Isocitrate dehydrogenases 1 and 2 (IDH1/2), KRAS protooncogene GTPase (KRAS), a RAS Viral Oncogene Homolog in neoroblastoma (NRAS) and P53 are primary genetic alterations in ICC.
Novel genomic alterations such as <i>FGFR2</i> fusions and <i>IDH1/2</i> mutations in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) and <i>ERBB2</i> alterations in gallbladder cancer (GBCA) are emerging as targeted therapy options capable of advancing precision medicine for the care of these patients.
IDH1/2 (p=0.0005) and BAP1 (p=0.0097) mutations were characteristic of ICC, while KRAS (p=0.0019) and TP53 (p=0.0019) were more frequent in ECC and GBC.
IDH1/2 mutations appeared more frequently in ICC (23.6%, P = 0.0002) than in GBC (4.0%) or ECC (2.3%), while ERBB2/3 mutations were found only in GBC (20.0%) and ECC (11.4%).
IDH1 and IDH2 mutations were significantly associated with increased levels of p53 in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas, but no mutations in the p53 gene were found, suggesting that mutations in IDH1 and IDH2 may cause a stress that leads to p53 activation.
Genetic analyses revealed that KRAS mutation was significantly more frequent in type 1 ICC, whereas IDH mutation and FGFR2 translocation were restricted to type 2 ICC.
Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas are most likely to harbor mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase genes (IDH1, IDH2), fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFR1, FGFR2, FGFR3), Eph receptor 2 (EPHA2), and BAP1 (gene involved in chromatin remodeling) genes, whereas ARID1B, ELF3, PBRM1, cAMP dependent protein kinase (PRKACA, and PRKACB) genetic mutations were implicated more commonly in distal and perihilar subtypes.
Moreover, IDH and Kras mutations, genetic alterations that co-exist in a subset of human IHCCs, cooperate to drive the expansion of liver progenitor cells, development of premalignant biliary lesions, and progression to metastatic IHCC.
Although the IDH1 mutation rate between iCC and HCC demonstrated no significant difference, clear cell HCC revealed statistically increased mutation rate compared to that of HCC without clear cell change (P = 0.009).
Large-duct iCCA and pCCA more frequently had the loss of SMAD4 expression and MDM2 amplifications than small-duct iCCA, whereas the loss of BAP1 expression and IDH1 mutations were mostly restricted to small-duct iCCA.
We also identified frequent mutations at previously reported hotspots in the IDH1 and IDH2 genes encoding metabolic enzymes in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas.
Specificities are observed for some alterations and anatomical subtypes: frequent fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) and isocitrate dehydrogenase 1/2 (IDH1/2) alterations are specific to intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas (ICCs), whereas frequent ERBB2 oncogene alterations are specific to extrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas (ECCs) and gallbladder carcinomas (GBCs).
Cholangiolar-type intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas had a higher frequency of IDH1 or 2 mutations than did the bile duct-type intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas.