Featured Publications
Extrachromosomal DNA amplifications in cancer
Yi E, Chamorro González R, Henssen A, Verhaak R. Extrachromosomal DNA amplifications in cancer. Nature Reviews Genetics 2022, 23: 760-771. PMID: 35953594, PMCID: PMC9671848, DOI: 10.1038/s41576-022-00521-5.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsExtrachromosomal DNA amplificationsNew therapeutic vulnerabilitiesCopy number heterogeneityEpigenetic architectureDNA amplificationCell divisionNuclear bodiesMost cancer typesNumber heterogeneityRegulatory landscapeTherapeutic vulnerabilitiesFunctional impactCancer typesDriver alterationsCircular structureEcDNAsChromatinizationChromosomesGenesAmplificationEcDNARecent investigationsEnhancerDeregulationCancerGlioma progression is shaped by genetic evolution and microenvironment interactions
Varn F, Johnson K, Martinek J, Huse J, Nasrallah M, Wesseling P, Cooper L, Malta T, Wade T, Sabedot T, Brat D, Gould P, Wöehrer A, Aldape K, Ismail A, Sivajothi S, Barthel F, Kim H, Kocakavuk E, Ahmed N, White K, Datta I, Moon H, Pollock S, Goldfarb C, Lee G, Garofano L, Anderson K, Nehar-Belaid D, Barnholtz-Sloan J, Bakas S, Byrne A, D’Angelo F, Gan H, Khasraw M, Migliozzi S, Ormond D, Paek S, Van Meir E, Walenkamp A, Watts C, Weiss T, Weller M, Palucka K, Stead L, Poisson L, Noushmehr H, Iavarone A, Verhaak R, Consortium T, Varn F, Johnson K, Martinek J, Huse J, Nasrallah M, Wesseling P, Cooper L, Malta T, Wade T, Sabedot T, Brat D, Gould P, Wöehrer A, Aldape K, Ismail A, Sivajothi S, Barthel F, Kim H, Kocakavuk E, Ahmed N, White K, Datta I, Moon H, Pollock S, Goldfarb C, Lee G, Garofano L, Anderson K, Nehar-Belaid D, Barnholtz-Sloan J, Bakas S, Byrne A, D’Angelo F, Gan H, Khasraw M, Migliozzi S, Ormond D, Paek S, Van Meir E, Walenkamp A, Watts C, Weiss T, Weller M, Alfaro K, Amin S, Ashley D, Bock C, Brodbelt A, Bulsara K, Castro A, Connelly J, Costello J, de Groot J, Finocchiaro G, French P, Golebiewska A, Hau A, Hong C, Horbinski C, Kannan K, Kouwenhoven M, Lasorella A, LaViolette P, Ligon K, Lowman A, Mehta S, Miletic H, Molinaro A, Ng H, Niclou S, Niers J, Phillips J, Rabadan R, Rao G, Reifenberger G, Sanai N, Short S, Smitt P, Sloan A, Smits M, Snyder J, Suzuki H, Tabatabai G, Tanner G, Tomaszewski W, Wells M, Westerman B, Wheeler H, Xie J, Yung W, Zadeh G, Zhao J, Palucka K, Stead L, Poisson L, Noushmehr H, Iavarone A, Verhaak R. Glioma progression is shaped by genetic evolution and microenvironment interactions. Cell 2022, 185: 2184-2199.e16. PMID: 35649412, PMCID: PMC9189056, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.04.038.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSpecific ligand-receptor interactionsMicroenvironment interactionsDNA sequencing dataGlioma progressionLigand-receptor interactionsNeoplastic cellsSignaling programsCell statesSequencing dataGenetic evolutionGenetic changesIDH wild-type tumorsIsocitrate dehydrogenaseMesenchymal transitionSomatic alterationsDistinct mannerActive tumor growthIDH-mutant gliomasPotential targetTherapy resistanceAdult patientsDisease progressionPossible roleCellsTumor growthSingle-cell multimodal glioma analyses identify epigenetic regulators of cellular plasticity and environmental stress response
