Subject(s)
CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology , Carcinoma, Merkel Cell/immunology , Merkel cell polyomavirus/physiology , Polyomavirus Infections/immunology , Skin Neoplasms/immunology , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Antigens, Viral, Tumor/immunology , Cells, Cultured , Epitope Mapping , Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/immunology , Female , HLA Antigens/metabolism , Humans , Immunologic Surveillance , Lymphocyte Activation , Male , Middle Aged , Peptides/immunologyABSTRACT
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare but highly aggressive cutaneous neuroendocrine tumor. Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) may contribute to tumorigenesis in a subset of tumors via inhibition of tumor suppressors such as retinoblastoma (RB1) by mutated viral T antigens, but the molecular pathogenesis of MCPyV-negative MCC is largely unexplored. Through our MI-ONCOSEQ precision oncology study, we performed integrative sequencing on two cases of MCPyV-negative MCC, as well as a validation cohort of 14 additional MCC cases (n = 16). In addition to previously identified mutations in TP53, RB1, and PIK3CA, we discovered activating mutations of oncogenes, including HRAS and loss-of-function mutations in PRUNE2 and NOTCH family genes in MCPyV-negative MCC. MCPyV-negative tumors also displayed high overall mutation burden (10.09 ± 2.32 mutations/Mb) and were characterized by a prominent UV-signature pattern with C > T transitions comprising 85% of mutations. In contrast, mutation burden was low in MCPyV-positive tumors (0.40 ± 0.09 mutations/Mb) and lacked a UV signature. These findings suggest a potential ontologic dichotomy in MCC, characterized by either viral-dependent or UV-dependent tumorigenic pathways.
