ObjectiveRecently, tumours with microsatellite instability (MSI)/defective DNA mismatch repair (dMMR) have gained considerable interest due to the success of immunotherapy in this molecular setting. Here, we aim to clarify clinical-pathological and/or molecular features of this tumour subgroup through a systematic review coupled with a comparative analysis with existing databases, also providing indications for a correct approach to the clinical identification of MSI/dMMR pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).DesignPubMed, SCOPUS and Embase were searched for studies reporting data on MSI/dMMR in PDAC up to 30 November 2019. Histological and molecular data of MSI/dMMR PDAC were compared with non-MSI/dMMR PDAC and with PDAC reference cohorts (including SEER database and The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network - TCGA project).ResultsOverall, 34 studies with 8323 patients with PDAC were included in the systematic review. MSI/dMMR demonstrated a very low prevalence in PDAC (around 1%–2%). Compared with conventional PDAC, MSI/dMMR PDAC resulted strongly associated with medullary and mucinous/colloid histology (p<0.01) and with a KRAS/TP53 wild-type molecular background (p<0.01), with more common JAK genes mutations. Data on survival are still unclear.ConclusionPDAC showing typical medullary or mucinous/colloid histology should be routinely examined for MSI/dMMR status using specific tests (immunohistochemistry, followed by MSI-PCR in cases with doubtful results). Next-generation sequencing (NGS) should be adopted either where there is limited tissue or as part of NGS tumour profiling in the context of precision oncology, acknowledging that conventional histology of PDAC may rarely harbour MSI/dMMR.

Tumor mutational burden (TMB) is a numeric index that expresses the number of mutations per megabase (muts/Mb) harbored by tumor cells in a neoplasm. TMB can be determined using different approaches based on next-generation sequencing. In the case of high values, it indicates a potential response to immunotherapy. In this systematic review, we assessed the potential predictive role of high-TMB in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), as well as the histo-molecular features of high-TMB PDAC. High-TMB appeared as a rare but not-negligible molecular feature in PDAC, being present in about 1.1% of cases. This genetic condition was closely associated with mucinous/colloid and medullary histology (p < 0.01). PDAC with high-TMB frequently harbored other actionable alterations, with microsatellite instability/defective mismatch repair as the most common. Immunotherapy has shown promising results in high-TMB PDAC, but the sample size of high-TMB PDAC treated so far is quite small. This study highlights interesting peculiarities of PDAC harboring high-TMB and may represent a reliable starting point for the assessment of TMB in the clinical management of patients affected by pancreatic cancer.

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Acinar cell carcinoma (ACC) is a rare pancreatic neoplasm with dismal prognosis. Insights into the molecular basis of ACC can pave the way for the application of more effective, personalized therapies and detection of patients with hereditary predisposition. Molecular analysis revealed a germline BRCA2 (and CHEK2) mutation in a patient with a rare pancreatic ACC with extensive intraductal growth. Somatic loss of the wild-type BRCA2 allele in the tumor indicated the causal relationship of ACC with the germline defect. A thorough literature review identified another nine ACCs associated with germline BRCA2 mutation and two ACCs associated with germline BRCA1 mutation, resulting in a prevalence of BRCA1/2 germline mutations in almost 7% of ACCs. Moreover, somatic BRCA1/2 alterations are reported in 16% of sporadic ACCs. Overall, about one fifth (22%) of all pancreatic ACCs exhibit BRCA1/2 deficiency. This study underscores the important role of BRCA1/2 mutations in pancreatic ACC. All ACC patients should undergo genetic testing for BRCA1/2 mutations to identify carriers of pathogenic variants. This will allow to select patients that can benefit from targeted therapies directed against BRCA1/2-deficient tumors and is also crucial as a referral to genetic screening for the relatives of affected individuals carrying germline BRCA1/2 alterations.

NM_000546.5 >94% of the coding regions Markers for MSI analysis BAT25, BAT26, NR21, NR24 and NR27 Genomic DNA was isolated from deparaffinized formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor and normal tissue using standard procedures. Library preparation and sequencing using a single-molecule molecular inversion probe (smMIP)-based NextSeq 500 approach were performed as described previously, 1 with the listed gene panel. Using a separate smMIP panel, 99% of the coding region of SMAD4 (SMAD4 RefSeq NM_005359.5) was analyzed. *For detection of point mutations and amplification. † For amplification detection. MSI, microsatellite instability.