Molecular profiling of basal cell carcinomas in young patients

Abstract

Background Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) represents by far the most common non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in the world with an increasing incidence of 3% to 10% per year, especially in patients under the age of 40. While variants in the sonic Hedgehog and cell cycle regulation pathways account for the majority of BCC cases in adults, the molecular etiology of BCC in young patients is unelucidated yet. This study aims to investigate the molecular profile of BCC in the young population. Methods 28 tumors belonging to 25 Lebanese patients under the age of 40, presenting different stages of BCC and diagnosed at Hôtel Dieu de France—Saint Joseph University Medical Center were included in this study. A selected panel of 150 genes involved in cancer was analyzed by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) in the 28 included tumors. Results Genetic variants detected in more than 5% of the reads, with a sequencing depth ≥ 50x, were selected. Two hundred and two genetic variants in 48 different genes were detected, with an overall average sequencing depth of 1069x. Among the 28 studied tumors, 18 (64.3%) show variations in the PTCH1 gene, 6 (21.4%) in TP53 and 3 (10.7%) in SMO. Conclusions This is the first study reporting NGS-based analysis of BCC in a cohort of young patients. Our results highlight the involvement of the hedgehog and cell cycle regulation pathways in the genesis of BCC in the general population. The inclusion of a larger cohort of young patients is needed to confirm our findings.

Exogenous hormone therapy and non-melanoma skin cancer (keratinocyte carcinoma) risk in women: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The risk factors for BCC involve HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) infection, xeroderma pigmentosum, albinism, chemical carcinogens (arsenic and coal tar), and ionizing radiation besides UVR. Meanwhile, people with certain physical features including blond or red hair, blue or green eyes, and light skin color have a higher risk of developing BCC [ 14 ]. BCC has characteristics of low growth, locally invasion, low rates of metastases and mortality, however, the patients of BCC are at higher risk of further BCC and other UVR-related skin cancers [ 15 ].…”

Liquid Biopsy and Dielectrophoretic Analysis—Complementary Methods in Skin Cancer Monitoring

“…The complexity of the disease is noticed when trying to summarize its pathogenesis, with several environmental (UV radiation, UV-sensitive phenotype) and genetic risk factors (genetic polymorphisms) coming into interplay [9]. Additionally, BCC heterogeneous histological classification, its immunohistochemical and genetic profile bring relevant [10], however frequently incomplete, data for the therapeutic approach.…”

Functionalization of Nanomaterials for Skin Cancer Theranostics

“…Skin cancers can be categorized into melanoma skin cancers (MSC) and non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) ( Abi Karam et al, 2021 ). NMSC are then classified into basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) ( Armstrong and Kricker, 2001 ; Kaur and Kesharwani, 2021 ; Thai et al, 2021 ).…”