Comprehensive Genomic Analysis of Noonan Syndrome and Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Adults: A Review and Future Directions

Abstract

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in the setting of Noonan syndrome (NS) has been reported before without clear guidelines for treatment or prognosis in these subgroups of patients, most likely due to its rarity and incomplete understanding of the pathogenesis of both diseases. In the current era of next-generation sequencing-based genomic analysis, we can better identify patients with NS with more accurate AML-related prognostic markers. Germline mutations in <i>PTPN11</i> are the most common cause of NS. Somatic mutations in <i>NPM1</i> occur frequently in AML. Here, we describe a young adult patient with a novel combined germline <i>PTPN11</i> and somatic <i>NPM1</i>, <i>IDH1</i>,<i></i>and<i> BCL6</i> mutations who presented with fatal AML. In addition, a 50.5-Mb interstitial deletion of 7q21.11-q33 in tumor DNA was detected by chromosomal microarray analysis. While mutations in the transcriptional repressor <i>BCL6</i> are known to contribute to the pathogenesis of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), its novel identification in this patient suggests an expanded role in aggressive AML. The identification of key molecular aberrations including the overexpression of SHP2, which drives leukemogenesis and tumorigenesis, has led to the development of novel investigational targeted SHP2 inhibitors.