Pdgfrb Gain-Of-Function Mutations In Multifocal Infantile Myofibromatosis: Implications For Diagnosis & Therapy

Myofibromas and infantile myofibromatosis are among the most prevalent soft tissue tumors of infancy and childhood. They are characterized by the presence of solitary or multiple nodules in the skin, subcutaneous soft tissues, bones, muscles and viscera. Multifocal myofibromatosis with visceral lesions is associated with a poor prognosis. The pathogenesis of sporadic myofibromatosis is unknown. A few familial cases have been linked to mutations in various genes including PDGFRB, which encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase that is highly expressed in fibroblasts, pericytes and other cells of mesenchymal origin. In the present study, we investigated whether the sporadic form of the disease may also be associated with PDGFRB mutations. We sequenced the whole coding sequence of PDGFRB in 20 cases of myofibromatosis or solitary myofibroma using the Ion AmpliSeq technology at high coverage (Life Technologies). Six different mutations in the coding sequence of PDGFRB were identified in seven patients, six of whom had the sporadic multicentric form of the disease, with a median age at diagnosis of 13 months [range: 0 to 7 years]. Mutations were located in four different exons: the classical hotspot exons 12 and 14, encoding the juxtamembrane and the kinase domains, but also the exons 11 and 18, encoding the transmembrane domain and the activation loop respectively. The percentage of mutated reads varied between 4 and 33%, suggesting that the mutations were somatic, except for one patient who had a germline R561C substitution and a somatic second hit. Two patients had the same mutation in multiple separated lesions, suggesting an early post-zygotic mutation in a progenitor cell. By contrast, a third patient had three different PDGFRB mutations in the three nodules analyzed. We showed that these mutations constitutively activated receptor signaling in the absence of ligand and stimulated fibroblast proliferation in vitro. Furthermore, the mutant receptors were sensitive to the tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib, except D850V, which was inhibited by dasatinib and ponatinib, suggesting a treatment for severe myofibromatosis. In conclusion, we identified activating PDGFRB mutations in 66% of sporadic multifocal infantile myofibromatosis cases, shedding light on the mechanism of disease development. Our results provide a genetic test to facilitate diagnosis, and preclinical data for development of molecular therapies. Citation Format: Florence A. Arts, Raf Sciot, Bénédicte Brichard, Marleen Renard, Laura A. Noël, Amélie I. Velghe, Christine Galant, Maria Debiec-Rychter, An Van Damme, Miikka Vikkula, Raphaël Helaers, Nisha Limaye, Hélène A. Poirel, Jean-Baptiste B. Demoulin. PDGFRB gain-of-function mutations in multifocal infantile myofibromatosis: Implications for diagnosis & therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 534. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-534