KB L4&12 Flashcards
What can increase/decreased incidence of ALL in children?
Increased affluence - increased ALL
Increased family size - more infections and more resistance to leukaemia (due to BM and immune system development)
Daycare - half risk of leukaemia (infections)
Big changes in environment ie new towns - ALL
EBV - glandular fever as a child may affect ALL as an adult
Why are there fewer steps to childhood cancers?
Embryonal cancer cells are rapidly dividing, are motile and have properties of cancers already. They don’t need to change much to become cancer. Only about 5% genetic predisposition because of this.
Three mutations that can cause ALL
E2A-PBX1 activation of the transcription factor PBX
MLL-AF4 HMT interacts with AF4 gene function altering epigenetic control 85% of infant ALL
BCR-ABL - activated kinase t(9;22)
SIL-SCL - fusion causes small deletion which up regulates SCL expression. SIL is a strong promoter
What causes AML?
MLL-AF6 modification of the transcription factor in 50% of all infant AML
What’s more common? ALL or AML?
ALL
What is PNET?
Primative neuroectodermal tumour
What is Ewing’s sarcoma?
An adolescent bone tumour
Relationship between Ewing’s and PNET?
Common translocations around C22
Often balanced translocations producing a fusion protein leading to a Homeric transcription factor which is oncogenic
EWS protein factoids
Chr 22
RNA binding domain and 9 transactivation domains
Express in 3T3 cells - transformed so EWS/FLI1 is dominant
What family of proteins from fusion proteins with EWS name 4.
Members of the ETS family. Have similar DNA binding domains
FLI1, ERG, ETV1, FEV1
What does EWS:WT1 fusion protein cause and what type of fusion is there?
Desmoplastic small round cell tumour. A stromal tumour of unknown origin. t(11;22)
N term of EWS to C term of WT1 - ¾ Zn fingers fuse with EWS to give a novel fusion dominant oncogene
What is rhabdomyosarcoma and what are the forms?
It is a childhood muscle tumour
Embryonal RMS - common
Alveolar RMS - rare and aggressive
Where is embryonal RMS mutations?
Oncogenes, especially the ras pathways
Alveolar RMS translocations?
t(2;13), t(1;13)
Pax 3 (chr2): foxo1a
Pax 7: foxo1a
What is the diagnostic use of chromosome translocations?
Use RT-PCR for specific fusion proteins ie. Primers in each gene of the fusion protein so will only get one product of the fusion protein is present
What could be the first hit in Rb?
Deletions in C13q14 and allele loss at 13q occurs in 75% of cases
What type of protein is RB1?
A 110kDa phosphoprotein involved in cell cycle control
How does RB1 affect E2F?
Active pRb binds E2F1/2 and its binding parter DP at the promoter of target genes and prevents its activation by recruiting HDACs leading to compressed/compact chromatin and no progression from G1-S phase.
When pRb is phosphorylated by CDK4 and cyclin D it is not longer able to bind to E2F allowing cell cycle progression.
What other functions (aside from e2f binding) does pRb have?
Inhibition of transcription by RNA pol I and III
Activates transcription of some genes
Coordinates assembly of proteins essential for cell cycle control
What happens with Rb is inactivated?
Uncoupling of cell cycle control and mitotic control leading to aneuploidy
KO of Rb in mice?
Development until 12-13 days gestation then death
Rb+/- mice - pituitary and thyroid tumours but no retinoblastoma in mouse heterozygous
What does NF1 germline mutation lead to?
Neurofibromatosis 16x risk of childhood cancer
Are most childhood cancers inhibited?
No. Rb is atypical
What mutation is poor prognosis AML?
FLT3
Internal tandem duplications of the juxta-membrane domain
Point mutations at position D853 in the activation loop. Leads to constitutive activation of FLT3 with proliferative and anti-apoptotic advantages
In paediatric AML what allelic ratio (mutation to wildtype) in FLt3-internal tandem duplication (itd) leads to what prognosis?
allelic ratio >0.4 is poor outcome
Allelic ration
Acquired isodisomy is?
Gain of chromosome/duplication of segment and loss of homologue
Can arise from trisomy and LOH or monosomy (already mutated) from 2nd hit and then mitotic recombination to replace lost chromosome and correct imbalance
What is imatinib mesylate?
The targeted therapy for CML with the Ph chromosome. Imatinib occupies the ATP binding pocket of the ABL kinase domain. Preventing substrate phosphorylation and signalling - lack of proliferation and survival
Where do DNA breaks that result in chromosomal translocations occur in the gene?
In introns
In twins with ALL where do the chromosome breaks occur and what does this show?
In exactly the same place. Suggesting the fusion protien formed in utero in one twin and then all the progeny of this cell contained the fusion protein and spread to the other twin in utero via shared mono chorionic placentas . This shows that childhood leukaemia can originate from before birth as twin leukaemia may arise from 2 months to 14 years after birth
How else can evidence of childhood leukaemia originating before birth be shown?
Scrutiny of neonatal blood spots or Guthrie card studies. Using pcr tests for specific fusion genes. In a blood spot can detect 1-20 leukaemia cells
Guthrie cards show that leukaemia is of fetal origin in all causes of MLL fusion infant leukaemia and most cases in ALL TEL-AML1
How much risk of developing ALL of a twin who has it?
100 fold risk
What does epidemiological evidence suggest may be part of development of leukaemia subtypes?
Ionising radiation, chemicals (benzene), viruses and bacteria (H. Pylori)
Infant leukaemia risk gene?
Polymorphic variants of NQ01 - detoxifies benzene metabolites and quinone containing flavoids
Childhood ALL risk genes?
HLA II alleles
ALL risk in infants and older children and adults has been linked to what?
Inheritance of alleles of MTHFR - folate metabolism. Which may affect the fidelity of DNA replication and possibly vulnerability to chromosomal breaks
p53 mutations are rare at leukaemia presentation but?
They are more common at relapse helping to explain therapeutic resistance in more advanced disease
PML-RARA fusions occur in what cancer and what is the treatment?
Promyeloblastic leukaemia. Use of a derivative of retinoic acid to induce remission in acute PMBL
What drug inhibits ABL and has been shown to have a major impact on CML?
STI-571, and is non-toxic
How can paediatric ALL be assessed?
Using qt PCR to look for fusion genes