Abstract 7048: Multiomics characterization of breast angiosarcoma from an Asian cohort reveals enrichment for angiogenesis signaling pathway and tumor-infiltrating macrophages
Authors: Ko Tun Kiat , Guo Zexi , Kannan Bavani , Lim Boon Yee , Lee Jing Yi , Lim Abner Herbert , Li Zhimei , Lee Elizabeth Chun Yong , Ng Cedric Chuan-Young , Teh Bin Tean , Chan Jason Yongsheng 
Published: March 2024

Recent epidemiological data suggests a rising incidence of breast angiosarcoma (AS-B) in the Western population, with over two-thirds related to irradiation or chronic lymphedema. However, unlike head and neck angiosarcoma (AS-HN), AS-B disease characteristics in Asia remains unclear. We examined clinical patterns of angiosarcoma patients (n = 176) seen in an Asian tertiary cancer centre from 1999 to 2021, and specifically investigated the molecular and immune features of AS-B in comparison to AS-HN. Data from whole genome sequencing (WGS) (AS-HN, n = 44; breast, n = 7), NanoString PanCancer IO360 gene expression profiling (AS-HN, n = 42; breast, n = 7) and 10X Visium spatial transcriptomics (AS-HN, n = 4; breast, n = 2) were analyzed. Majority of cases were AS-HN (n = 104; 59.1%), while AS-B (n = 16, all females) accounted for 9.1% of the cases. The median age at diagnosis was 43 years (range, 26 to 74). Four cases (25%) were related to prior irradiation, while 6 out of 8 cases evaluated were positive for human herpesvirus-7 on immunohistochemistry. Although all cases were non-metastatic at diagnosis and were treated with curative-intent surgery, 6 patients (37.5%) experienced rapid relapse within a median of 7.8 months. Based on WGS, 4 of the 7 AS-B had non-synonymous somatic variants in 48 genes (range, 2 to 28 per case). Among the notable variants found were in kinases (KDR, JAK2, FLT4, ATR, EPHB1 and PRKACA). Other variants were found in cancer-related genes (e.g. ATRX, FOXO1, SMAD3, PTCH1, NOTCH4, HIF1A and SETD1A). These genes were functionally annotated by performing over representation analysis (www.webgestalt.org) on publicly available databases (e.g. Gene Ontology and KEGG). They were enriched in cancer-related pathways such as regulation of cell differentiation, VEGFR and receptor tyrosine kinase signaling pathways. By NanoString profiling, compared to AS-HN, AS-B was enriched for angiogenesis, notch signaling and metastasis-associated matrix remodeling pathways. Conversely, AS-B was depleted of lymphoid compartment, immune cell adhesion and migration expression signatures. Based on the gene expression signatures, AS-B was enriched for macrophages, CD8+ T cells and was depleted for T-reg cells. Furthermore, spatial transcriptomics showed that compared to AS-HN, tumor-infiltrating leukocytes (TILs) in AS-B were enriched for macrophage and T-cells but were depleted for B-cells and NK cells. The location of TILs could provide information on the feasibility of immunotherapy in angiosarcoma. In conclusion, we observed a convergence of both mutational and expression signatures on angiogenesis signaling pathways in our AS-B cases. The spatial transciptomic data revealed that AS-B was enriched for tumor-infiltrating macrophages and T-cells which might have implications on the role of immunotherapy.

Citation Format: Tun Kiat Ko, Zexi Guo, Bavani Kannan, Boon Yee Lim, Jing Yi Lee, Abner Herbert Lim, Zhimei Li, Elizabeth Chun Yong Lee, Cedric Chuan-Young Ng, Bin Tean Teh, Jason Yongsheng Chan. Multiomics characterization of breast angiosarcoma from an Asian cohort reveals enrichment for angiogenesis signaling pathway and tumor-infiltrating macrophages [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 7048.