The identification of isochromosome 12p [i(12p)] and 12p gains have significant clinical utility in the diagnosis of germ cell tumors (GCTs). We have summarized the results of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assays to identify i(12p), performed in a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-validated setting for 536 specimens. In addition, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Project GENIE registry and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data sets were evaluated for chromosome 12p gains, and a limited number of cases were concurrently evaluated using FISH, single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays and next-generation sequencing (NGS; including mate-pair sequencing). Specimens submitted for FISH testing were frequently from potential sites of metastases (male: 70.9% and female: 69.3%), and polysomy of chromosome 12 with or without concurrent i(12p) was a frequent finding, seen in 3% (16/536) and 35% (186/536) of cases, respectively. Our analysis suggests that 12p gains are likely to be present in approximately 73% of male GCT and in 32% of female GCT (AACR GENIE, n = 555). When comparing TCGA cases of testicular GCT (n = 149) to combined cases of sarcoma, colorectal, prostate, and urothelial carcinoma (n = 1754), 12p gains had a sensitivity of 77.2% and specificity of 97.3% for GCT. Some advantages of FISH over SNP arrays/NGS include relatively lower cost, rapid turnaround time, the ability to analyze biopsy material with a limited number of tumor cells (50 cells), and the ability to distinguish i(12p) from polysomy. The ability to spatially restrict the analysis to cells of interest is critical, as specimens submitted for testing often have low tumor purity. Disadvantages include false negative results due to an inability to detect segmental gains due to FISH probe design. With the availability of numerous testing modalities, including FISH, SNP arrays, and NGS-based assays, a nuanced understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of each methodology, as has been presented in this study, may inform appropriate testing strategies.
Human pathology. 2021 Mar 31 [Epub ahead of print]
C Eric Freitag, William R Sukov, Alan H Bryce, Jamie V Berg, Chad M Vanderbilt, Wei Shen, James B Smadbeck, Patricia T Greipp, Rhett P Ketterling, Robert B Jenkins, Loren Herrera-Hernandez, Brian A Costello, R Houston Thompson, Stephen A Boorjian, Bradley C Leibovich, Rafael E Jimenez, Stephen J Murphy, George Vasmatzis, John C Cheville, Sounak Gupta
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, 55905 USA., Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, 85054 USA., Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065 USA., Department of Molecular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, 55905 USA., Division of Medical Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, 55905 USA., Department of Urology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, 55905 USA., Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, 55905 USA. Electronic address: .