Abstract 4409: FBXW7 and BCL9L altered pathways as hallmarks of early-onset colorectal cancer
Authors: Mikaeel Reger , Bellomo Dante , Rajpara Seeta , Buckley David , Yagle Mary , Kerimoglu Baris , Thorne Curtis , Padi Megha , Salhia Bodour , Ellis Nathan A. , Llor Xavier , Xicola Rosa 
Published: March 2024

Background: The incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer (EO-CRC) has been alarmingly increasing, particularly among non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs), resulting in similar rates to ones in African Americans (AAs). Overall, the median age of diagnosis has decreased from 72 to 66 years. The molecular features that could potentially distinguish this phenotype are still not well-established. This study aimed to identify genetic, epigenetic, and transcriptomic factors associated with EO-CRC.

Methods: 510 patients with microsatellite-stable tumors analyzed for somatic mutations, targeting 20 cancer driver genes. We included a cohort of 175 AAs from the Yale New Haven Health System, a previously studied cohort of 51 AAs from the Chicago Colorectal Cancer Consortium, and the publicly available molecular data from TCGA COAD-READ PanCancer cohort (50 AAs and 229 NHWs). We analyzed the transcriptomic and methylation profiles from the Yale cohort using Tempo-SeqTM and Illumina EPIC array, respectively.

Results: Of the 510 patients, 18% were diagnosed with EO-CRC. Using a multiple variant analysis, adjusting for sex, race, tumor location, and stage, EO-CRC patients were less likely to be male (OR = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.37-0.94, p-value = 0.03), their tumors lacked mutations in APC (OR = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.22-0.63, p-value = 0.0002), and they were more likely to have mutations in FBXW7 (OR = 3.1, 95% CI: 1.60-6.00, p-value = 0.0007) and BCL9L (OR = 3.1, 95% CI: 1.00-8.72, p-value = 0.04). We compared tumors with and without mutations in FBXW7 or BCL9L in two independently analyses. Combining transcriptomics and methylation data, we identified 10 candidate genes that showed significant gene downregulation with hypermethylation or upregulation with hypomethylation. Among FBXW7 mutant tumors, we found the Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) gene was significantly downregulated and hypermethylated. In CRC, COMP has been associated with a crosstalk between the TGF-β pathway and immune cell infiltration. Moreover, inactivation of FBXW7 resulted in the accumulation of phosphorylated TGIF1 molecules and repression of TGFβ-dependent transcription in cancer cell lines. Deficiency of FBXW7 is a key element in the phosphorylation-dependent ubiquitination and subsequent proteasome degradation of oncoproteins, such as c-MYC, NOTCH, and Cyclin E. Among BCL9L mutant tumors, keratin 20 (KRT20), the intermediate filament protein and marker of intestinal differentiation in CRC, was downregulated and hypermethylated. BCL9L plays an important role in tumorigenesis induced by aberrant Wnt signaling or aneuploidy tolerance.

Conclusion: Our findings further demonstrate the importance of specific etiologic mechanisms in EO-CRC at the level of somatic alterations, providing new ways to understand the biology of EO-CRC and prospects for the development of targeted therapies.

Citation Format: Reger Mikaeel, Dante Bellomo, Seeta Rajpara, David Buckley, Mary Yagle, Baris Kerimoglu, Curtis Thorne, Megha Padi, Bodour Salhia, Nathan A. Ellis, Xavier Llor, Rosa Xicola. FBXW7 and BCL9L altered pathways as hallmarks of early-onset colorectal cancer [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 4409.