Johnson K, Anderson K, Courtois E, Gujar A, Barthel F, Varn F, Luo D, Seignon M, Yi E, Kim H, Estecio M, Zhao D, Tang M, Navin N, Maurya R, Ngan C, Verburg N, de Witt Hamer P, Bulsara K, Samuels M, Das S, Robson P, Verhaak R. Single-cell multimodal glioma analyses identify epigenetic regulators of cellular plasticity and environmental stress response. Nature Genetics 2021, 53: 1456-1468. PMID: 34594038, PMCID: PMC8570135, DOI: 10.1038/s41588-021-00926-8.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsBrain NeoplasmsCell PlasticityClonal EvolutionDNA Copy Number VariationsDNA MethylationEpigenesis, GeneticGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticGenetic HeterogeneityGenome, HumanGliomaHumansMutationPhylogenyPromoter Regions, GeneticSingle-Cell AnalysisStress, PhysiologicalTumor MicroenvironmentConceptsDNA methylation disorderEnvironmental stress responsesMethylation disordersEnvironmental stress response pathwaysStress responseStress response processesStress response pathwaysSingle-cell transcriptomesDNA methylation changesDNA methylation differencesDNA methylation dataMulti-omics profilesDNA methylomeTranscriptional disruptionEpigenetic instabilityEpigenetic heterogeneityEpigenetic regulatorsResponse pathwaysCellular plasticityMethylation changesMethylation differencesCell statesMethylation dataIrradiation stressWild-type gliomasExtrachromosomal DNA is associated with oncogene amplification and poor outcome across multiple cancers
Kim H, Nguyen N, Turner K, Wu S, Gujar A, Luebeck J, Liu J, Deshpande V, Rajkumar U, Namburi S, Amin S, Yi E, Menghi F, Schulte J, Henssen A, Chang H, Beck C, Mischel P, Bafna V, Verhaak R. Extrachromosomal DNA is associated with oncogene amplification and poor outcome across multiple cancers. Nature Genetics 2020, 52: 891-897. PMID: 32807987, PMCID: PMC7484012, DOI: 10.1038/s41588-020-0678-2.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsOncogene amplificationPoor outcomeCancer typesEcDNA amplificationShorter survivalCancer patientsMost cancer typesExtrachromosomal DNA amplificationsClinical impactMultiple cancersPatientsNormal tissuesCancerTranscript fusionsEnhanced chromatin accessibilityIntratumoral genetic heterogeneityOncogene transcriptionChromosomal amplificationOutcomesGenetic heterogeneityHigh levelsDNA amplificationTissue typesBloodLongitudinal molecular trajectories of diffuse glioma in adults
Barthel FP, Johnson KC, Varn FS, Moskalik AD, Tanner G, Kocakavuk E, Anderson KJ, Abiola O, Aldape K, Alfaro KD, Alpar D, Amin SB, Ashley DM, Bandopadhayay P, Barnholtz-Sloan JS, Beroukhim R, Bock C, Brastianos PK, Brat DJ, Brodbelt AR, Bruns AF, Bulsara KR, Chakrabarty A, Chakravarti A, Chuang JH, Claus EB, Cochran EJ, Connelly J, Costello JF, Finocchiaro G, Fletcher MN, French PJ, Gan HK, Gilbert MR, Gould PV, Grimmer MR, Iavarone A, Ismail A, Jenkinson MD, Khasraw M, Kim H, Kouwenhoven MCM, LaViolette PS, Li M, Lichter P, Ligon KL, Lowman AK, Malta TM, Mazor T, McDonald KL, Molinaro AM, Nam DH, Nayyar N, Ng HK, Ngan CY, Niclou SP, Niers JM, Noushmehr H, Noorbakhsh J, Ormond DR, Park CK, Poisson LM, Rabadan R, Radlwimmer B, Rao G, Reifenberger G, Sa JK, Schuster M, Shaw BL, Short SC, Smitt PAS, Sloan AE, Smits M, Suzuki H, Tabatabai G, Van Meir EG, Watts C, Weller M, Wesseling P, Westerman BA, Widhalm G, Woehrer A, Yung WKA, Zadeh G, Huse JT, De Groot JF, Stead LF, Verhaak RGW. Longitudinal molecular trajectories of diffuse glioma in adults. Nature 2019, 576: 112-120. PMID: 31748746, PMCID: PMC6897368, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1775-1.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAdult patientsDiffuse gliomasRecurrent gliomaOverall survivalPoor outcomeCurrent therapiesChromosome arms 1p/19qAcquired alterationsMajor subtypesTherapeutic resistanceGliomasGlioma developmentGene alterationsIDH mutationsGlioma subtypesPatientsHypermutator phenotypeDriver genesSubtypesClinical annotationSurvivalSubclonal selectionCell cycleAlterationsLittle evidence
2024
A brave new framework for glioma drug development
