Abstract 1873: Gene expression analysis of newly diagnosed Multiple Myeloma (MM) patients carrying amplified <i>MDM4</i> and/or deleted <i>p53</i>
Authors: Carolina Terragna, Marina Martello, Giovanni Martinelli, Sandra Durante, Lucia Pantani, Elena Zamagni, Paola Tacchetti, Annamaria Brioli, Giulia Perrone, Beatrice Anna Zannetti, Enrica Borsi, Guido Biasco, Michele Baccarani, Michele Cavo
Journal: Cancer Research (2012)

Abstract The p53 tumor suppressor pathway is tightly kept in check or completely silenced in cancer cells. A potent inhibitor of p53 is MDM4, which is located on chr.1q: it is critical for the control of p53 activity during the response to stress and is often amplified in several types of cancer. Since both del(17p) and amp(1q) identify a subgroup of high-risk MM pts, even when the novel agents are part of up-front treatment strategy, we molecularly analyzed a subgroup of MM patients treated with bortezomib-thalidomide-dexamethasone (VTD) and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in order to investigate mechanisms which might be activated in myeloma plasma cells to direct and/or indirect limit the p53 function. CD138+ plasma cells obtained at diagnosis from 61 pts, subsequently treated with VTD and ASCT were analysed by means of GEP and unpaired analysis of CNA (Affymetrix U133 Plus2.0 and 6.0 SNP arrays). Nineteen out of 61 pts (31%) carried a minimal amplification region on chr.1q, harboring MDM4. Eight out of 61 pts (13%) carried a 482 Kb minimal deletion region on chr.17 harboring TP53. To explore the involvement of the p53 pathway in MM, pts were stratified according to the presence of amplified MDM4 and/or deleted p53 (group A, 24 pts) or the absence of both these abnormalities (group B, 37 pts). Baseline clinical characteristics were homogeneous, except for a higher rate of ≤ 3 bone lesions in pts of group A. The rate of best complete or near complete response was 40% in group A and 14% in group B (p = 0.04). With a median follow-up of 36 months, the risk of progression was 46% for pts in group A and 19% for those in group B (p = 0.03). The average number of aberrations per group was overall higher in group A as compared to group B (165 vs. 103 CNAs, p =0.03). A comparison of expression profiles of the two subgroups of pts highlighted a deregulated expression of genes involved in the mechanisms of response to genotoxic stress, i.e. of damage sensor genes (ATM, RAD9, RAD 50, ATRip), of damage signal mediator genes (H2AFX, 14-3-3), of genes involved in regulation of cell proliferation (CDK6, CDC25, CCND2) and of anti-apoptotic genes (BCL2, p73) (one-way ANOVA plus multiple-test correction with FDR &amp;lt;0,05). Finally, this group of pts significantly over-express the transcription factor YY1, which is known to interact with p53, thus inhibiting its transcriptional activity. In conclusion, pts carrying amplified MDM4 and/or deleted p53 showed a significantly higher number of CNAs and the significant over-expression of genes involved in the response mechanisms to genotoxic stress, as compared to pts lacking these chromosomal aberrations. This might account for the worse outcome of patients harboring del(17p) and/or amp(1q). The MDM4 locus amplification and the YY1 over-expression might contribute to maintain p53 in an OFF state by an indirect mechanism. Supported by: Fondazione Del Monte di Bo e Ra, Ateneo RFO grants (M.C.) BolognAIL. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1873. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-1873