scholarly journals Ral Overactivation in Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors

2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (14) ◽  
pp. 3964-3974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vidya Bodempudi ◽  
Farnaz Yamoutpoor ◽  
Weihong Pan ◽  
Arkadiusz Z. Dudek ◽  
Tuba Esfandyari ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Ras leads an important signaling pathway that is deregulated in neurofibromatosis type 1 and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST). In this study, we show that overactivation of Ras and many of its downstream effectors occurred in only a fraction of MPNST cell lines. RalA, however, was overactivated in all MPNST cells and tumor samples compared to nontransformed Schwann cells. Silencing Ral or inhibiting it with a dominant-negative Ral (Ral S28N) caused a significant reduction in proliferation, invasiveness, and in vivo tumorigenicity of MPNST cells. Silencing Ral also reduced the expression of epithelial mesenchymal transition markers. Expression of the NF1-GTPase-related domain (NF1-GRD) diminished the levels of Ral activation, implicating a role for neurofibromin in regulating RalA activation. NF1-GRD treatment caused a significant decrease in proliferation, invasiveness, and cell cycle progression, but cell death increased. We propose Ral overactivation as a novel cell signaling abnormality in MPNST that leads to important biological outcomes with translational ramifications.

2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 366-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto André Torres de Vasconcelos ◽  
Pedro Guimarães Coscarelli ◽  
Regina Papais Alvarenga ◽  
Marcus André Acioly

ABSTRACT Objective In this study, we review the institution’s experience in treating malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs). A secondary aim was to compare outcomes between MPNSTs with and without neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Methods Ninety-two patients with MPNSTs, over a period of 20 years, were reviewed. A retrospective chart review was performed. The median age was 43.5 years (range, 3–84 years) and 55.4% were female; 41 patients (44.6%) had NF1-associated tumors. Results Mean tumor sizes were 15.8 ± 8.2 cm and 10.8 ± 6.3 cm for patients with and without NF1, respectively. Combined two- and five-year overall survival was 48.5% and 29%. Multivariate analysis confirmed the association of tumor size greater than 10 cm (hazard ratio (HR) 2.99; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14–7.85; p = 0.0258) and presence of NF1 (HR 3.41; 95%CI 1.88–6.19; p < 0.001) with a decreased overall survival. Conclusion Tumor size and NF1 status were the most important predictors of overall survival in our population.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. i40-i49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethany C Prudner ◽  
Tyler Ball ◽  
Richa Rathore ◽  
Angela C Hirbe

Abstract One of the most common malignancies affecting adults with the neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) cancer predisposition syndrome is the malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST), a highly aggressive sarcoma that typically develops from benign plexiform neurofibromas. Approximately 8–13% of individuals with NF1 will develop MPNST during young adulthood. There are few therapeutic options, and the vast majority of people with these cancers will die within 5 years of diagnosis. Despite efforts to understand the pathogenesis of these aggressive tumors, the overall prognosis remains dismal. This manuscript will review the current understanding of the cellular and molecular progression of MPNST, diagnostic workup of patients with these tumors, current treatment paradigms, and investigational treatment options. Additionally, we highlight novel areas of preclinical research, which may lead to future clinical trials. In summary, MPNST remains a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge, and future work is needed to develop novel and rational combinational therapy for these tumors.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Özmen Öztürk ◽  
Alper Tutkun

Patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 develop both benign and malignant tumors at an increased frequency. Most of the malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are considered as high-grade sarcomas originating from tissues of mesenchymal origin. It is generally accepted that MPNSTs occur in about 2% to 5% of neurofibromatosis patients. In this paper, we present a 16-year-old male patient with neurofibromatosis who developed MPNST of the retromolar area. The mass enlarged rapidly in a period of 6 weeks. The patient was treated surgically, and a tumor mass with a diameter of  cm was excised, but after 8 months a recurrence was observed at the same site. The sarcomatous change in a neurofibroma has an extremely poor prognosis, so patients with neurofibromatosis should be closely monitored for a possible malignancy. A rapid change in size of a preexisting neurofibroma, infiltration of the adjacent structures, intralesional hemorrhage, and pain indicate a possible malignant transformation to MPNST.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 635-639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivy John ◽  
David L. Bartlett ◽  
Uma N. M. Rao

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are aggressive soft-tissue tumors. They can occur in patients with neurofibromatosis type-1 (NF-1) or as sporadic tumors. Only 10% of MPNSTs are radiation induced. Divergent differentiation in MPNSTs can occur in 15% of cases and may include cartilage, bone, skeletal muscle, blood vessels, and very rarely well-formed glands, the latter typically described in NF-1–associated MPNSTs. We report an exceedingly rare case of radiation induced glandular MPNST arising in a neurofibroma of the femoral nerve in a patient previously irradiated for endometrial carcinoma.