Hotchkiss K, Karschnia P, Schreck K, Geurts M, Cloughesy T, Huse J, Duke E, Lathia J, Ashley D, Nduom E, Long G, Singh K, Chalmers A, Ahluwalia M, Heimberger A, Bagley S, Todo T, Verhaak R, Kelly P, Hervey-Jumper S, de Groot J, Patel A, Fecci P, Parney I, Wykes V, Watts C, Burns T, Sanai N, Preusser M, Tonn J, Drummond K, Platten M, Das S, Tanner K, Vogelbaum M, Weller M, Whittle J, Berger M, Khasraw M. A brave new framework for glioma drug development. The Lancet Oncology 2024, 25: e512-e519. PMID: 39362262, DOI: 10.1016/s1470-2045(24)00190-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsBrain tumorsBenefits of biopsyBrain tumor therapyLiquid biopsy technologiesTissue samplesPostoperative deficitsBiopsy techniqueBiopsy technologyEffective therapySurgical trialsClinical trialsTumor therapyResistance mechanismsTumorTherapyPatientsDrug developmentTissue analysisBrainTrialsTissueBiopsyGliomaRegulatory agencies
2023
[18F]-fluoroethyl-L-tyrosine (FET) in glioblastoma (FIG) TROG 18.06 study: protocol for a prospective, multicentre PET/CT trial
Koh E, Gan H, Senko C, Francis R, Ebert M, Lee S, Lau E, Khasraw M, Nowak A, Bailey D, Moffat B, Fitt G, Hicks R, Coffey R, Verhaak R, Walsh K, Barnes E, De Abreu Lourenco R, Rosenthal M, Adda L, Foroudi F, Lasocki A, Moore A, Thomas P, Roach P, Back M, Leonard R, Scott A. [18F]-fluoroethyl-L-tyrosine (FET) in glioblastoma (FIG) TROG 18.06 study: protocol for a prospective, multicentre PET/CT trial. BMJ Open 2023, 13: e071327. PMID: 37541751, PMCID: PMC10407346, DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-071327.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsFET PETPositron emission tomographyPrimary central nervous system cancerTumor progressionCentral nervous system cancerL-tyrosine positron emission tomographyFET-PET imagingPhase II studyCo-primary outcomesProgression-free survivalMaximal safe resectionPost-chemotherapy treatmentNervous system cancersHealth economic impactHuman Research Ethics CommitteePatterns of failureTrue tumor progressionGood clinical practiceDeclaration of HelsinkiRadiological progressionConcurrent chemoradiationInitial surgeryPostoperative radiotherapyII studyOverall survivalCorrecting the drug development paradigm for glioblastoma requires serial tissue sampling
Singh K, Hotchkiss K, Parney I, De Groot J, Sahebjam S, Sanai N, Platten M, Galanis E, Lim M, Wen P, Minniti G, Colman H, Cloughesy T, Mehta M, Geurts M, Arrillaga-Romany I, Desjardins A, Tanner K, Short S, Arons D, Duke E, Wick W, Bagley S, Ashley D, Kumthekar P, Verhaak R, Chalmers A, Patel A, Watts C, Fecci P, Batchelor T, Weller M, Vogelbaum M, Preusser M, Berger M, Khasraw M. Correcting the drug development paradigm for glioblastoma requires serial tissue sampling. Nature Medicine 2023, 29: 2402-2405. PMID: 37488293, DOI: 10.1038/s41591-023-02464-8.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchHemizygous CDKN2A deletion confers worse survival outcomes in IDHmut-noncodel gliomas
Kocakavuk E, Johnson K, Sabedot T, Reinhardt H, Noushmehr H, Verhaak R. Hemizygous CDKN2A deletion confers worse survival outcomes in IDHmut-noncodel gliomas. Neuro-Oncology 2023, 25: 1721-1723. PMID: 37329568, PMCID: PMC10479907, DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/noad095.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2022
Live-Cell Imaging Shows Uneven Segregation of Extrachromosomal DNA Elements and Transcriptionally Active Extrachromosomal DNA Hubs in Cancer
Yi E, Gujar A, Guthrie M, Kim H, Zhao D, Johnson K, Amin S, Costa M, Yu Q, Das S, Jillette N, Clow P, Cheng A, Verhaak R. Live-Cell Imaging Shows Uneven Segregation of Extrachromosomal DNA Elements and Transcriptionally Active Extrachromosomal DNA Hubs in Cancer. Cancer Discovery 2022, 12: 468-483. PMID: 34819316, PMCID: PMC8831456, DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-21-1376.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsExtrachromosomal DNA elementsDNA elementsUneven segregationRNA polymerase IILive-cell imagingPolymerase IIOffspring cellsGene transcriptionCell line modelsEcDNAsRandom segregationGenetic materialLiving cellsCopy numberLive cellsIndividual cellsTumor evolutionMitosisInheritance patternBreakpoint sequencesIssue featureTranscriptionFluorescent markersPatient tissuesCells
