This SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
BACKGROUND: Gliomas evade current therapies through primary and acquired resistance and the effect of temozolomide is mainly restricted to the subgroup of methylguanin-O6-methyltransferase promoter (MGMT) hypermethylated tumors. Further resistance markers and pathways against chemotherapy and radiotherapy are largely unknown and would help for better stratification.
METHODS: The diagnostic cohorts involved clinical data and methylation profiles of the NOA-08 (n = 104, elderly glioblastoma) and the EORTC 26101 (n = 297, glioblastoma) studies and 398 patients with glioblastoma from the Heidelberg center. Twenty-eight glioblastoma CpGs from 17 DNA damage response (DDR) genes that negatively correlate with expression derived from a 450 DDR gene list as well as telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutations were investigated for outcome and interaction with therapy and classifier assignments.
RESULTS: CpG methylation in IDH wildtype tumors had the highest association with the mesenchymal (MES) and receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) I glioblastoma subgroup. MES tumors have lower tumor purity and differ in copy number variations on chromosomes 7 and 10 from the RTK I and II subtypes. CpG hypomethylation of DDR genes (TP73, CCND3, CSNK1E, EXO1, CUL4A and PRPF19) correlated with worse patient survival in particular in MGMT unmethylated tumors. TERT promoter mutation is most frequent in RTK I and II subtypes and associated with worse survival in primary glioblastoma. Primary glioma cells show methylation pattern that resemble RTK I and II glioma and differ from long term established cell lines. Knock-down of selected resistance genes PRPF19 and TERT increase sensitivity to temozolomide treatment in vitro.
CONCLUSION: Methylation of DDR genes and TERT promoter mutations are associated with tumor prognosis, dependent on the methylation cluster and MGMT promoter methylation status in high-grade glioma.