2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 719-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darryl Lau ◽  
Dominic H. Moon ◽  
Paul Park ◽  
Shawn Hervey-Jumper ◽  
Paul E. McKeever ◽  
...  

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are rare, affecting only a small portion of the general population. In many cases, MPNSTs occur in association with neurofibromatosis Type 1 and at times arise secondary to previous radiation therapy (RT). These tumors can be found essentially anywhere a peripheral nerve is present, but they rarely originate primarily from the spinal nerve or cauda equina and cause leptomeningeal spread. This report describes the treatment course of a 43-year-old man with a history of testicular seminoma treated with RT a decade before, who was found to have a large sacral MPNST. The patient underwent complete sacrectomy for gross-total resection. Despite this effort, he was eventually found to have metastatic lesions throughout the spine and brain, ultimately resulting in acute hydrocephalus and death. Biopsy results of these metastatic lesions proved to be characteristic of his original MPNST. The literature is also reviewed and the diagnostic modalities, management strategies, and prognosis of MPNST are discussed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 310-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yurina Miki ◽  
Khin Thway

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST) are soft tissue neoplasms with evidence of nerve sheath differentiation. They usually arise from peripheral nerves or from preexisting benign nerve sheath neoplasms, often in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). The histologic diagnosis of MPNST is challenging as their morphology is highly variable, and there has been a lack of routine diagnostic immunohistochemical markers and specific genetic aberrations. Although divergent differentiation is well documented in MPNST, it is most frequently toward mesenchymal elements. Differentiation toward epithelial elements is very rare, and we illustrate a case of MPNST with glandular differentiation, comprising prominent well-formed glands, with a brief discussion of biphasic (spindle and glandular) neoplasms in the differential diagnosis. An index of suspicion for MPNST is necessary, due to the differing management from tumors in its differential diagnosis, and because of the potential for therapies toward molecular targets in future.


F1000Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1964
Author(s):  
Matthew D. Shaines ◽  
Shitij Arora

In cases of peripheral nerve sheath tumors, current guidelines do not recommend routine abdominal imaging to stage the disease, as extra-pulmonary metastasis is considered rare. We report a case of large peripheral nerve sheath tumor in a 40 year-old-female with neurofibromatosis type 1 who had isolated adrenal metastasis. She underwent primary and adrenal metastasis resection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (16) ◽  
pp. 8620
Author(s):  
Teddy Mohamad ◽  
Camille Plante ◽  
Jean-Philippe Brosseau

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) originate from the neural crest lineage and are associated with the neurofibromatosis type I syndrome. MPNST is an unmet clinical need. In this review article, we summarize the knowledge and discuss research perspectives related to (1) the natural history of MPNST development; (2) the mouse models recapitulating the progression from precursor lesions to MPNST; (3) the role of the tumor microenvironment in MPNST development, and (4) the signaling pathways linked to MPNST development.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 2329
Author(s):  
Andrea Errico ◽  
Anna Stocco ◽  
Vincent M. Riccardi ◽  
Alberto Gambalunga ◽  
Franco Bassetto ◽  
...  

Plexiform neurofibromas (Pnfs) are benign peripheral nerve sheath tumors that are major features of the human genetic syndrome, neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Pnfs are derived from Schwann cells (SCs) undergoing loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at the NF1 locus in an NF1+/− milieu and thus are variably lacking in the key Ras-controlling protein, neurofibromin (Nfn). As these SCs are embedded in a dense desmoplastic milieu of stromal cells and abnormal extracellular matrix (ECM), cell–cell cooperativity (CCC) and the molecular microenvironment play essential roles in Pnf progression towards a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST). The complexity of Pnf biology makes treatment challenging. The only approved drug, the MEK inhibitor Selumetinib, displays a variable and partial therapeutic response. Here, we explored ECM contributions to the growth of cells lacking Nfn. In a 3D in vitro culture, NF1 loss sensitizes cells to signals from a Pnf-mimicking ECM through focal adhesion kinase (FAK) hyperactivation. This hyperactivation correlated with phosphorylation of the downstream effectors, Src, ERK, and AKT, and with colony formation. Expression of the GAP-related domain of Nfn only partially decreased activation of this signaling pathway and only slowed down 3D colony growth of cells lacking Nfn. However, combinatorial treatment with both the FAK inhibitor Defactinib (VS-6063) and Selumetinib (AZD6244) fully suppressed colony growth. These observations pave the way for a new combined therapeutic strategy simultaneously interfering with both intracellular signals and the interplay between the various tumor cells and the ECM.


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