2021
Spatial concordance of DNA methylation classification in diffuse glioma
Verburg N, Barthel F, Anderson K, Johnson K, Koopman T, Yaqub M, Hoekstra O, Lammertsma A, Barkhof F, Pouwels P, Reijneveld J, Rozemuller A, Beliën J, Boellaard R, Taylor M, Das S, Costello J, Vandertop W, Wesseling P, de Witt Hamer P, Verhaak R. Spatial concordance of DNA methylation classification in diffuse glioma. Neuro-Oncology 2021, 23: 2054-2065. PMID: 34049406, PMCID: PMC8643482, DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/noab134.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchRadiotherapy is associated with a deletion signature that contributes to poor outcomes in patients with cancer
Kocakavuk E, Anderson K, Varn F, Johnson K, Amin S, Sulman E, Lolkema M, Barthel F, Verhaak R. Radiotherapy is associated with a deletion signature that contributes to poor outcomes in patients with cancer. Nature Genetics 2021, 53: 1088-1096. PMID: 34045764, PMCID: PMC8483261, DOI: 10.1038/s41588-021-00874-3.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsWorse clinical outcomesNon-irradiated tumorsClinical outcomesRecurrent cancerPatient survivalPoor outcomeMetastatic tumorsRecurrent gliomaRadiation therapyRadiation-induced DNA damageDNA damageGlioma Longitudinal Analysis ConsortiumMutational signature analysisCancer treatmentDeletion burdenRadiotherapyMedical FoundationAPOBEC mutagenesisSignificant increaseTumorsCancerDNA damage repairDeletion signatureMutational spectrumSmall deletionsOncogenic extrachromosomal DNA functions as mobile enhancers to globally amplify chromosomal transcription
Zhu Y, Gujar A, Wong C, Tjong H, Ngan C, Gong L, Chen Y, Kim H, Liu J, Li M, Mil-Homens A, Maurya R, Kuhlberg C, Sun F, Yi E, deCarvalho A, Ruan Y, Verhaak R, Wei C. Oncogenic extrachromosomal DNA functions as mobile enhancers to globally amplify chromosomal transcription. Cancer Cell 2021, 39: 694-707.e7. PMID: 33836152, PMCID: PMC8119378, DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2021.03.006.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsGenome-wide activationSingle-molecule resolutionMobile enhancerChromatin interactionsChromosomal interactionsChromatin contactsTranscription controlChromosomal transcriptionChromosomal targetsTranscriptional programsTranscriptional enhancersChromosomal genesChIA-PETGene transcriptionCancer genomesInteraction networksDNA functionH3K27ac signalProstate cancer cellsCircular DNAEcDNAsExpression levelsCancer cellsOncogenic alterationsTranscription
2020
Comparative Molecular Life History of Spontaneous Canine and Human Gliomas
Amin S, Anderson K, Boudreau C, Martinez-Ledesma E, Kocakavuk E, Johnson K, Barthel F, Varn F, Kassab C, Ling X, Kim H, Barter M, Lau C, Ngan C, Chapman M, Koehler J, Long J, Miller A, Miller C, Porter B, Rissi D, Mazcko C, LeBlanc A, Dickinson P, Packer R, Taylor A, Rossmeisl J, Woolard K, Heimberger A, Levine J, Verhaak R. Comparative Molecular Life History of Spontaneous Canine and Human Gliomas. Cancer Cell 2020, 37: 243-257.e7. PMID: 32049048, PMCID: PMC7132629, DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2020.01.004.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsComparative genomic analysisDNA methylation patternsReceptor tyrosine kinasesCell cycle pathwayGenomic analysisMethylation sequencingLife historyMutational processesTyrosine kinaseHigh similarityHuman gliomasTumorigenic mechanismsHost environmentMutational rateSomatic alterationsSporadic gliomasIDH1 R132Canine gliomasMolecular profileGlioma etiologyHuman pediatricPediatric gliomasTranscriptomeKinaseUnique insights
