Submit a comment

RAF1 amplification drives a subset of bladder tumors and confers sensitivity to MAPK-directed therapeutics
Raie T. Bekele, Amruta S. Samant, Amin H. Nassar, Jonathan So, Elizabeth P. Garcia, Catherine R. Curran, Justin H. Hwang, David L. Mayhew, Anwesha Nag, Aaron R. Thorner, Judit Börcsök, Zsofia Sztupinszki, Chong-Xian Pan, Joaquim Bellmunt, David J. Kwiatkowski, Guru P. Sonpavde, Eliezer M. Van Allen, Kent W. Mouw
Raie T. Bekele, Amruta S. Samant, Amin H. Nassar, Jonathan So, Elizabeth P. Garcia, Catherine R. Curran, Justin H. Hwang, David L. Mayhew, Anwesha Nag, Aaron R. Thorner, Judit Börcsök, Zsofia Sztupinszki, Chong-Xian Pan, Joaquim Bellmunt, David J. Kwiatkowski, Guru P. Sonpavde, Eliezer M. Van Allen, Kent W. Mouw
View: Text | PDF
Research Article Oncology

RAF1 amplification drives a subset of bladder tumors and confers sensitivity to MAPK-directed therapeutics

Abstract

Bladder cancer is a genetically heterogeneous disease, and novel therapeutic strategies are needed to expand treatment options and improve clinical outcomes. Here, we identified a unique subset of urothelial tumors with focal amplification of the RAF1 (CRAF) kinase gene. RAF1-amplified tumors had activation of the RAF/MEK/ERK signaling pathway and exhibited a luminal gene expression pattern. Genetic studies demonstrated that RAF1-amplified tumors were dependent upon RAF1 activity for survival, and RAF1-activated cell lines and patient-derived models were sensitive to available and emerging RAF inhibitors as well as combined RAF plus MEK inhibition. Furthermore, we found that bladder tumors with HRAS- or NRAS-activating mutations were dependent on RAF1-mediated signaling and were sensitive to RAF1-targeted therapy. Together, these data identified RAF1 activation as a dependency in a subset making up nearly 20% of urothelial tumors and suggested that targeting RAF1-mediated signaling represents a rational therapeutic strategy.

Authors

Raie T. Bekele, Amruta S. Samant, Amin H. Nassar, Jonathan So, Elizabeth P. Garcia, Catherine R. Curran, Justin H. Hwang, David L. Mayhew, Anwesha Nag, Aaron R. Thorner, Judit Börcsök, Zsofia Sztupinszki, Chong-Xian Pan, Joaquim Bellmunt, David J. Kwiatkowski, Guru P. Sonpavde, Eliezer M. Van Allen, Kent W. Mouw

×

Guidelines

The Editorial Board will only consider comments that are deemed relevant and of interest to readers. The Journal will not post data that have not been subjected to peer review; or a comment that is essentially a reiteration of another comment.

  • Comments appear on the Journal’s website and are linked from the original article’s web page.
  • Authors are notified by email if their comments are posted.
  • The Journal reserves the right to edit comments for length and clarity.
  • No appeals will be considered.
  • Comments are not indexed in PubMed.

Specific requirements

  • Maximum length, 400 words
  • Entered as plain text or HTML
  • Author’s name and email address, to be posted with the comment
  • Declaration of all potential conflicts of interest (even if these are not ultimately posted); see the Journal’s conflict-of-interest policy
  • Comments may not include figures
This field is required
This field is required
This field is required
This field is required
This field is required
This field is required