequence signature, TTCCG, with TERT as a notable exception.