2019
Extrachromosomal oncogene amplification in tumour pathogenesis and evolution
Verhaak R, Bafna V, Mischel P. Extrachromosomal oncogene amplification in tumour pathogenesis and evolution. Nature Reviews Cancer 2019, 19: 283-288. PMID: 30872802, PMCID: PMC7168519, DOI: 10.1038/s41568-019-0128-6.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2018
Discordant inheritance of chromosomal and extrachromosomal DNA elements contributes to dynamic disease evolution in glioblastoma
deCarvalho A, Kim H, Poisson L, Winn M, Mueller C, Cherba D, Koeman J, Seth S, Protopopov A, Felicella M, Zheng S, Multani A, Jiang Y, Zhang J, Nam D, Petricoin E, Chin L, Mikkelsen T, Verhaak R. Discordant inheritance of chromosomal and extrachromosomal DNA elements contributes to dynamic disease evolution in glioblastoma. Nature Genetics 2018, 50: 708-717. PMID: 29686388, PMCID: PMC5934307, DOI: 10.1038/s41588-018-0105-0.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsExtrachromosomal DNA elementsDNA elementsChromosomal DNA alterationsDNA alterationsSomatic driver alterationsGenomic heterogeneitySingle nucleotide variantsOffspring cellsDiscordant inheritanceExtrachromosomal elementsEcDNAsGBM evolutionOncogenic potentialGBM samplesInheritance patternChromosomal alterationsSelection dynamicsModel systemCell culturesOrthotopic xenograft modelDriver alterationsXenograft modelOncogene amplificationCellsGlioblastoma
2017
TumorFusions: an integrative resource for cancer-associated transcript fusions
Hu X, Wang Q, Tang M, Barthel F, Amin S, Yoshihara K, Lang F, Martinez-Ledesma E, Lee S, Zheng S, Verhaak R. TumorFusions: an integrative resource for cancer-associated transcript fusions. Nucleic Acids Research 2017, 46: gkx1018-. PMID: 29099951, PMCID: PMC5753333, DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkx1018.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsTranscript fusionsGene fusionsWhole-genome sequencing dataSomatic DNA rearrangementsTranscript-level expressionGenome sequencing dataGene annotationCopy number levelsCancer samplesCancer Genome AtlasDNA rearrangementsUniform pipelineFunctional fusionSequencing dataIntegrative resourceLevel expressionPartner genesGenome AtlasChromosomal alterationsMutational patternsCancer typesFusion transcriptsNon-neoplastic samplesMolecular aberrationsNumber levelsTumor Evolution of Glioma-Intrinsic Gene Expression Subtypes Associates with Immunological Changes in the Microenvironment
Wang Q, Hu B, Hu X, Kim H, Squatrito M, Scarpace L, deCarvalho A, Lyu S, Li P, Li Y, Barthel F, Cho H, Lin Y, Satani N, Martinez-Ledesma E, Zheng S, Chang E, Sauvé C, Olar A, Lan Z, Finocchiaro G, Phillips J, Berger M, Gabrusiewicz K, Wang G, Eskilsson E, Hu J, Mikkelsen T, DePinho R, Muller F, Heimberger A, Sulman E, Nam D, Verhaak R. Tumor Evolution of Glioma-Intrinsic Gene Expression Subtypes Associates with Immunological Changes in the Microenvironment. Cancer Cell 2017, 32: 42-56.e6. PMID: 28697342, PMCID: PMC5599156, DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2017.06.003.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2012
Studying a Complex Tumor
Zheng S, Chheda M, Verhaak R. Studying a Complex Tumor. The Cancer Journal 2012, 18: 107-114. PMID: 22290264, PMCID: PMC3342695, DOI: 10.1097/ppo.0b013e3182431c57.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsGenomic alterationsRecurrent genomic alterationsDNA copy numberGenomic studiesGenomic researchCopy numberExpression signaturesGenomic abnormalitiesGlioblastoma multiforme samplesExpression subtypesNew insightsGenesGlioblastoma multiformeGlioblastoma multiforme therapyHeterogeneous diseaseHigh specificityAlterationsTP53IDH1Identification