Dual TMPRSS2:ERG Fusion in a Patient with Lung and Prostate Cancers
Francesca Giunchi,
Francesco Massari,
Annalisa Altimari,
Elisa Gruppioni,
Elisabetta Nobili,
Michelangelo Fiorentino,
Andrea Ardizzoni
Affiliations
Francesca Giunchi
Department of Pathology, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna IRCCS Policlinico S.Orsola-Malpighi, Via Albertoni 15, 40138 Bologna, Italy
Francesco Massari
Department of Clinical Oncology, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna IRCCS Policlinico S.Orsola-Malpighi, Via Albertoni 15, 40138 Bologna, Italy
Annalisa Altimari
Department of Pathology, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna IRCCS Policlinico S.Orsola-Malpighi, Via Albertoni 15, 40138 Bologna, Italy
Elisa Gruppioni
Department of Pathology, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna IRCCS Policlinico S.Orsola-Malpighi, Via Albertoni 15, 40138 Bologna, Italy
Elisabetta Nobili
Department of Clinical Oncology, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna IRCCS Policlinico S.Orsola-Malpighi, Via Albertoni 15, 40138 Bologna, Italy
Michelangelo Fiorentino
Department of Diagnostic Specialistic and Experimental Medicine, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna School of Medicine, 40138 Bologna, Italy
Andrea Ardizzoni
Department of Clinical Oncology, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna IRCCS Policlinico S.Orsola-Malpighi, Via Albertoni 15, 40138 Bologna, Italy
The TMPRSS2:ERG fusion is considered prostate specific and has been rarely described in other tumors. We describe the case of a patient who developed lung and prostate cancers, both harboring the TMPRSS2:ERG fusion. The patient developed a cancer of the prostate with lymph node metastases and after two years a nodule of the thoracic wall. The histology and immunohistochemical profile of the two tumors were typical of prostate and lung cancers. The presence of the TMPRSS2:ERG fusion was demonstrated by next-generation sequencing on both malignancies, leading to the assumption that the lung nodule was a metastasis from the prostate cancer. The patient failed to respond to antiandrogen therapy, while chemotherapy for lung cancer led to a significant objective response. To our knowledge, this is the first case of a lung cancer harboring the TMPRSS2:ERG fusion, widening the spectrum of lung cancer-associated molecular alterations.
